Rockstar Games rejected the chance to release a Grand Theft Auto movie with Eminem, according to a new podcast.
Games industry expert Kirk Ewing, a friend of GTA developers Sam and Dan Houser, said a Hollywood agent approached him about the deal. He also said the agent offered the brothers $5 million for the rights to a film starring the artist, which will be directed by Top Gun’s Tony Scott.
But in an interview with a BBC podcast, Kirk said Sam Houser told the agent they were “not interested.”
Kirk worked with Rockstar when the company released his game State of Emergency.
As per Kirk, the Housers were talking about film links during a time when GTA 3 was a huge success. The company originally launched the game on the PlayStation in 2001.
Additionally, the groundbreaking title paved the way for the rest of the series and the imitators to follow.
That same year, Eminem released the highly successful Marshall Mathers LP. Also, he had just finished filming his role in 8 Mile. The film is inspired by his early rapping.
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GTA Offer
In an interview with Bugzy Malone’s Grandest Game, Kirk tracked down Sam Houser at a hotel. They both stayed up late at night to talk about the potential GTA film.
“I think at that point it was still in Sam’s mind that it might be something that he wanted to do,” Kirk stated. “He said, ‘Kirk, we’ve got Eminem to star, and it’s a Tony Scott film. $5 million on the nose. Are you interested?’”
Furthermore, he phoned Sam and relayed the message.
“And I phoned up Sam and said, ‘Listen to this. They want Eminem in the Grand Theft Auto movie and Tony Scott to direct,’” he recounted. “And he said: ‘Not interested.’”
And as far as Kirk can remember, that was the last time the two brothers talked about bringing GTA to the big screen.
“They realized that the media franchise that they had was bigger than any movie that was going on at the time,” Kirk added.
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Cultural Movement
GTA has come a long way in becoming a cultural movement. Additionally, in 2018, it was awarded the title of the all-time most profitable entertainment product. And that includes record-breaking films such as Avatar.
But this year, the studio eventually confirmed that GTA VI is in the works. Furthermore, Rockstar’s recommended players could participate by 2024 or 2025. It also said a leak of an early sneak peek in September won’t impact the plans for the title.
While fans never saw a Grand Theft Auto film, high-profile actors have hinted interest in joining the wide range of voice casts for GTA 3’s sequels.
Samuel Jackson, Ray Liotta, and comedians Ricky Gervais and Frankie Boyle participated in various editions of the series. Moreover, Eminem appeared on the game’s soundtrack as a guest star.
