Take-Two denies threatening to sue producers of 'LA Noir' TV show
Usually, when TV and video games cross paths, it's either for the sake of a licensed game based on a popular TV show, or occasionally the much more elusive specter of a game becoming a TV show. Here's a new one: A game company suing a TV show's creators for using the name of one of its properties. Take-Two is doing just that, according to Frank Darabont, known for his work on The Shawshank Redemption and The Walking Dead TV series. Darabont recently told io9 that Take-Two threatened to sue him, the TNT network and "every company that actually ever worked in Hollywood" over the name of his new show, L.A. Noir.
You might not have recognized it without the extra E, but that's remarkably similar to L.A. Noire, Rockstar's dark crime thriller and one of Take-Two's most successful games of 2011. Darabont's show is based on a book titled L.A. Noir, which was actually published in 2009, prior to the video game. Even so, Darabont says Take-Two has "billions of dollars" to finance a lawsuit, so the show will be renamed Lost Angels. His valuation of Take-Two seems awfully high – the company had just over a billion in assets as of last September – though it's understandable that the people behind the project would want to avoid litigation.
Take-Two denies Darabont's claims, with a spokesperson telling Joystiq, "It's unfortunate that Mr. Darabont finds it necessary to gain publicity by making inaccurate statements – Take-Two never contacted Mr. Darabont nor threatened to sue any party." The publisher did reach out to TNT in order to "express concern over confusion between the properties." According to the spokesperson, TNT "had decided to change the title of the show independent of Take-Two's concerns."
