Paramount’s Opposition to Spielberg’s Proposal to Direct the Call of Duty Film
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Paramount Studios has rejected Steven Spielberg’s proposal to direct a film adaptation of the video game Call of Duty. Last week, Matt Belloni reported that a Call of Duty movie is currently in development.
A director for the Call of Duty film has not yet been chosen, but sources close to the project told Matt Belloni that Steven Spielberg, who is known to be a fan of the game, suggested producing the project. However, the studio did not agree to his demands regarding salary, final cut privileges, and marketing control. Activision, now a subsidiary of Microsoft, also showed no willingness to grant such authority to the filmmaker, and the proposal was ultimately rejected under the direction of David Ellison, Paramount’s new chief.
Spielberg has recently directed a new sci-fi film starring Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor, the title of which has not yet been officially announced. In addition, he is currently working on Bullit, starring Bradley Cooper.
Max Spielberg, the director’s son, previously told MinnMax in an interview that his father’s love for video games had inspired him to enter the gaming industry: “He’s a big PC gamer, and that has become a connection point for us as well. He’ll say: ‘What’s the new [shooter] we’ve got?’ or ‘Which Call of Duty should I play?’”
The first-person shooter Call of Duty is one of the most popular video games in history and has sold more than 400 million copies since its debut in 2003.
