UBISOFT Shows "Beowulf" Some Muscle

Montreal's Ubisoft will develop/publish the video game based on Paramount Pictures' and Shangri-La Entertainment's "Beowulf", the upcoming feature film from Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis.

Neil Gaiman & Roger Avary adapted the legend for the screen.

The film is produced by Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke. Executive producers are Martin Shafer, Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman.

"Ubisoft is excited to be partnering with Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La, and the creative teams at ImageMovers, to leverage the Beowulf movie assets and storylines and extend them into the interactive video game universe," said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer of Ubisoft.

"Ubisoft has quickly become an industry leader in creating high-quality movie-based video games that deliver a compelling experience to both casual and hardcore gamers alike."

Groundbreaking director Robert Zemeckis offers a vision of the Beowulf saga that has never been told before.

In a time of heroes, the mighty warrior 'Beowulf' slays the demon 'Grendel' and incurs the wrath of its monstrous, yet seductive mother in a conflict that transforms a king into a legend.

"Beowulf" stars actor Ray Winstone in the title role and Anthony Hopkins as corrupt 'King Hrothgar'. Also starring are John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman and Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother.

"Beowulf is particularly well-suited for the video game format," adds Zemeckis.

"Not only does the film have a compelling story and strong visual style that will translate well into a game, but because the film is entirely digital, we are able to share our assets with Ubisoft. Audiences will be able to make a seamless transition between the film and the game."

"Robert Zemeckis and Ubisoft represent creative leaders in their fields and we're thrilled to be collaborating with exceptional filmmakers and game development talent," said Sandi Isaacs, Senior Vice President, Interactive & Mobile at Paramount Digital Entertainment.

"We are confident the epic story of Beowulf will not only translate in to a phenomenal movie, but also a compelling video game experience."

The game is expected to release in conjunction with the movie's planned opening, November 2007.