Hollywood pops Painkiller

First-person shooter Painkiller is the latest in a long string of video game titles to be getting the silver-screen treatment, reports the Hollywood trade Variety.

The rights to DreamCatcher's supernatural shooter series were scooped up by Guy Walks Into A Bar Productions. The television and film production house previously worked on the popular 2003 family comedy Elf, and is also involved in upcoming comedy titles The Retreat and Starship Dave.

Today's deal marks the first time that DreamCatcher has sold the movie rights to one of its titles. According to Variety, the company opted to go with Guy Walks Into A Bar Productions because it intends to "blend fast-paced action, the wide array of weaponry, and cast of demonic characters."

Jon Berg and Todd Komarnicki will produce the Painkiller movie, and first-time screenwriter Ben McGaw has been hired to pen its script. Berg said he became interested in making a movie based on the game after he saw it featured on the TV news magazine 60 Minutes.

The first Painkiller game was released for PC in 2004. The game focused on Daniel Garner, a man who wakes up in purgatory after a car crash, and is offered the chance to battle the demons of hell in order to gain entry to heaven. The expansion pack Painkiller: Battle out of Hell was released in December 2004, and an Xbox version, Painkiller: Hell Wars, followed in 2006. A PlayStation Portable version of Painkiller: Hell Wars is slated to be released this year. Painkiller: Overdose, a sequel to the original that originally started life as a mod, is due out on PC in October.