Toy OTD: Toycom/Alpha Okage: Shadow King Figure: Big Bull

I've had this figure for at least seven years, but since I'm not a big video game player, it took me forever to identify this character! As it turns out, he's part of the cast of a PlayStation 2 game called Okage: Shadow King.

Alpha did a great job, sculpting the character far better than he looks in the actual game! The pose is pretty symmetrical, but the shapes and forms are handled very well. The paint work is also very good - rather tight paint apps, and in a wide variety of colors.

Big Bull stands well by himself, but there are accessories packed with him - two of which might be display bases. If they are, I don't remember any anchoring pegs on them, so they were a little disappointing. Mr. Bull also comes with a Linda figure, amongst other extras (they probably make more sense if you know the game well).

The packaging itself isn't all that exciting - it's the usual blister/back card combo. It is on-theme with the promotional art for the game, but the blister covers most of the artwork, rendering it pretty murky. On the bright side, the figures are mounted front and center so shoppers can look over the paint jobs easily.

All of the other visual elements of the toys are so underutilized that Alpha seems to push all their chips onto the character designs - if you like them, you'll buy these toys, but there's not a lot of other convincing aspects in the presentation.

If you do like this set, you can still get it for £16.99 (+ £11.75 shipping) from amazon.co.uk. Have fun!

How Robots Might Sing

Read more about it, depending on how much information you need, at Geekologie.

Toy OTD: Nami Iwata's Project Gregory Horror Show Figure: Gregory

Here's a really interesting toy made from a video game character with virtually no adaptation in the process. I've never played this game, but from the stills that I've seen, it's as close as you can get to a vinyl version of a low-res polygonal game figure!

It's a unique way to preserve the integrity of the original design, the graphic strength of the shapes and forms. It's almost five inches tall, and the construction and paint work are very strong.

You can get this figure (plus the other two characters in this line) for $12.99 + shipping each at UniToyzone.com.

Synergy OTD: Spy Hunter

VARIETY: Universal restarts 'Spy Hunter'
Paul W.S. Anderson to direct adaptation
By MARC GRASER, DIANE GARRETT
Posted: Fri., Jun. 1, 2007, 3:47pm PT

"Spy Hunter" is revving up again at Universal.

"Resident Evil" and "Alien vs. Predator" director Paul W.S. Anderson will direct the big budget adaptation of the popular Midway video game that revolves around a transforming supercar called the Interceptor.

He will be working with another scribe to pen the project, which has already gone through several writers, including Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Zak Penn and Stuart Beattie.

John Woo was originally attached to helm the pic, in 2004, that will introduce the never-seen spy hunter who works for a secret government agency. He uses the gadget-packed Interceptor (that can transform from a car into a motorcycle, jet ski and submarine) to hunt down agents and thwart a shadowy terrorist org known as Nostra.

Considering the game's been around since the 1980s' the car's turned into a pop culture icon and is expected to have automaker's salivating over the chance to slap their brand's badge on the hood.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has long been attached to play the secret agent behind the wheel of the vehicle. Whether he'll be recast has yet to be determined.

The Rock has already starred in "Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run," a Midway game that the company released last year. The game had been planned to come out with the "Spy Hunter" movie, but when development hit a snag, the gamemaker was forced to release the title early in order to recoup production costs.

Anderson's next pic is "Death Race," which he is also directing for U. The film's a redo of 1975's "Death Race 2000."

Adrian Askarieh, who has an adaptation of the vidgame "Hitman" filming at Fox, is producing the project with Chuck Gordon and Jeremy Bolt.

Askarieh and producing partner Daniel Alter also have a bigscreen version of the Eidos Interactive game "Kane and Lynch" set up at Lionsgate and comicbook adaptations "Hack/Slash" and "Lost Squad," at Rogue Pictures, based on the Devil's Due Publishing comicbooks.

Anderson is managed by Ken Kamins at Key Creatives.

(Dave McNary contributed to this report.)

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I'm amazed at the tenacity with which studios cling to the idea that a video game is a good basis for a movie. I guess a few of them must have turned a decent profit, or there wouldn't be so many video game movies. From my point of view, none of them have made a lot of money, or been well-received by moviegoers.

Synergy OTD: The Sims Movie

VARIETY: Fox brings 'SIMS' to bigscreen
Film will be a live-action version
By PETER GILSTRAP
Posted: Thurs., May 24, 2007, 7:30pm PT

20th Century Fox has acquired feature rights to the life simulation computer game "The SIMS" from Electronic Arts, and has set project up with Fox-based John Davis.

The five-year-old franchise is the best selling PC game in history, with worldwide sales topping 85 million, bringing in over $1.6 billion. Pic will be a live-action version.

Steve Asbell is overseeing the project for Fox with SIMS Studio head Rod Humble managing the creative property for Electronic Arts. Brian Lynch will script; story is under wraps with talent yet to be named.

"'The SIMS has done an interactive version of an old story, which is what it's like to have infinite power and how do you deal with it," said Humble. "Given that that's an old story, you can imagine how easily that would translate to traditional story telling."

Davis' most recent projects include "Norbit," "When A Stranger Calls," and "Eragon."

Lynch scripted and helmed upcoming "Big Helium Dog," and penned "Scary Movie 3," and is managed by Benderspink.

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Okay, somebody has to help me out here. If somebody makes a live-action film version of a video game that's a simulation of real life... isn't that just... a regular movie? You could call any movie 'The Sims Movie'. Heck, just pick the biggest hit of the season, claim it was the 'Sims' film, and show up for your free money.

Anita At Work

If you'd like to see a little video of Anita working with the Images In Motion crew on the Leap Frog Little Leaps game, click here!