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Activision Blizzard recruits ex-Tarantino producer to turn its video games into films

Activision Blizzard recruits ex-Tarantino producer to turn its video games into films

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Last November, Activision Blizzard launched its own film and TV studio to develop content based on its video game franchises. Now, the company has announced a new co-president for the venture, naming film producer Stacey Sher as co-president. Sher's past projects include a number of Quentin Tarantino films (from Pulp Fiction to Django Unchained) as well as less action-orientated fare like Erin Brockovich and Garden State. She's worked with acclaimed directors such as Steven Soderbergh and Oliver Stone, and Activision Blizzard is hoping she'll put their fledgling studio on the right track.

A Skylanders TV show and Call of Duty film series

The studio's other co-president, former Disney exec Nick van Dyk, has previously described the venture as having a "unique advantage," aka, "a library of world-class intellectual property that includes some of the largest franchises which have not yet been developed in film and television." The studio is currently planning a television show based around children's video game Skylanders, as well as a series of films based on best-selling franchise Call of Duty. (The Activision Blizzard game World of Warcraft already has a film coming out, but that's being produced by a third party, Legendary Pictures.)

The company is hoping it can follow in the footsteps of Disney and Marvel, turning fans' love for established characters and universes into a multimedia empire. However, films based on video games have a pretty terrible track record in Hollywood so far, and Sher and her fellow executives have their work cut out to turn console hits into box office success.