Apparently there are no original ideas left and the ones that have already been done have already been redone. So what’s a big movie studio like Universal gonna do? Why they’ll purchase the rights to boardgames like Monopoly and Candy Lane to make movies out of them. This makes perfect sense to me. Just last night I was playing Candy Lane when I thought, “oh wouldn’t this make a wonderful movie?!” Then I went back to eating paste.

Universal Pictures and Hasbro announced Wednesday that they have formed a six-year strategic partnership to produce at least four feature films based on some of Hasbro’s best-known toy brands including Monopoly, Candy Land, Clue, Ouija, Battleship, Magic, the Gathering and Stretch Armstrong.

Under the terms of the deal, Hasbro will partner exclusively with Universal Pictures for feature films, with the exception of “Transformers” and “GI Joe,” which are at Paramount.

While I get the idea of shopping around Hasbro toys as movies it doesn’t make as much sense for Monopoly as it did for Transformers. Action figures do not equal board games. What really ticks me off is that this whole effort is targeted at selling you more crap you don’t want or need. It’s not about trying to make a good movie. It’s about making a movie that will jam these games so far down your throat you’ll walk out of there either wanting to own the game or wanting your $10 back. Transformers already proved this solidly. Whatever though, kudos for Hasbro suckering Universal into this one.

Source: THR