Well we all know the Assassins Creed movie was finally announced and Sony Pictures is going to produce and distribute the film. But apparently Sony wasn't the first company interested in Assassins Creed, UbiSoft had attempted to make several deals with other film companies prior to the deal with Sony. However the other film companies were not impressed and unwilling to sign a deal with UbiSoft.
Why were the other film companies unwilling to sign up for a film. Well the root cause is in fact UbiSoft's over controlling nature. Apparently UbiSoft wants to entirely control the films production. A big film producer who passed on the project emphasises "They want to be able to pull the plug on the whole movie's development if they decide to. It's ridiculous,"Apparently the deal with Sony gives UbiSoft complete control over script, casting, release date and even the budget of the film. Another executive from another one of those film companies claimed that while he understood UbiSoft was trying to protect its franchise integrity and to ensure the film met its quality standards "they're not movie makers, and the only way to make sure it's a bad movie is to undervalue what movie studios do — and this is a deal that totally undervalues what movie studios do." Essentially the argument is that if the studio doesn't actually have any creative freedoms it will not be able to make a great film, UbiSoft while entering the film industry is not yet a real experienced film company and isn't likely capable of creating an amazing movie. Basically what UbiSoft is doing is self destructive claims another game companies representative "The whole Ubisoft/Sony deal is a waste of ink, paper and time. The level of control Sony gave up means, effectively, that Assassin's Creed will never — and I mean never — get made." Another studio executive remarks “If they’re so afraid of what will happen to their franchises, why make a movie at all?”
It appears that “As a director, even Steven Spielberg cannot get this kind of deal.” DreamWorks, Universal Studios and Warner Bros all attempted to work with UbiSoft but were unwilling to cede so much control believing UbiSoft is incapable of producing a successful film without granting directors and producers the ability to do what they do best, make good movies. UbiSoft's protectionism seems to stem from Prince Of Persia which UbiSoft apparently thought did not meet the companies standards and believe could have been an amazing film had UbiSoft had direct control over the property. Apparently UbiSoft only convinced Sony to support the idea because UbiSoft agreed to flip almost the entire bill, meaning Sony is investing barely anything and stands to profit big time if the film succeeds. If the film bombs due to UbiSoft's meddling Sony doesn't lose much. A win win for Sony but for UbiSoft if this film fails it will strike a major blow in their new film division and their ability to ever license another movie. Nobody will want to touch a UbiSoft franchise if UbiSoft fails to deliver a high quality Assaasins Creed film!
Reports have come in suggesting that Halo's failure to ever become a film is due to a very similar problem. Microsoft did not want to cede control of the film, Microsoft even had the script written themselves and was far to controlling over the films production process that they scared off any directors capable of delivering a high quality Halo film!
What do you think, is UbiSoft right to demand so much control over the films production? Do you think UbiSoft can actually run the project better then say Steven Speilberg who turned down the project? Should other game companies follow UbiSoft's lead and take full control of the films production?
Source (Note the source is protecting its sources so quotes from Executives remain uncredited)
-JC7
"In God We Trust - In Games We Play " - Joel Reimer
