Daniel Radcliffe's next role may be Grand Theft Auto creator Sam Houser. The star is in talks with BBC Film for a feature that will recount the legal drama between Rockstar Games and the activist attorney Jack Thompson, who wanted to eliminate violence from video games. With Rockstar preparing for another big haul from the GTA Auto series, the BBC film has all the makings of a classic drama.
Houser is the co-founder of Rockstar Games, a studio that has developed and published a number of controversial titles since the late '90s. While the Grand Theft Auto series is arguably the most controversial, other properties like Manhunt and Bully also got the attention of Thompson, who will serve as the film's antagonist.
The film will cover Rockstar Games' war with Thompson, a Miami lawyer who turned his focus from sex and rap in the media to violence in video games. Thompson was eventually disbarred for misconduct.
Thompson's moral crusade began in the early 90s as he sought to take on rap music and then went mainstream when he sought to prove that violent video games played a role in a school shooting. From there, Thompson set his sights on Houser's company and its open-world gangster game, which he saw as glorifying violence.
Filming is slated to begin on April 20. The movie will be based on Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto, a book by David Kushner. The film will be directed by Owen Harris, who directed several episodes of acclaimed British TV series Misfits and Black Mirror.
News of the Grand Theft Auto film comes as the game prepares to run its victory lap — finally releasing the best of several iterations of its latest game onto the world's most powerful gaming platform.
Grand Theft Auto V arrives on PC on April 14, after crushing seven Guinness World records on last generation console and enjoying success with a remastered version of the game for the current crop of videogame machines.
In a provocative plot filled with mature themes as ever, Grand Theft Auto V follows the lives of three criminals: a former gang member, a white-collar thief and a blue-collar thief who join forces to rob banks.
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