Vin Diesel to Star in Wheelman Film and Game

Posted on March 14, 2006

Variety reports that a deal has been cut that will bring Vin Diesel to both game systems and the big screen in a role as an expert driver in the Wheelman

In one of the biggest partnerships to date between a vidgame publisher and a studio, MTV Films and Paramount are developing Midway Games' "The Wheelman" as a feature film.

Plan is to release the pic and the game simultaneously; Vin Diesel is signed on to star in and produce both.

"Wheelman" is an action-adventure title about an expert driver who comes out of retirement to protect a woman from his past.

ParPar and MTV Films bought the rights from Midway, which is already well into development on the game for next generation consoles Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Budget is believed to be north of $15 million -- on the high end for videogames.

Variety says the game and film will be released simultaneously sometime in late 2007. Midway will produce the game with the big $15 million budget and MTV will provide the game's soundtrack and sell ads within the game according to the article. The game will be available for Xbox 360 and PS3 game systems. GameSpot also has an article about the Wheelman project.

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