When Mark Wahlbergrevealed he’d be playing Nathan Drake in David O. Russell’s upcoming film adaptation of Naughty Dog’sUncharted, he caused quite a stir. He even stated Russell was writing characters into the film for Hollywood heavies Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro, as Drake family members that never appeared in the games.
So what is this crazyUnchartedmovie all about? As Russell explains to theLA Times, it’s all about family.
“This idea really turns me on that there’s a family that’s a force to be reckoned with in the world of international art and antiques,” he says, “[a family] that deals with the heads of state and heads of museums and metes out justice.”
“We’ll have the family dynamic, which we’ve done in a couple of movies now,” he continues. “And then you take that and put it on the bigger, more muscular stage of an international action picture, but also put all the character stuff in it. That’s a really cool idea for me.”
Cool idea or not, it doesn’t exactly jive with what gamers know of theUncharteduniverse, at least based on the two PlayStation 3 titles. In fact, it’s such a vague plot that it could probably apply to any film, one not even attached to theUnchartedIP. You have to wonder what it is about the games and characters that attracted Russell to the project if he intends to stray so wildly from the source material.
The producers hope to start shooting the film next summer, which would make a 2012 release likely. But like with most things in Hollywood, projects can go South with as little as a single phone call, so don’t get your panties in a bunch — or your hopes up — just yet.‘Drake’s Fortune’ director David O. Russell: Movie will be about family of thieves and global power players[LA Times viaFlixist]
