Ubisoft partners with Sony, New Regency on Watch Dogs movie
Ubisoft Motion Pictures, the film wing at the Ubisoft estate, has announced a new movie based on upcoming game Watch Dogs. The film, called a thriller in the announcement, is being developed in collaboration with Sony Pictures and New Regency Productions.
If this all sounds familiar, it's because Ubisoft has a similar deal with New Regency in place for the upcoming Assassin's Creed film starring Michael Fassbender. No casting choices for the upcoming Watch Dogs film have been announced.
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UBISOFT® CONNECTS WITH SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT AND NEW REGENCY FOR WATCH DOGS™ FILM
London, UK – August 20, 2013 – Today at the Sony Computer Entertainment press
conference at Gamescom, Ubisoft® announced that its film and television division, Ubisoft
Motion Pictures, is collaborating with Sony Pictures Entertainment and New Regency
on development of a feature film based on Watch Dogs™, Ubisoft's highly anticipated
open-world action-adventure video game. Ubisoft and Sony also showed a first look at
the exclusive Watch Dogs gameplay that will be available for PlayStation®4 computer
entertainment system later this year.
"Since both Sony and Ubisoft have movie and video game branches, this deal creates
exceptional opportunities for us to merge the realms of the story-based cinematic
experience with the interaction of the video game," said Jean-Julien Baronnet, chief
executive officer, Ubisoft Motion Pictures. "In addition, Sony Pictures and New Regency
have deep production expertise and are letting us maintain a strong creative voice in the
film's development. Together, we're confident we can deliver a movie that builds upon the
excitement that the game is already generating."
Commenting on the announcement, Hannah Minghella, president of Production for Columbia
Pictures, said, "The themes and open gameplay of 'Watch Dogs' lends itself perfectly to
the big screen. The game has intense action and adventure, but the story focuses on
information and the control of information, which we think will lead to an exciting thriller. It
has tremendous potential as a motion picture and we're thrilled to have the opportunity to
work closely with Ubisoft's internal creative team on the development of the project."
Watch Dogs centers on Aiden Pearce, a brilliant hacker bent on revenge and inflicting his
own brand of justice after a violent family tragedy. Using all of his skills, Pearce hacks
into Chicago's Central Operating System (ctOS), which controls the city's infrastructure,
including security cameras, traffic lights, and public transportation, as well as databases
containing key information on the city's residents. In the game, Pearce turns the entire
city of Chicago into his ultimate weapon. The game received many awards at E3 2012,
including Best of Show from GamingExcellence and three awards (Biggest Surprise, Best
New Franchise and Best PC Game) from IGN. The game also won GameSpot's People's
Choice Most Exciting Game of E3 2013.
The project will be overseen at Ubisoft by Ubisoft Motion Pictures. At Columbia, Minghella
and Sam Dickerman will oversee development while Alexandra Milchan and Andrew Calof
will work on the forthcoming film for New Regency.
About Ubisoft Motion Pictures:
Ubisoft Motion Pictures was created in January 2011 to expand the audience of Ubisoft's successful video game
brands by bringing them to film, television and Web series. In addition to the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon film,
the studio is also partnering with New Regency on the upcoming films based on the Assassin's Creed and Tom
Clancy's Splinter Cell franchises, and is in production on the Rabbids TV series, a collection of 78 seven-minute
CGI episodes based on the insane stars of the video game franchise of the same name, in partnership with France
Televisions and Nickelodeon.
About Ubisoft:
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has
grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in
29 countries and has sales in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality,
cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2012-13 fiscal year Ubisoft generated sales of €1,256 million.
To learn more, please visit: www.ubisoftgroup.com.
About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyobased Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition
and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content
creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products,
services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.
About New Regency
Founded in 1991 by renowned producer Arnon Milchan, New Regency Productions is actively engaged in
entertaining the world via the production and distribution of motion pictures, television and sports through
strategic alliances with media companies. Distributing its films through Twentieth Century Fox, Regency has
produced many high-profile films over the years, including: Fight Club, Heat, JFK, Alvin and the Chipmunks, LA
Confidential, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Under Siege, Free Willy, A Time To Kill, Devil's Advocate, Tin Cup, City of Angels,
The Negotiator, Entrapment, Don't Say a Word, Unfaithful, Man on Fire, Jumper, Love & Other Drugs and The
Internship. Upcoming films include, 12 Years A Slave and Runner, Runner with Fox and Noah with Paramount.
The distribution partnership with Fox extends to all media worldwide except international pay and free television.
Regency self-distributes international television rights to multiple licensees. For more information, log onto http://
www.newregency.com/
