Sony’s Big ‘Risk’ Finds a Scribe as Studios Race to Adapt Board Games

We’ve reported frequently on the sheer volume of games that are being adapted into feature films. Not video games, mind you, but board games. It’s not a new idea, of course, for those who remember Paramount’s 1985 film, Clue, but it has gained significant momentum recently.
Peter Berg is turning ‘Battleship’ into an alien invasion thriller. Ridley Scott’s ‘Monopoly’ movie is purportedly going to a scorching satire about the real estate market (perfect timing). McG will adapt ‘Ouija’ into an Indiana Jones-inspired action-adventure film. And, last, but we suspect not least, ‘Candyland’ is being described by its screenwriters (Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger of Kung Fu Pandafame) as Lord of the Rings with candy.
That leaves the classic Parker Bros. board game ‘Risk’, which Sony/Columbia began developing into a feature film back in 2009.
Originally created by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse (The Red Balloon) and released in 1957 as ‘La Conquête du Monde’, ‘Risk’ is a war strategy game, whose players’ principal object is “world domination,” or “to occupy every territory on the board and in so doing, eliminate all other players.” If you haven’t played it, doubtless you’ve heard of it.
So, how to adapt that into a movie then? According to Risky Business, Sony/Columbia have brought in writer John Hlavin (The Shield, forthcoming Underworld 4) to pen the adaptation. The report suggests that it will be turned into a globe-trotting action thriller, a major project for a writer who has gained most of his experience in television.
While these adaptations often bare little resemblance to the game (partially due to the necessity of the transition and partially due to creative license), studios nevertheless benefit from the brand recognition that comes built-in, while the board game makers see an infusion of new interest in their properties, and perhaps even an opportunity to evolve them or adapt them into electronic, interactive versions.
In Hollywood’s quest for inspiration, some might argue that it’s a cheap tactic, but in reality, talk to any writer and they will tell you there are only seven story ideas out there, and the real quest is to find new, innovative ways to tell those stories. We’ve lamented adaptations here on CinemaSpy — and will probably continue to do so — but the fact of the matter is that inspiration can quite literally come from anywhere.
Books and novels have always been popular choices for adaptation (and remain so), yet rarely, if ever, do they closely follow the original material; a common problem. Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, for example, still has not been done correctly…yet Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” was a remarkably successful adaptation of what many considered material that simply could not be adapted to the screen.
The trick, therefore, is in the execution of the material.
The fact of the matter is as long the story is well-crafted and the acting strong, you can make a movie concerning just about anything. Implementation is always at the foundation, regardless of whether it’s Bard or ‘Battleship’.
That said, we’re still more generally receptive to filmmakers who try to launch an original property—Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 being one such example.
In the meantime at least, board games will remain the latest ‘go-to’ source material for an industry cognizant of its bottom line.