Two pieces of news today.
Screen Gem, the studio responsible for the Resident Evil films, has its sights set on The Last of Us. Sam Raimi is involved as a producer at this point, though I wouldn’t be surprised if ended up directing as well. Neil Druckmann, the Creative Director for the game, will pen the screenplay with Raimi and his Ghost House Pictures company.
Personally, I don’t think the Last of Us needs a movie. It accomplishes the goal of telling it’s story better than many films. While I have some faith in Raimi and it’s good that people who worked on the game will be involved, I would worry the film might fail to capture the essence of what the game was able to accomplish. And really at this point, perhaps even more so than any other game, a film adaptation is just redundant. I’ve already been incredibly moved by that story. Why do I need to see it again. The film isn’t for me, of course. It’s merely an attempt to make money by creating a product that can be sold to an audience that doesn’t play video games.
In other Sony related news, Jack Tretton, President of Sony America, is stepping down, with his last day on the job being March 31. You can read the official press release here: http://m.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jack-tretton-to-step-down-as-president-and-ceo-of-sony-computer-entertainment-america-248876781.html Shawn Layden, executive vice president and COO of Sony Network Entertainment International will take his place.
“Working at SCEA for the past 19 years has been the most rewarding experience of my career,” said Tretton. “Although I will deeply miss the talented team at SCEA and the passion demonstrated every day by our fans, I’m very excited about starting the next chapter of my career. I want to thank the employees, partners and customers for their tireless commitment to the PlayStation brand and, of course, to our fans who have pushed us to new heights of innovation and entertainment over the past two decades. I leave PlayStation in a position of considerable strength and the future will only get brighter for PlayStation Nation.”
Jon Michael May 