Gore Verbinski to Direct Clue

I wonder who they are going to get to replace the likes of Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Eileen Brennan, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, and Leslie Ann Warren.  The original is a classic and was populated by funny, talented actors who knew their craft.  Good luck Gore…

Universal Pictures has made a series of deals with Hasbro to adapt board games and toys into big screen movies. Last year the studio signed Ridley Scott to develop a movie based on Monopoly. Over the past month it was announced that Platinum Dunes was developing a movie based around the Ouija board, Etan Cohen was writing a screenplay for Candyland with Enchanted director Kevin Lima to direct,  and Steve Oedekerk to write a big screen adaptation of Stretch Armstrong.

And now comes news that Pirates of the Caribbean helmer Gore Verbinski has signed on with Universal to direct and produce a live-action adaptation of the board game Clue. While most of the other properties might seem like odd choices, Clue has a murder mystery storyline that seems much easier to turn into a narrative story.

As you know, the board game is set in a big mansion where a murder has taken place. The competitors try to uncover who committed the murder, Professor Plum, Ms. White, Col. Mustard, Miss Peacock, Mr. Green or Ms. Scarlet, what murder weapon was used, either a knife, rope, candlestick, wrench, pistol or a lead pipe, and what room the murder was committed in. The board game has made over $1 billion in sales over the last 61 years.

The board game was previously turned into a big screen film in 1985, and while the black comedy was a critical and financial failure at the time of it’s release, the film has gone on to develop a cult following on DVD and television airings. Most interesting is that the film actually is one of the only mainstream movies I know of which was released with alternative endings. Depending on which theater you screening the movie, moviegoers were presented with one of three different endings. Newspapers listed the film with an A, B or C depending on the ending included with the print. It would be interesting if they tried to do such a gimmick in the Internet age, and if the gimmick would result in more ticket sales.

Verbinski is an interesting choice because he has experience in bringing fantastical period stories to life with a great mix of realism and wonderful visuals. However, this is just one of the films that Verbinski has on his plate. I think I would much rather see his big screen adaptation of the video game Bioshock than another Clue movie.

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Clue: Secrets and Spies Uses Text Messaging

My best board game memories come from playing the game of Clue. Remember that old school game with the suspects, weapons, and rooms that required you to keep tabs on the accusations, until you ruled out every possibility by process of elimination?

Now, Clue is taking it to the next level, as the player upgrades from detective to spy. Apparently, Clue: Secrets & Spies has the players infiltrating the very criminal underground itself.

The game also gets a technological upgrade, as the players obtain their missions via cellular phone text messages. They don’t have to play by texting, and my source does not say if the gameplay is any different from “traditional” Clue.

Some of you might have preferred solving mysteries rather than entering the world of espionage. If so, I understand. It’s kind of like when they bring Scooby Doo back, and the Mystery Machine gang end up taking on real ghosts. There are some formulas that you shouldn’t stray away from.

Still, you have to applaud Hasbro for trying to bring mobile technology into a game that we all know and love. You should be able to purchase Clue: Secrets & Spies this fall for about $24.99. You might want to get in on this as soon as you can, as Hasbro has stated that it will support the text messaging option until December 2011.

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