Uwe Boll Returns to the Undead

September 25, 2007 | By: John Gaudiosi

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Everybody's favorite controversial filmmaker Uwe Boll has partnered with yet another developer. Boll will produce a movie based on 1988 Games' Zombie Massacre. 1988 is bringing the game to the Wii. We speak with Boll and 1988 about the game and movie collaboration.

German producer/director/writer Uwe Boll first made his mark on the video game industry with House of the Dead, an adaptation of Sega's hit arcade shooter. Now the director has teamed up with game developer 1988 Games to bring their new Wii shooter, Zombie Massacre, to the big screen. Boll said the film, which will likely have a $6 million budget, will shoot in Vancouver, British Columbia in 2009.

"I want to make this movie more creepy than House of the Dead, which was intended to be funny and campy," said Boll. "I'd like Zombie Massacre to be a harsh zombie movie like 28 Days Later."

Benjamin Krotin, producer of the game, contacted Boll about turning their upcoming Wii game into a movie.

"We have always wanted to turn our game concepts into movies, but we just didn't know when or where such an opportunity might arise," said Krotin. "Fortunately, with Zombie Massacre we had a concept that we new would translate well to film without any major changes having to be made, and we were just in the right place at the right time. We started talking about attempting to pursue it further, and Uwe Boll was the first and only name to come up because of his extensive experience in working with video game properties."

Zombie Massacre is a driving/shooting game for up to four players. The goal is to drive a fully-armed nuclear warhead (that's stowed in the trunk of their vintage 1950s convertible) into the center of a city overflowing with zombies. After depositing the weapon, players will then have to make it out of the city just as quickly as they entered it before the warhead detonates.

"In essence, Zombie Massacre is a cross between the games Crazy Taxi and House of the Dead, with a pinch of Blast Corps. thrown in for taste," said Krotin. "Using the unique motion-sensing controls of the Wii, players will drive and shoot through a fast-paced, arcade-style zombie adventure, with a focus on combing the timed-racing and light-gun shooting genres."

Krotin said the game is exclusive to the Wii and that 1988 Games is currently talking to publishers for this title, so no release date is set yet. Boll will be working directly with the game developer on the film project.

This marks the third game property that Boll has acquired by partnering with the game makers, rather than paying licensing fees to turn the property into a movie like he did with Atari on Alone in the Dark and Majesco with BloodRayne.

"I want to work with the game makers on these movies and have them share in the development of these projects," said Boll. "I did the same type of deals with Sabotage 1943 and Legend: Hand of God with developers Replay Studios and Master Creating."

Boll is developing films based on both of those German-made games, in addition to Zombie Massacre. In 2008, Boll will film the third BloodRayne movie, likely in Croatia, as well as Sabotage 1943, back-to-back.

The recently released BloadRayne 2: Deliverance DVD is selling well. Boll said retailers Wal-Mart and Best Buy sold over 35 percent of their copies of the straight-to-DVD release in the first three days. He said 275,000 copies of the DVD were sent to retailers and the numbers, so far, look good enough to green light a third and final BloodRayne movie.

Boll continues to churn out the films, and Postal, which is opening November 9, has been tracking well. Boll said he recently screened the film in Tucson, Arizona with game developer Running With Scissors and the crowd, which literally came armed with guns, loved the film's slapstick and dirty humor. Boll also showed the film for two nights at the Fantasia Film Festival in Austin, Texas and the director said that crowd loved the film's satire.

"Postal is playing to both middle America and film fans," said Boll. "We have the trailer in front of Resident Evil: Extinction, The Kingdom, Saw IV and The Heartbreak Kid."

In the Name of the King, A Dungeon Siege Tale is slated to open January 11 on 2,500 to 3,000 screens. That $60 million fantasy film is the largest undertaking ever by the director and the film features actors like Burt Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Ron Pearlman, Jason Statham and Leelee Sobieski.

Boll also is finishing up work on Far Cry, which he shot in Vancouver this summer. That film will release some time in 2008.