Hancock director Berg to sink your Battleship

Hancock director Peter Berg to sink your Battleship

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Tuesday, 15, Sep 2009 11:43

By Lewis Bazley.

A film based on the popular board game Battleship will hit the screens in July 2011, according to Universal Pictures.

Actor and director Peter Berg, who last went behind the camera for 2008's Hancock, will direct the Battleship film as part of a two-film deal with the studio, Variety reports.

The announcement of a Battleship movie aligns with a new move by the studio towards the production of films already associated with a strong brand, with plans for releases based on the Clue and Monopoly board games also on the Universal development schedule.

Announcing the planned July 2011 release for Battleship, Universal Pictures chairmen Marc Shmuger and David Linde said the Hasbro game was a "powerful brand".

"In an era where brands have become the new stars, Battleship is a big opportunity," they told Variety.

Berg will produce Battleship alongside his Film 44 partner Sarah Aubrey, Stuber Pictures' Scott Stuber and Hasbro's Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir, from a script written by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber.

"I've been consumed with doing one of these since I tried to convince Tom Rothman at Fox to make a film about John Paul Jones, the founder of the American Navy," Berg said after the announcement.

"As a kid, I was dragged from Navy museum to museum, and spent so much time on ships, listening to my father talk about the great battles of world war two, I did my high school thesis on the Battle of Midway. When this came up, it didn't take me long to find a take for a film that is filled with raucous action-packed naval battles."

The 45-year-old said the Battleship film will be "a contemporary story of an international five-ship fleet engaged in a very dynamic, violent and intense battle" - but would not confirm the identity of the enemy force in the film.

Berg will follow Battleship with Afghanistan war drama Lone Survivor, also for Universal.