Eli Roth to Direct ‘Borderlands’ Movie for Lionsgate
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Eli Roth will direct a movie based on the video game “Borderlands” for Lionsgate — a project that’s been in the works for five years.
The studio said production will begin later this year. Lionsgate announced in 2015 that it had attached producers Avi and Ari Arad to “Borderlands” through Arad Prods. and said Thursday that Erik Feig is also producing via his Picturestart banner. Craig Mazin, who won an Emmy for writing “Chernobyl,” has written the latest screenplay draft.
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“Borderlands,” launched in 2009, is a role-playing first-person shooter game created and developed by Gearbox Software and published by Take-Two Interactive Software’s 2K label. The game is set on the frontier of a sci-fi universe — the planet of Pandora — which has been abandoned by a mega-corporation prior to the game events. The series has sold more than 57 million units worldwide. The most recent installment, “Borderlands 3,” was released last September.
The film’s executive producers are Randy Pitchford, executive producer of the “Borderlands” video game franchise and founder of Gearbox Software, and Strauss Zelnick, chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive.
“I’m so excited to dive into the world of ‘Borderlands’ and I could not be doing it with a better script, producing team, and studio,” Roth said in a statement. “I have a long, successful history with Lionsgate – I feel like we have grown up together and that everything in my directing career has led to a project of this scale and ambition. I look forward to bringing my own energy, ideas, and vision to the wild, fun, and endlessly creative world of the game.”
Roth’s directing credits include “Death Wish,” “The House with a Clock in its Walls,” “Hostel,” “Knock Knock,” “Cabin Fever” and “The Green Inferno.”
“With Eli’s vision and Craig’s screenplay, we believe we have cracked the code on bringing the anarchic world of ‘Borderlands’ to the big screen in a big way that will be a fresh, compelling and cinematic event for moviegoers and fans of the game,” said Nathan Kahane, president of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.
“I’m incredibly proud we can bring this beloved video game to theaters for our fans around the world. Eli and Craig, already accomplished and remarkable visionaries, will be amazing stewards of Gearbox’s innovative ‘Borderlands’ characters and stories,” said Pitchford.
James Myers is overseeing the project on behalf of Lionsgate. Emmy Yu is overseeing the film for Arad Productions. Lucy Kitada will oversee the project for Picturestart.
Roth is repped by WME and Carlos Goodman of Goodman, Genow Schenkman, Smelkinson and Christopher.
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