Hollywood targets Shinobi
Ninja movie in the offing
According to various Hollywood sources, film production company Mindfire Entertainment has picked up the rights to Sega's Shinobi franchise, with the aim of bringing it to the big screen for summer 2004.
The planned movie is thought to be based on the revised settings and characters of the new PS2 Shinobi, which is currently in development. Overseas funding could lead to a $40 million budget for the film according to IGN, and Sega's Noriyoshi Ohba of is expected to work closely with producers.
The film's producer Mark Altman said that Shinobi was "'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' meets 'Blade'". Hopefully he means an awesome, neo-gothic martial arts flick with a terrific story, as opposed to one long action scene with vampires. "There hasn't been a good ninja movie in a while," he continued, adding that a script will shortly be penned. The hope is to turn Shinobi into a successful movie franchise.
