Of all the board games out there, the one which has potential to be at least a decent movie is Clue (or as us Brits know it – Cluedo). For those of you who may not know, there was already a movie of the game made back in 1985 which starred Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd and Michael McKean.
And it seems that Hollywood thinks there’s enough there to warrant another movie based on the game, with the ball set in motion with Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski in final negotiations to direct.
Now I can’t speak for the 1985 film since I haven’t seen it, but I do know that it’s somewhat of a cult film (although with a much smaller following than the likes of The Rocky Horror Picture Show or Donnie Darko) and therefore fans of it will probably end up being upset that they’re going ahead with another one.
What I also know about the original is it’s a comedy (one of those fun and campy style ones, I believe) but one of the questions about this new one is will it continue along a comedic route? Or will they try a serious Clue movie this time around? I personally would prefer the latter, simply because I don’t think a comedic version would work these days – back in the ’80s, sure, but what worked back then doesn’t necessarily translate into the 21st century (it can, but not often).
Clue isn’t the only board game to be in the works for appearances on the big-screen – Universal has striked up a deal with Hasbro to adapt other such board games as Candyland (which has Kevin Lima attached to direct and Etan Cohen on to write the script), Ouija Board (which is to be produced by Michael Bay’s company Platinum Dunes) and Monopoly (which has Ridlery Scott on-board to produce).
Let me just say quickly that Clue is a movie I could see – it’s already been done in the past and out of all the board games out there it is one of the ones I’d look to first if I was going to adapt from board to big-screen. However Candyland? Ouija Board? Monopoly? Are they serious? Clearly they are since they already have people on-board to write, direct and produce but those three come off as pretty much the opposite of the term adaptable.
The idea of adapting this game aside, it’s certainly peculiar that the guy who did the Pirates franchise is going to be directing (well, he’s in final negotiations but chances are he’ll get the gig). Will this mean some sort of over-the-top, elaborate movie with a bigger budget than warranted? Or will his experiences of smaller fair, such as the remake of The Ring (which is about the only remake of an Asian horror flick that’s superior to the original) and the extremely underrated The Weather Men, keep his sights on the small and intricate?
I’d certainly hope for the latter…
So what do you think of another big-screen adaptation of the board game Clue and the fact that Verbinski is set to direct? And what about movies being based on board games in general?
Sources: Cinematical and The Hollywood Reporter
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