Games, Not Books, Inspiring Hollywood Movies These Days

For every novelist out there like Gillian Flynn who sees her novel turned into a cinematic blockbuster like Gone Girl, there are thousands of scribes who labor in obscurity. The lucky ones take the long, lonely road and get to see their books published–but they never see their fictions flicker across the screen, brought to new dramatic life by flesh and blood actors. That’s not every writer’s goal, of course, but those who hope most for silver screen glory might want to put aside the keyboard this week and try something new. What about thinking up a game?

Hollywood has at least nine movies in the works based on games, not books. (Another frightful fact for already beleaguered publishers to consider.) Coming to a theater near you–or at least to your Netflix–are Ouija, Tetris, Candy Land, Angry Birds, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, Temple Run, Mass Effect and, yup, Hungry Hungry Hippos. You know you’ve been waiting for that one.