Report: Verbinski At Work On Online Gaming Film

Film company Universal Pictures and director/writer Gore Verbinski, whose credits include The Ring and the Pirates of the Caribbean series, will use a 2007 Wall Street Journal article as the basis for a film around an online role-playing world and its effect on the real lives of players. The WSJ article, written by Alexander Alter, follows a 53-year-old call-center operator who spends up to six hours every night (and 14 hours over the weekend) immersed in Linden Labs' virtual world Second Life, where he plays a young, muscled entrepreneur. He goes so far as to marry a woman in-game, much to the chagrin of his real-world wife. Verbinski, whose credits include The Ring and the Pirates of the Caribbean series, is looking to direct the film. He is also slated to direct and produce a Universal Pictures live-action film based on 2K Games' first-person shooter BioShock. Screenwriter Steven Knight, who developed the scripts for Dirty Pretty Things and Eastern Promises, will work on the script for the online game film, according to a report from entertainment news site Variety. Verbinski plans to produce the movie with Alain Chabat, Stephanie Danan, and Sarah Shepard from production company WAM Films. The project will be developed through Verbinski's company Blind Wink Productions.