Going the Dead Space route, EA today announced that they have partnered with Starz Media’s Film Roman to start production on an animated movie based on the upcoming Dante’s Inferno videogame. The film will expand on the story in the game which is due out next year on PS3 and Xbox 360.

Following the story set by the legendary epic poem, the film will explore hell through Dante’s eyes as he searches for his true love, Beatrice. The film will combine some of the best talent in the animation industry – Film Roman’s Joe Goyette (Dead Space: Downfall) is the producer on the project, Victor Crook (The Spectacular Spider-man, Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron) is directing and Brandon Auman (Iron Man: Armored Adventures) is writing.

“This is like nothing else out in the marketplace right now – a visually stunning project based on one of the most powerful stories ever told,” notes Jay Fukuto, Head of Studio for Film Roman. “It could only happen with a partner with the vision and creativity of EA. They were great collaborators on ‘Dead Space: Downfall,’ and we expect another very rewarding experience with this new feature.”

The animated film will most probably be released alongside the game.

The following bit may be hard to believe, but please… bear with me: the film rights to Pac-Man have been picked up by Hollywood production company Crystal Sky Pictures for $200 million.

The $200 million development deal was funded by entertainment financier Grosvenor Park, Variety reports. The transaction also includes funding for the upcoming Castlevania movie, which was delayed due to the writer’s strike.

No other details on the project were disclosed.

Ever thought of who would be the actor to play the Prince in the coming Prince of Persia movie? Well, think no more – Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Jake Gyllenhaal has been cast to be the lead actor in the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time film in the titular role of the Prince. He will play opposite Gemma Arterton as the princess Tamina.

Gyllenhaal has had a pretty interesting career, known best for his roles in Brokeback Mountain and Donnie Darko.

The movie is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and is being directed by Mike Newell. It is start filming this July on a script penned by Jordan Mechner, the person responsible for the creation of the Prince of Persia series back in 1989.

It has been announced that Dwight Little, the director behind Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid and Free Willy 2, has been chosen to helm the upcoming live-action film adaptation of Tekken, Namco Bandai’s popular fighting franchise.

“The film plays out as a science fiction story set in the near future, about a rebel who rises up against the Tekken Corp. to seize freedom for his people,” Little said to Variety. “It’s a gladiator story, but the video game has a complicated enough storyline that it provides the template for a martial arts spectacular.”

The movie’s script has been penned by Alan McElroy (Spawn, Halloween 4) and will begin production on February 4, 2008.

A trailer for Resident Evil: Degeneration is now live, offering the general masses the first look at the upcoming CG film. Capcom is producing this in partnership with Sony Pictures; the movie is due out sometime next year.

The Hollywood writer’s strike is taking a toll on TV shows and movies, but thankfully not on videogames. Even then, SCI-FI WIRE reports that the Return to Castle Wolfenstein movie is on hold due to the strike.

Roger Avary (Beowulf, Silent Hill) is the writer of the script behind the film, revealing that he is “almost done” with the script and that he is “proud of it”, but that the production date and the consequent events are currently on hold due to the strike, which he “fully support[s].”

When asked about what the game will be like, he had this to say: “a World War II old movie of guys who are out on a mission, but this one will have the addition of monsters and horror and a lot of craziness all mixed together.”

Variety reports that an EverQuest movie is in the works and that Sony has already hired “300″ scribe Michael Gordon to pen the live-action adaptation. They also report that former Marvel Studios executive Avi Arad will produce the picture for Columbia Pictures.

Apparently, the project has been in development for quite a few years, but Gordon is the first to take a stab at the material. It is too early to say how long it will take for the movie to come out, but if everything goes as well as planned, fanboys can look forward to dressing up as EverQuest characters sometime in 2009.

Following the Halo movie, it seems another Microsoft property Gears of War might not be getting made into a movie anytime soon. New Line Cinema, the studio which acquired the film rights to the adaptation, is backing away from the film due to an ever-rising budget. The financial problems stem from having a triple-A cast as well as the usage of green screens, because the film simply cannot be done without it. The risk of betting so much money on such a franchise is also another factor.

Uwe Boll is at it again: this time he has acquired the rights for the film adaptation to an unreleased action-RPG Legend: Hand of God. The relatively unknown game hits German stores on October 12, with international release next year.

“I think Legend will be very successful because of its unique blend of high fantasy and dark atmosphere,” said Boll. “The world of Legend contains major crossover potential and was already adapted as novel and audio book.”

The film is said to have a $40 million budget, with Boll set to begin shooting in 2009. He is currently working on Far Cry; his next release Postal will arrive in theatres later this month.

Variety reports that Andrzej Bartkowiak, the director behind the Doom film adaptation, has been signed by Hyde Park Entertainment and Capcom to direct Street Fighter, an upcoming live-action treatment of the legendary game. Bartkowiak’s past credits also include Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds and Cradle to the Grave, as well as contributions to Lethan Weapon 4 and Speed, among other films.

The site states that production on the film is set to begin early next year and that Fox is distributing. Justin Marks has penned the script; he has been involved in other videogame and comic book adaptations including Voltron and He-Man.

This marks the second film in the game’s long-run. The first was a complete disaster – starring Van Damme – and is widely considered to be the worst “video game film” of all time. This time around, they are focusing mainly on Chun-Li as she embarks on a “quest for justice.”

From IGN comes word that the film adaptation of upcoming co-op action title Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is set to begin shooting this Fall. In development at Lionsgate, a script penned by Kyle Ward has been selected. It is not known which actors will be chosen for the roles of the titular characters, though the report claims that “several big-name actors… including one A-lister” are being discussed.

More information on the film is forthcoming. The game itself is in the works at IO Interactive and is set for release later this year on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Check out a new trailer below.

How do you make a game out of a knight mounted on a flying ostrich defeating similarly equipped foes? Well, you gotta ask CP Productions then. The studio plans on making a film adaptation of classic arcade title Joust. Set to be completed by next June, the film is being billed as “Gladiator meets Mad Max.”

The script has been penned by Marc Gottlieb and is set 25 years on in the floating city of Las Vegas. It is unclear as to how it will relate to the game itself and how many major characters will appear. According to GameDaily BIZ, the studio plans on maintaining the integrity of its films, which it plans to independently finance. “We won’t have eight writers and six executives trying to put their thumbprint on the film… the vision of the filmmakers will be kept pure,” said studio founder Michael Cerenzie.

It is yet unclear if the game’s author John Newcomer is involved.

Variety reports that the feature film rights to Painkiller have been acquired by Guy Walks into a Bar. As per the report, the studio’s principals Jon Berg and Todd Komarnicki will produce the project alongside Matthew Weinberg, with the film getting the tagline “Heaven’s Got a Hit Man.”

DreamCatcher VP George Chastain told the publication that the company chose this particular film studio partly because of their plans to blend fast-paced action, weaponry and a cast of demonic characters – all trademarks of the game – in the film.

The studio has already hired Ben McCaw to adapt the game into a film. His past credits include Gideon’s Vault, which was a finalist in the Austin Film Festival screenwriting competition, as well as Art of the Fake and Class of the Living Dead.

It is too early to report any further details on the upcoming film, but more information is expected soon as it goes into pre-production.

Showing that he is indeed insane and not suitable for directing films, Uwe Boll went Postal on the New York Post, according to this GameDaily Biz report. Apparently, a reporter from the newspaper showed a trailer for his upcoming movie to 9/11 victims; guess what their reactions were. Boll went furious because it suggested that the movie be censored or banned from theaters.

Following this, Boll went on to launch a website which was taken down due to threat of legal action from the New York Post. However, it is still up for your viewing pleasure, with Boll saying defiantly: “If they sue me, I don’t think they’ll win.”

Boll said he received a call from New York Post reporter Jill Culora in April about the trailer for the $20 million Postal movie, which includes a plane crashing into a building. Rather than watching the movie, the director said the reporter went to 9/11 victims with the clip and asked for reactions.

“They took the clip and showed it out of context,” said Boll. “The scene is a parody of fundamentalist fanatics. We don’t make fun of the victims of 9/11.”

Boll takes issue with the New York Post writing that Postal is a movie that should not be allowed to play in theaters.

“It’s not acceptable that a rag corner newspaper is trying to censor a comedy without even taking the time to watch it,” said Boll.

Boll did offer one solution to the current situation. He said he’s open to settling this dispute in the boxing ring. Last fall, during the Postal shoot, Boll fought four of his critics in a pay-per-view online boxing match in Vancouver. One of those critics is now interning on the set of Far Cry.

Boxing matches aside, the Postal movie will open this October as a limited release. The director is also working on Far Cry and In The Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, as well as BloodRayne II, which has gone straight-to-DVD in North America.

Following reports that the first trailer for the upcoming Hitman film will be shown before Live Free or Die Hard, JoBlo has blown the lid by posting the trailer itself on the web.

From the looks of it, the video is a teaser, offering a sneak peek at the upcoming action movie starring Timothy Olyphant as the bald-headed assassin. Hitman is set to kill theatres this October. Here’s a Youtube version for you guys to check out.