Crazy Taxi Heads To The Silver Screen
A movie based on the game that released the maniac inside each and every one of us is heading to a theater near you.
Published: July 3, 2001
The overly popular game series that involves driving around like a maniac trying to get people to their destinations is coming to a theater near you. Sega has struck a deal with Goodman/Rosen production and... sit up in your chair... have gotten famed Hollywood Director Richard Donner to direct the film! Best known for his role as Director of Superman and Lethal Weapon, he is sure to bring out the craziness that is Crazy Taxi on the big screen. Reflecting this, Donner said that he would use different styles of movie-making to provide movie-goers with a wild and fast experience, almost like the game itself.
[blockquote]"I plan on doing a lot of experimentation with this film, trying things no one's really played around with, to really put the audience in the front or back seat of the taxi during the action sequences," said Donner. "You can do a lot more with the camerawork in a movie to make the action sequences feel like those in the game. While a lot of video games are set in science fiction environments or fantasy worlds, Crazy Taxi is set in New York City with a Russian cab driver. If you do this right, it'll be a lot of fun."[/blockquote]Donner's team isn't going out a limb however, as Sega will be right there possibly helping to create original characters that could be features in upcoming incarnations of the Crazy Taxi series!
When Donner first did Lethal Weapon, is was a one-shot deal, but after it was a success, the sequels started coming out. This is similar to what Crazy Taxi will be like in the sense that if it is a success in the box office, there could be a possibility of sequels in both realms of videogames as well as movie-making.
[blockquote]"Crazy Taxi is one of the biggest franchises to come out of Sega in the last two years," said Sega of America's Jane Thompson, director of licensing and character development. "The Crazy Taxi movie is a very important element in turning this best selling videogame franchise into an entertainment franchise. We have a lot of properties that have entertainment potential, including Space Channel 5, Virtua Fighter and Jet Grind Radio," she continued. "Film and TV provides us with another avenue to expand our video games into entertainment."[/blockquote]To help out the upcoming film, Sega has plans already in the works to develop a third title in the popular series, which would possibly coincide with the films release a few summers from now.
[blockquote]"I plan on doing a lot of experimentation with this film, trying things no one's really played around with, to really put the audience in the front or back seat of the taxi during the action sequences," said Donner. "You can do a lot more with the camerawork in a movie to make the action sequences feel like those in the game. While a lot of video games are set in science fiction environments or fantasy worlds, Crazy Taxi is set in New York City with a Russian cab driver. If you do this right, it'll be a lot of fun."[/blockquote]Donner's team isn't going out a limb however, as Sega will be right there possibly helping to create original characters that could be features in upcoming incarnations of the Crazy Taxi series!
When Donner first did Lethal Weapon, is was a one-shot deal, but after it was a success, the sequels started coming out. This is similar to what Crazy Taxi will be like in the sense that if it is a success in the box office, there could be a possibility of sequels in both realms of videogames as well as movie-making.
[blockquote]"Crazy Taxi is one of the biggest franchises to come out of Sega in the last two years," said Sega of America's Jane Thompson, director of licensing and character development. "The Crazy Taxi movie is a very important element in turning this best selling videogame franchise into an entertainment franchise. We have a lot of properties that have entertainment potential, including Space Channel 5, Virtua Fighter and Jet Grind Radio," she continued. "Film and TV provides us with another avenue to expand our video games into entertainment."[/blockquote]To help out the upcoming film, Sega has plans already in the works to develop a third title in the popular series, which would possibly coincide with the films release a few summers from now.
