Constantin Film in Germany is driving the latest game-to-screen crossover, optioning the film and television rights to Infogrames' DRIVER video game franchise. Impact Pictures, a subsidiary of Constantin, is slated to start shooting the motion picture later this year. "This is a great opportunity to develop the extremely cool game character of Tanner into a very believable and iconic action movie hero," said Jeremy Bolt, the movie's producer. Tanner is an undercover policeman hired by the mob as a getaway driver. Bolt set up Impact Pictures with writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson. The pair has experience turning games into theatricals, having done MORTAL KOMBAT and RESIDENT EVIL. Anderson will direct DRIVER from a screenplay by James DeMonaco, Todd Harthan and James Roday. DRIVER is Infogrames' best-selling game to date, having sold more than 12 million units worldwide. Developed by Infogrames' Reflections Interactive decision, the original DRIVER debuted in 1999 and was that year's best-selling PlayStation action game. DRIVER 2 was also a best-seller while DRIVER 3 will be released during the 2003 holiday season. New York-based Infogrames Inc. developes interactive games for all platforms and is one of the largest third-party publishers of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. Infogrames Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA, the largest interactive game publisher in Europe. For more info visit www.infogrames.com. Constantin has been a leading production and distribution company in Germany (www.constantin-film.de).
