Monopoly, Hungry Hungry Hippos Movies in the Works
Its Universal deal may be a thing of the past, but Hasbro is still moving forward on translating its properties for the big-screen.
The company has signed a deal with Emmett/Furla, a prolific production banner run by co-founders Randall Emmett and George Furla, to finance and co-produce three movies in the next two years.
The titles include Monopoly, the real estate board game; Action Man, a British version of Hasbro’s toy soldier line, G.I. Joe; and — we’re not kidding — Hungry Hungry Hippos, a game in which players try to collect marbles by “eating” them via their mouth-opening hippos.
Monopoly, which was set up at Universal when Hasbro signed a multiproperty pact in 2008, is to be the first project before cameras, with a plan to begin production in 2013.
According to the companies, Emmett/Furla and Hasbro will co-produce these three films along with Brandon Grimes. Envision Entertainment’s partners Stepan Martisoyan and Remington Chase will co-finance with Emmett/Furla.
Hasbro has had mixed success with movies based on its toys. Transformers is a billion-dollar franchise for Paramount, but ths year's Battleship was an expensive flop for Universal.
Emmett/Furla is behind the current box office hit End of Watch and recently wrapped 2 Guns, an action film starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg.
