Hollywood’s obsession with odd adaptations continues.  Next on the chopping block are Hasbro products Monopoly, Action Man and Hungry Hungry Hippos.  (This news makes my suggestions to adapt Gargoyles, The Pirates of Dark Water, Jonny Quest and Centurions seem much less far-fetched.) The family-friendly board game featuring Rich Uncle Pennybags is up first, thanks to an agreement between Hasbro and independent finance/production company Emmett/Furla Films.  Production on Monopoly is scheduled for a production start in 2013.  Hit the jump for more on the joint production’s adaptation plans. 

While that Monopoly movie will probably never come to pass, Hasbro is continuing their practice of releasing pop culture-infused versions of everyone’s favorite real estate tycoon game.  The company is celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Godfather with its own iteration of Monopoly.

“Expand your family’s interests by amassing property and influence as you seek to bankrupt those around you. Buy, sell and trade the likes of Woltz International Pictures, Moe Green’s Casino, Joe’s Diner and Hyman Roth’s Home as you muscle your way to an empire. Make them an offer they can’t refuse as you vie for the Corleone Long Island Home and Corleone Lake Tahoe Estate (the prime properties traditionally occupied by Boardwalk and Park Place).”

The game tokens include a cannoli, Genco Olive Oil tin, the Don’s limo, a dead fish, a tommy gun, and my personal favorite, the horse’s head.  Hit the jump to watch the unboxing video of Monopoly The Godfather Collector’s Edition and to read the full press release.

No matter how much time you get with director Ridley Scott, it’s never enough.  After all, you could spend an entire interview discussing the original Alien, Blade Runner, or his under-appreciated gem, Kingdom of Heaven (specifically the director’s cut with forty additional minutes that completely changes the film).  So when I got to participate in a roundtable interview with Scott yesterday in London for Prometheus, his first sci-fi movie in thirty years, you could say I was a bit excited.

During the twenty minute interview, Scott talked about how Prometheus came about, it’s relation to the original Alien, the viral marketing, technology, his fascination with robots and artificial intelligence, and so much more.  In addition, Scott talked about other projects like Monopoly, the Blade Runner Sequel, what ever happened to Tripoli and what it was about, and reveals that he already has ideas for the Prometheus sequel, assuming he gets to make one.  Hit the jump to either read or listen to the interview.

On a conference call to discuss third-quarter earnings, Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner gave updates on a number of movies. While much of what he said we’ve previously written about, this was the first time anyone had given an update on the status of Transformers 4 and when it might be officially announced.  Here’s the highlights of his conversation:

• Goldner hopes to be able to announce Transformers 4 next quarter as they are talking with Steven Spielberg, Michael Bay and Paramount.
• The Ouija script is “in good shape and is being polished now, meaning that the film could be back with a studio shortly.”  via THR.  We previously posted how Universal dropped the project but maybe with a lower budget the film could move ahead.
• A Micronauts movie script is being written with J.J. Abrams producing and it’s set up at Paramount.  We’ve know this for awhile.
• Goldner doesn’t see Hasbro producing their own films like Marvel.
• Hasbro is still developing movie scripts for Monopoly, Risk, Clue, Stretch Armstrong and Candyland.

With every kid growing up playing Hasbro board games and name recognition being so important in marketing, it’s no surprise the studios are trying to make these projects work.  However, many of these board games seem like long shots to ever hit the screen.  The big info is Transformers 4.  With Bay saying the 3rd Transformers movie would be his last, who will Hasbro get to replace him?  Matt wrote about the six directors who could take over the franchise.  I think a few of them would be great choices.

Universal has sloughed off its board game adaptation of Monopoly but the project is still alive.  Ridley Scott is still attached to direct and Heat Vision reports that screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (The People vs. Larry Flynt) will pen the script. No word if they’ll use the nutty plot that Scott discussed back in November 2009.

Monopoly was part of Universal’s deal with Hasbro but—in a sign that bodes terribly for Battleship—the studio has dropped its adaptation of not only Monopoly, but also Ouija and Gore Verbinski’s Clue.  If Universal thought they had something with Battleship, why would they be ditching their other board game properties left and right?  However, none of these projects are dead since Hasbro is still funding their development.

What do you get when you cross Transformers, Play-Doh, Mr. Potato Head, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, and the Easy-Bake Oven?  Well, if you’re Hasbro, you get an Avengers-style movie.  Hasbro has found crazy success with Transformers, moderate success with G.I. Joe, and likely will find varying degrees of success with forthcoming films based on Battleship, Micronauts, Risk, Stretch Armstrong, Ouija, Monopoly, Candy Land, and Clue.  (For more on those projects, check out this video interview with Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner)

It turns out the ubiquitous toy company is developing Hasbro Factory, a cinematic grouping all your favorite Hasbro toys.  Details are still scare, and there is no word yet on which specific toys will be called on to make an appearance, but Pajiba reports the project is “out to writers”.  Note that in an interview with Steve, Stretch Armstrong writer Nicholas Stoller claimed that Stretch wouldn’t be part of some expansive Hasbro universe (“It’s going to be totally its own thing”).  Never say never, I suppose.

Hollywood is known, and some would say loathed, for the “me too” attitude studios adopt in order to ride the coat tails of money-making trends. When Transformers made a bazillion dollars a few years ago, studios scrambled to secure the rights to every imaginable toy, board game, and absolutely anything that children were interested in during the early 1990s.  We now have two Transformers movies, a G.I. Joe movie, we’re getting Candyland and Battleship movies, and of course Ridley Scott’s (I seriously have to do a double take every time I read this) Monopoly.  I could go into a lengthy discussion illustrating the differences between giant weapon-wielding robots that transform into jets and tanks and a boring (that’s right, I said it) board game designed to teach children the thrilling world of property management, but I’m going to go out on a limb and assume I’m preaching to the choir.  Instead I’m here to reveal to you the plot behind this whopper of a bad idea straight from the mouth of story writer Frank Beddor.  You really need to follow the jump for this.

Just a few hours ago I was at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood for a special screening of “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”. While it wasn’t called a premiere, it had all the spectacle of one, as thousands of people were screaming at the stars and the cast and filmmakers walked a huge red carpet.

Anyway, while there I managed to get an interview with Brian Goldner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hasbro. With so many projects in development at Universal, I got him to give me updates on “Stretch Armstrong”, “Candy Land”, “Monopoly”, “Battleship”, and a lot more. So if you’re curious how Hasbro is planning to bring their board games to movie screens, you’re going to want to watch this interview. Take a look after the jump:

A few months back, we reported that Ridley and Tony Scott were attempting to resurrect (if you’ll excuse the term and forget your enmity towards the fourth film in the series) the “Alien” franchise by bring Carl Rinsch on board to direct a new installment in the franchise. While Tony Scott confirmed that the fifth film would be a prequel, he offered no details on the story.

Hit the jump to find out how it fell apart and how Fox is trying to put it all back together.