Take Two's BIOSHOCK Goes Hollywood

On Friday, 5/09, Take Two Interactive (TTWO) announced that their critically acclaimed video game BIOSHOCK will be made into a MOVIE with " Pirates of the Caribbean" director Gore Verbinski at the helm !

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200805091423DOWJONESDJONLINE000809_FORTUNE5.htm

Points from the link:
* According to video-game-review Web site IGN.com, which rated the game 9.7 out of 10, "BioShock is a unique game that mixes a spine-chilling setting illustrated with art deco art and architecture, sci-fi themes of bio-genetic mutation and self-modification, a deep storyline with open-choice freedom to interact with the world as you choose, and first-person action that requires you to think every time you pull the trigger."

* The DIRECTOR Gore Verbinski is "an avid video gamer and true fan of BioShock."

* The film will be developed by Universal Pictures, owned by General Electric Co. (GE). John Logan, Academy Award-nominated writer of "Gladiator," "The Aviator" and "Sweeney Todd," is in talks to do the screenplay.

*BioShock has sold more than 2 million copies WW and Take-Two is currently working on a sequel.

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*Anecdotally, this bit of news should provide Take Two Interactive with MORE LEVERAGE in its ongoing takeover discussions with Electronic Arts (ERTS)...BECAUSE of:

1.) TTWO's TWO BLOCKBUSTERS --> Given this development, it now seems like TTWO has 2 Legit BLOCKBUSTER video game franchises under its belt - Grand Theft Auto 4 and BIOSHOCK.

2.) LICENSING --> 'Going Hollywood' could/should also OPEN up a whole NEW WORLD for Take Two in terms of potential earnings streams related to LICENSING ! For example, the most successful media content creators + owners like Disney (DIS) and Marvell Entertainment (MVL) have turned the business of licensing into an art form...making unending amounts of money off licensing related to TOYS, clothes, lunch boxes, shoes, accessories, etc.

3.) A GRAND THEFT AUTO MOVIE ? --> Lastly, can TTWO steer GTA 4 towards a similar potential blockbuster Hollywood deal? ...Yeah I know its story isn't the most original...but you CANNOT tell me the GTA 4 BRAND doesn't have POWER + Strike a Chord with a SIZABLE amount of the American populace ! If they could make movies out of sub-par games like Hitman and Resident Evil then surely the best selling video game franchise of all time, Grand Theft Auto, is on Hollywood's radar. Imagine the potential licensing opps associated with a GTA 4 movie deal !! Take Two should create 'Mothers Against GTA 4' T-shirts...

Full Disclosure: I own shares of TTWO.