When "Chicago" and "Hairspray" producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan were looking for their next big movie musical last November, the two ended up in what would seem like an unlikely place: the El Segundo headquarters of Mattel Inc.
The duo found their inspiration in the prototypes for an as-yet unreleased line of monster dolls from the toy manufacturer.
Welcome to Hollywood's latest gold rush.
Movie studio development slates are rapidly filling up with projects based on well-known toys and games. Some high-profile projects in the works include ones based on the classic video game Asteroids, Lego building blocks, the View-Master toy, dolls Barbie and Stretch Armstrong, and board games Battleship, Ouija, Monopoly and Candy Land.
The practice of adapting famous source material into films has been employed since Hollywood's early days, dating back to classics such as 1939's "Gone With the Wind."
Books, plays, short stories, comic books and video games have been adapted in large part because they offer a rich story and set of characters. The difference with many of the toys and games being turned into movies today is that they come with neither of those characteristics.
In exchange for what's essentially a well-known brand name with a setting or theme and nothing more, studios are typically paying millions of dollars upfront and, should a movie get made, several percentage points of the movie's gross receipts. That's the kind of money that used to be offered only to A-listers.
"Brands are the new stars," said Universal Pictures Chairman Marc Shmuger, whose studio has optioned Asteroids from Atari Inc. and Barbie from Mattel, and has a deal to develop movies based on multiple Hasbro Inc. products. "That's what you used to pay the star, although fortunately they're not as expensive."
There's no shortage of Internet and media commentary mocking the trend, but as those working at and selling to studios can testify, there's a simple logic at work -- it's what executives refer to as "unaided awareness." If a movie's name has immediate resonance for consumers, then the traditional first step of a marketing campaign -- selling the concept -- is already taken care of.
A-list actors used to serve the same purpose, but their influence is waning as evidenced by the failure of recent star vehicles including "Imagine That," starring Eddie Murphy, "Land of the Lost" with Will Ferrell, and Jack Black in "Year One." The biggest hit of the summer was "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," in which most of the characters are 1980s action figures.
