'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
#1
Moderator
Thread Starter
'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
20th Century Fox is nearing a deal to acquire the rights to Choose Your Own Adventure, the iconic 1980s book line, with John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment attached to produce what the studio hopes will be a crossplatform four-quadrant action-adventure franchise.
The books were known for their forked or stacked storytelling, allowing readers to choose the path of the characters every few pages, with the decisions leading to different fates, good and bad.
The concept came from Edward Packard, who tried and failed several times to get a book off the ground. In 1975, he partnered with R. A. Montgomery, then an aspiring author and a publisher at a small Vermont-based press. The initial books had modest sales, and it wasn't until Montgomery made a deal with Bantam Books in the late 1970s that the series became a huge hit, inciting spinoffs and imitators.
The line went on to last until the late 1990s, with over 180 titles and 250 million books sold worldwide.
Packard and Montgomery authored many of the initial titles themselves, but eventually started subcontracting out to other writers. When the two parted ways, Montgomery retained the rights to his stories and -- more importantly from a brand point of view -- the name; he now runs Chooseco Llc. Packard kept the rights to his books and created U-Ventures, which is creating divergent storytelling apps.
Fox will have all screen rights to the property and will be able to adapt it for multiple platforms. The next step is figuring out what the action-adventure story or stories will be, as the book series ran the gamut of locations (from the Sahara desert to the Altair solar system), time periods and genres (from mysteries to sci-fi and beyond).
Montgomery will act as an executive producer with his wife and Chooseco partner, Shannon Gilligan.
The property has attracted a host of suitors over the years (even Nicole Kidman pursued it at one time when she had a producing deal at Fox), with the Vermont movie neophytes courted by both producers and agencies. The deal, in the seven-figure range according to sources, is almost a decade in the making and a coup for Davis.
Damien Saccani, who helped Chooseco navigate the Hollywood labyrinth over the years, will also act as an executive producer along with Daniela Taplin of Red Crown.
The books were known for their forked or stacked storytelling, allowing readers to choose the path of the characters every few pages, with the decisions leading to different fates, good and bad.
The concept came from Edward Packard, who tried and failed several times to get a book off the ground. In 1975, he partnered with R. A. Montgomery, then an aspiring author and a publisher at a small Vermont-based press. The initial books had modest sales, and it wasn't until Montgomery made a deal with Bantam Books in the late 1970s that the series became a huge hit, inciting spinoffs and imitators.
The line went on to last until the late 1990s, with over 180 titles and 250 million books sold worldwide.
Packard and Montgomery authored many of the initial titles themselves, but eventually started subcontracting out to other writers. When the two parted ways, Montgomery retained the rights to his stories and -- more importantly from a brand point of view -- the name; he now runs Chooseco Llc. Packard kept the rights to his books and created U-Ventures, which is creating divergent storytelling apps.
Fox will have all screen rights to the property and will be able to adapt it for multiple platforms. The next step is figuring out what the action-adventure story or stories will be, as the book series ran the gamut of locations (from the Sahara desert to the Altair solar system), time periods and genres (from mysteries to sci-fi and beyond).
Montgomery will act as an executive producer with his wife and Chooseco partner, Shannon Gilligan.
The property has attracted a host of suitors over the years (even Nicole Kidman pursued it at one time when she had a producing deal at Fox), with the Vermont movie neophytes courted by both producers and agencies. The deal, in the seven-figure range according to sources, is almost a decade in the making and a coup for Davis.
Damien Saccani, who helped Chooseco navigate the Hollywood labyrinth over the years, will also act as an executive producer along with Daniela Taplin of Red Crown.
#2
DVD Talk Legend
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
This seems like it would be pointless unless the viewer could choose the course of the story, like those interactive movies they experimented with in the 90s. From what I remember, they had one where the audience would vote at certain points and the winning choice would be played.
#3
Suspended
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
I'm pretty sure that's the idea, a reboot of the 90's experiment. Else, it'd be the stupidest choose your own adventure movie ever.
I imagine smart phone will have something to do with this time around.
I imagine smart phone will have something to do with this time around.
#4
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
It could work only on a DVD/BluRay release. No way could it work in a regular theater. Also can't see there being that many choices. The books had one every page but it would just get annoying choosing ever 5 minutes or less in a movie.
#5
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Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
Considering how often I hear objections about the ending of No Country for Old Men, I'm not sure I want to see a film where the average opinion of the audience dictates how the story will end.
#6
DVD Talk Legend & 2021 TOTY Winner
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
If they want to be true to the books, they need to offer a really bad choice you can make early on that will end the movie like 10 minutes in.
#7
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Thread Starter
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, the writers of Fox's Night at the Museum franchise, are in final negotiations to write the script for the studio's adaptation of iconic 1980s book line Choose Your Own Adventure.
Additionally, We're the Millers director Rawson Marshall Thurber has closed a deal to helm the adaptation.
The books were known for their stacked storytelling, which allowed a reader to make decisions for a character, leading to an untimely demise or a fruitful resolution.
It is unclear what approach Lennon and Garant will take, but they have plenty of material to choose from. A myriad of genres were covered by the line and its 180-plus titles, from mysteries (Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey?) to Westerns (Deadwood City) to espionage (Your Code Name Is Jonah) to space and beyond (Space and Beyond).
John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment are producing. Damien Saccani is executive producing along with Daniela Taplin of Red Crown.
Mike Ireland is overseeing at Fox.
Lennon and Garant have already proven themselves in the family adventure field with the Museum movies, the third of which is in pre-production and has actors Ben Kingsley and Dan Stevens as newcomers to the Ben Stiller franchise, which has so far grossed almost a billion dollars. Lennon and Garant are repped by CAA, Principato-Young and attorney Karl Austen of Jackoway Tyerman.
Thurber, who wrote and directed the hit comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story for Fox, is repped by CAA and Hansen Jacobson.
Additionally, We're the Millers director Rawson Marshall Thurber has closed a deal to helm the adaptation.
The books were known for their stacked storytelling, which allowed a reader to make decisions for a character, leading to an untimely demise or a fruitful resolution.
It is unclear what approach Lennon and Garant will take, but they have plenty of material to choose from. A myriad of genres were covered by the line and its 180-plus titles, from mysteries (Who Killed Harlowe Thrombey?) to Westerns (Deadwood City) to espionage (Your Code Name Is Jonah) to space and beyond (Space and Beyond).
John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment are producing. Damien Saccani is executive producing along with Daniela Taplin of Red Crown.
Mike Ireland is overseeing at Fox.
Lennon and Garant have already proven themselves in the family adventure field with the Museum movies, the third of which is in pre-production and has actors Ben Kingsley and Dan Stevens as newcomers to the Ben Stiller franchise, which has so far grossed almost a billion dollars. Lennon and Garant are repped by CAA, Principato-Young and attorney Karl Austen of Jackoway Tyerman.
Thurber, who wrote and directed the hit comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story for Fox, is repped by CAA and Hansen Jacobson.
#8
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
Youtube has a few of these choose your own adventure series. They work great in this format
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/l8rJ1WML60Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/l8rJ1WML60Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
#9
DVD Talk Reviewer & TOAT Winner
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
Some of those books had choices that would have you going around in a circle too- they should do that with the movie- which begs the question, how the heck are they going to organize showtimes for this??
(STILL haven't watched that choose-you-own-version of Final Destination 3 yet...)
(STILL haven't watched that choose-you-own-version of Final Destination 3 yet...)
#10
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
I still have the same thought I posted before...1/2 year ago. I guess I could see it in a special theater at an amusement park where each seat has 2-3 buttons in the armrest. When it hits a choice, the audience has 10 seconds to vote. The highest vote is the path it chooses. Of course it can't be a full lenght movie. Maybe a 30 minute movie at most.
#11
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
Makes me think of the "All My Circuits" movie, where the choices are:
Watch Calculon in a epic laser gun fight
Watch Calculon fill out some forms.
Every choice led to "Watch Calculon fill out some forms".
Watch Calculon in a epic laser gun fight
Watch Calculon fill out some forms.
Every choice led to "Watch Calculon fill out some forms".
#12
DVD Talk Legend & 2021 TOTY Winner
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
I think they also did something similar with one of the Harold and Kumar movies.
#14
DVD Talk Legend
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
Wasn't there a Rated R Blu-ray (or maybe it was on DVD) that had you choose how the story went? I seem to remember a horror movie that did this...and one that got pretty bad reviews/ratings. It wasn't a film that was released theatrically - it was a direct to home video release. Any idea what this was?
#15
DVD Talk Reviewer & TOAT Winner
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
Return to House on Haunted Hill! Almost forgot about that one- have it on HD-DVD just because I have almost every title on that dead format, watched it just once and picked a choice that ended it quite early.
There was also an interactive porno called Search for the Golden Panties that was pretty funny- make the right choice and the guy scores, wrong choice and the girl slams the door in his face and that's the end.
There was also an interactive porno called Search for the Golden Panties that was pretty funny- make the right choice and the guy scores, wrong choice and the girl slams the door in his face and that's the end.
#18
Suspended
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
I bet Choose Your Own adventure would make an awesome video game series if it hasn't already been made into one.
#19
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Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
The story will follow the adventures of a kid who is sucked into the book. It will feature heavy handed moments when he must make a choice on the journey ... sometimes it will show the "wrong" decision at twhich point the camera will zoom in or pull bakc revealing it was not the actual path, but him thinking it through. Then he will make the "right" choice.
#20
DVD Talk Legend
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
Mr. Payback, anyone?
#21
DVD Talk Hero
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
To refresh:
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0tp8av0SesI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0tp8av0SesI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
#22
DVD Talk Legend
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
This could be an interesting idea for a platform like Netflix... since they do a pretty smooth job of streaming from one thing to another in their playlists. But in a theater... it sounds like it would be more annoying than anything.
For the most part though, this idea just feels too much like a 90s CD-ROM. This sort of interactive storytelling is best suited for video games since they've advanced so far in depth and visuals.
For the most part though, this idea just feels too much like a 90s CD-ROM. This sort of interactive storytelling is best suited for video games since they've advanced so far in depth and visuals.
#23
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
If you could turn an all-star rom-com like VALENTINE'S DAY into a slasher movie as you're watching it and kill off the entire cast in gruesome ways, I'd be all for this.
#25
DVD Talk Legend
Re: 'Choose Your Own Adventure' Movie in the Works at Fox
As far as interactive live-action goes, the SegaCD system had a few, most of which were repurposed from a shelved VHS video game system:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEMO_(video_game_console)
Doctor Who did an interactive episode called Attack of the Graske. It was originally part of the BBC Red Button service, but you can view/play it online now:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006...-of-the-graske
Wikipedia has a list of interactive movies, although how interactive they are and how much they could be classified as "movies" tends to vary:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_interactive_movies