Finally Monopoly 'Passes Go' and heads for the big screen
Monopoly the famous board game played by a billion fans is finally headed for the big screen. Film company Lionsgate and games giant Hasbro are teaming up to make the Monopoly movie. Andrew Niccol (“The Truman Show”) will write the screenplay, says Variety.
Monopoly: A movie at last!
Lionsgate and Hasbro Allspark Pictures will produce the film and Lionsgate will finance it. The story is about a boy from one of the game’s modest streets who is on a quest to make a fortune.
“Hasbro is a partner with incredible global reach, one of the most compelling brand portfolios in the world, and a signature brand in Monopoly that has multigenerational appeal,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-president Erik Feig.
“Andrew Niccol is the ultimate world creator responsible for such disparate and imaginative films as ‘The Truman Show,’ ‘Gattaca’ and ‘The Terminal,'” said Feig.
“He is an inspired choice to develop this timeless property into a big, crowd-pleasing event film that will appeal to kids, families and anyone who has ever played the Monopoly game.”
The companies say Monopoly has been played by more than 1 billion people in 114 countries around the world and has been translated into 47 different languages. The original game was released in 1903.
Hasbro’s Allspark is currently finishing off “Jem and the Holograms” and “Ouija 2” as a sequel to last year’s low-budget horror film.
Hasbro has been attempting to launch a Monopoly movie since 2009. In 2013 one with 2013 with Ridley Scott as a producer was planned but it never got there.
The game was originally called “The Landlord’s Game.” Parker Brothers began selling a variation of the original game in 1935, based on streets in Atlantic City, N.J., such as Baltic Avenue, Kentucky Avenue, Park Place and Boardwalk.
Lionsgate is noted for young adult franchises such as “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent.” The studio is developing a family-friendly franchise in “Power Rangers” with Saban, with a release set for Jan. 13, 2017.