Bob and Harvey Weinstein have made quite a career for themselves in the movie industry. Back in '79 they founded Miramax films, then in 1993 gave birth to genre imprint Dimension. 2005 saw them launch their new label, The Weinstein Company. Having pretty much done everything they can in the movie biz, the brothers today announced their newest venture: a move into the videogame arena.

Their new company is TWC Games, a "label that will utilize The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films' strong and recognizable properties, and work with external partners to develop and publish video games for mobile, social, and console platforms."

Games based on movies (and vice versa) are rarely good, but the Weinstein library does feature a few interesting properties that could make compelling games. Who wouldn't want to play a game based on the Colin Firth drama 'A Single Man?' What about an action shooter based on 'The King's Speech?' Take that, stuttering! Those ideas are brimming with potential.

Joking aside, we spent the afternoon combing through the Weinstein library and came up with a few properties that actually could make decent videogames. Hit the jump for our choices.

First on the list is the underperforming Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino double feature 'Grindhouse.' Tarantino's 'Death Proof' would be the harder film to adapt, but the idea of playing a voloptuous babe trying to escape from the clutches of Stuntman Mike seems like an idea that would meld the typical driving title with a survival horror game component. With the right developer, it could maybe work.

Rodriguez's 'Planet Terror' is a much easier adaptation. A film about a zombie outbreak where a girl with a gun leg takes on the undead is practically money in the bank. Japanese game developers have been making crazy games like this for years ('Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad' and even 'Bayonetta' spring to mind) and this would fit right in. It's a film ready to be turned into a 3rd person shooter where the player guides Rose McGowan on her quest to save her small Texas town. The potential here is limitless.


Next up, how about a videogame version of Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road?' People are always complaining about the quality of writing in videogames (and rightfully so ? most game narratives are pretty juvenile), so why not adapt something written by a master writer like McCarthy? This action game would allow players to jump into Viggo Mortensen's shoes as he tries to keep himself and his son alive in a post-apocalyptic landscape. Think 'Fallout 3' and you're on the right page. This could make another great action game ? players would kill cannibals or use stealth to get around them, forage food, and try to complete their journey without becoming some savage's dinner.

Survival horror games are a big deal, and the Weinsteins could really make waves in this market. Back when the original Nintendo ruled the roost, LJN gave us some terrible games based on 'Friday the 13th' and 'A Nightmare on Elm Street.' Since then, we really haven't seen any bigscreen horror icons on a console. What could possibly be better than a game version of 'Halloween?' Most fans prefer the original to the Rob Zombie remakes, but no one says they have to adapt those stories ? they can write entirely new tales (minus the rednecks, one would hope) with Michael running rampant.


Keeping the horror theme going, we think it would be great to finally play a game based on Clive Barker's 'Hellraiser' universe. Barker's no stranger to the game world, having released titles like 'Undying' and 'Jericho' to the PC and the various consoles, so it seems like a no-brainer to get Pinhead and the Cenobites into a videogame. Like 'Halloween,' it's probably better that developers just use the characters and jettison the stories (because everything after 'Hellraiser 2: Hellbound' has been awful), but we could see a 'Dante's Inferno' styled game where a character is charged with going inside the Lament Configuration to confront Pinhead and crew on their home turf. Some of us would pay to play that game right now.


Last, but certainly not least, is 'Inglourious Basterds.' Tarantino's World War II movie would be different enough to stand apart from the pack in the crowded WWII game market, and would surely have both game fanatics and film geeks interested in checking it out. Developers would have their work cut out for them when it came to transitioning this title from the screen to the console, but in the right hands it could be pretty exciting.

And there you have it. Five games from the Weinstein vaults that should be top priorities for their new videogame venture. What films or other Weinstein properties would you adapt?