HBO considers fictional game development drama series

Premium cable network HBO and producer Scott Rudin have optioned the remake rights for an indie game documentary, reserving the right to develop a fictional, half-hour drama series inspired by the film. Though the project has not been greenlit for production, the potential adaptation of Indie Game: The Movie would spotlight an independent video game movement and community rarely seen on television. Rudin will produce the show, according to a report by entertainment news site Deadline. His previous credits include films like The Social Network, No Country for Old Men, Moneyball, and There Will Be Blood. He is also working on HBO movies The Newsroom and The Corrections. Directed by Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky, the original Indie Game: The Movie documentary follows independent developers like Jonathan Blow (Braid), Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes (Super Meat Boy), and Phil Fish (Fez) as they struggle to complete their games. Indie Game: The Movie was largely financed by a campaign on crowd-funding platform Kickstarter in 2010. The film is currently touring the film festival circuit, and debuted at Sundance Film Festival last weekend, where HBO optioned the movie. "The people involved, the network involved -- all are, by far, the best people possible to make this show," said Pajot and Swirsky in a statement posted online. "We are ecstatic about the possibilities of working with this team." The duo continued, "All you need to do is look at the list of HBO series titles and Scott Rudin’s IMDB, and you can see why we think this is a brilliant thing. We want to see this show happen. We want to watch this show."