Need for Speed (Yes, this is the right section)

[Daniel]

Back in April, we heard that EA, script in hand, was courting several film companies (Paramount, Warner Bros. and Sony, specifically) over the prospect of making a movie based on the Need For Speed franchise. As it turns out, Dreamworks has taken the bait and will be fastracking the project for a 2014 release, the company announced today.

The screenplay, penned by brothers George and John Gatins, is not based on any specific game in the franchise, but rather the series as a whole, which means that the movie will have cars in it and be called "Need for Speed." It'll be directed by Scott Waugh, who directed Act of Valor and also did a whole bunch of stuntman work. Production is slated to start early next year, and you can tell EA what cars you'd like to see in the film by posting on its Facebook page. Might we be so bold as to suggest the Nissan DeltaWing?

Since it's coming out in a few years, they'll probably have enough time to put together a storyline that isn't rush like every current-gen NFS...

 

[DK]

When I was about 13/14 I thought a NFS movie would be great. Then again, I was 13/14.

 

[Dennisch]

So, this is Fast and Furious 6?

 

[CodeRedR51]

No, but wouldn't surprise me if it looks the same.

 

[AOS-]

Bet this will have nothing NFS-like other than the possibility there's going to be expensive supercars being bodied by other supercars with police liveries..... I personally wouldn't want to see any character development. In fact, I don't even want much of a story. I just want to see a lot of driving, pro-level street racing with traffic, gutsy traffic swerving, tight corners being made, dirty driving, paint trading, P.I.Ts and other contact maneuvers.

 

[CodeRedR51]

I wonder if a car movie with no dialogue and a hell of a lot of car action could succeed in theaters.

 

[Epic B]

Seriously? The film industry in starting to become strange. A Need For Speed movie might work, but I don't know. This might be a bad idea, it might not. This I must pay attention, even if I probably won't see the movie. On paper, this at least doesn't seem as bad of an idea as the Battleship movie.

 

[AOS-]

I wonder if a car movie with no dialogue and a hell of a lot of car action could succeed in theaters.

When I was little, I dreamt of making my own videos with CAD-modeled cars and scenery, it'd be nothing by racing; no dialogue, no people, just fast-paced animation....

That said, I rather see a really gorgeous video animation on the web than something with no dialogue in theaters.... maybe if tickets were $3 per.

 

[popcorn]

Has Hollywood ran out of good ideas for movies? I'm sorry, but there's no way that this movie is going to be good in my opinion.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

The ultimate success or failure of this will come down to the quality of the script. The trick is to do it without feeling like a FAST AND FURIOUS clone.

 

[ZohsixGT5]

Does anyone remember the movie "Redline" back in 2007? It was a movie about exotics street racing. Literally one of the worst movies I have ever seen. 24 out of 100 on Metacritic. Hopefully this won't be a repeat.

 

[LamboLP700-4]

If they can pull of a movie like Fast and the Furious but without the overall cheesiness then I think it'll be worth a watch.

 

[Prince.M5]

I would love to see an NFS movie based on The Run. That way, I think it wouldn't sound so much like a Fast and Furious because they've never done anything like this before.

They still have a lot of time so yeah, I'll just wait for the trailer to come out and see a glimpse of it.

 

[priesty_lfc]

Fast and Furious series was/are good (except Tokyo Drift)

Can't see NFS film being better than that tho, F&F worked because they used normal cars (EVO/GTR/Supra etc) no doubt NFS will use super cars which take away from the realism (not that it's real) but the use of everyday cars is good IMO

 

[LamboLP700-4]

Fast and Furious series was/are good (except Tokyo Drift)

Can't see NFS film being better than that tho, F&F worked because they used normal cars (EVO/GTR/Supra etc) no doubt NFS will use super cars which take away from the realism (not that it's real) but the use of everyday cars is good IMO

Hopefully it won't end up like Redline

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I would love to see an NFS movie based on The Run. That way, I think it wouldn't sound so much like a Fast and Furious because they've never done anything like this before.

There was a series on FOX a few years ago called "Drive", which was the same sort of premise - people from all over the world were coerced into "The Race", an illegal, underground road race across the country with a fifty million dollar prize and only one rule: that last place at the end of each stage was a very bad place to be (contestants who came last were often forced to kill another racer to stay in the game). It starred Nathan Fillion from "Castle" and "Firefly" as a former bank robber who got lured into The Race on the anniversary of his wife's disappearance, but the show was cancelled after six episodes.

 

[niky]

Races with off-road short-cuts through buildings, off parking structures...

The hero will be a teenage kid who's given super secret technology by a dead uncle in the form of a car with electronic aids that can slow down time or allow him to see into the future. He and his girlfriend meet up with a sexy undercover female cop and together they work to bust a ring that holds illegal street races.

He starts to fall for the cop, until he finds out she's a double agent. Now the police and street racers are both after him and his girl. He finds an unlikely ally in an incompetent comedy relief street racer who drives an old Sentra, and the three of them have to race from one end of the city (or country!) to the other to escape the clutches of their enemies.

-

Obviously, everything will have neon on it. Even the supercars too low to realistically fit with neon lights.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

It will probably be something a little more realistic than that, niky, even if it means giving up on some of the hallmarks of the series.

It would probably go something like this:

A small-town judge with his eye on becoming District Attorney in a nearby capital city decides he needs a cause to win over voters in an upcoming election. After a tragic accident on a local highway, he settles on street racing as a menace to society. There is just one problem: there is no street racing subculture in town. The police start demonising a group of car enthusiasts, who must band together to clear their name and prevent the judge from sending them all to prison.

 

[niky]

A bit too "Wag the Dog", and might go over the target audience's heads... but it's workable. Can't be a small town judge... to justify the number of sports cars and super cars they'll have in the movie, it'll need to be in a city.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Okay, well, the small town they are in happens to have a lot of really good driving roads, so it becomes something of a Mecca for driving enthusiasts.

 

[niky]

You can create a fictional city with great driving roads nearby... As in NFS Underground 2...

 

[priesty_lfc]

Vegas will be in there somewhere!

Cannonball Run or Maybe Rat Race? lol

3 things guaranteed.

1 The cars will be expensive and rare

2 The woman will be stunning

3 They will win/get away

I'm cool with number 2 , but 1/3 need to be re thought!

No of this Ferrari/Lambo/Saleen BS, use Mustangs/Cameros/Challangers/Focus and whatever else normal people drive in the US, also Some characters need to die/get sent down!

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I'm cool with number 2 , but 1/3 need to be re thought!

Perhaps they should do what THE CABIN IN THE WOODS did, and play with the audience's expectations of the genre.

Of course, that might require a level of intelligence and sophistication that beyond the studio's grasp.