Jean-Julien Baronnet was the CEO of Ubisoft Motion Pictures until March 2016, but he’s not completely out of the world of film just yet. He’s opening up a new movie studio that will exclusively create video game film adaptations.
Baronnet told Variety that making video game adaptations for film takes more than knowledge in how to make a movie; it also requires knowledge of developing video games as well as what gamers want to see in these films.
The key is to have a close relationship with the game designers and to work with them on the key creative angles that will best cope with the game’s DNA. The key is to recognize the passion of gamers, given they spend hundreds of hours in that world. That makes it essential for the ‘universe’ of the game to be as accurate as possible.
He added that the biggest problem with video game movies is that they focus on the main story of the particular game, and that doesn’t always work. Instead of doing that, producers need to learn more about the game and its universe, learn why it is so beloved, and then bring that aspect into the film.
Baronnet says he’s currently speaking with a number of game studios about producing video game films, but he did not specify which studios or which games. He’s also working on hiring veterans of the industry to help with the adaptation and production process.
He has worked on the upcoming Splinter Cell film as well as the Assassin’s Creed movie, and it’s safe to assume that his experience at Ubisoft has given him more than a few clues about video game development and gamer culture. The question is, can he make something better than Super Mario Bros.?
