Dan Rad has landed a role in the Grand Theft Auto movie. But before you get too excited, no, he won’t be jacking cars and running over old ladies.
BBC Films is making a movie about Grand Theft Auto. It’s not an adaptation of the video game series, but rather a dramatization of the real-life controversy the games have caused.
In the style of The Social Network, the Grand Theft Auto movie tells the real-life story of American attorney Jack Thompson, who in 2003 started a campaign protesting the violence in video games.
Thompson targeted several of the game developer Rockstar’s productions, including Grand Theft Auto, which he claimed inspired real-life “copycat” violence and crime.
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The movie will be based on David Kushner’s book Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto, and is to be directed by Owen Harris (who has previously directed episodes of Misfits and Black Mirror).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Daniel Radcliffe in talks to play Sam Houser, the co-founder of Rockstar (who allegedly championed the violence in the games). No news yet on who will play Thompson.
Radcliffe can next be seen in Victor Frankenstein, which premieres in October 2015. He’ll also be appearing in the Now You See Me sequel.