Why Rockstar Let Someone Else Make A Grand Theft Auto Movie – Sort Of

Hollywood has, in recent years, truly begun to crack the code on video game movies. The impressive success of adaptations such as "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" has cemented the fact that we've truly turned a corner in that regard. That being the case, just about every major video game is probably going to be targeted by studios in the coming years, and Grand Theft Auto will undoubtedly be on that list. Interestingly enough, though, a truly excellent movie set in the world of GTA recently hit theaters, and with the full support of GTA creator Rockstar Games, no less.

One would be forgiven for not knowing about it since it's kind of a small movie, but the documentary "Grand Theft Hamlet" recently hit theaters via the folks at Mubi. For those who aren't aware of it, as the title implies, it mashes together the worlds of GTA and William Shakespeare, with a group of ragtag actors staging a production of "Hamlet" inside the sprawling world of Grand Theft Auto Online. It's as bonkers and delightful as it sounds. I've been raving about it ever since I saw it at SXSW last year. The movie is shot entirely within the game, without a shred of live-action footage or any talking heads.

I recently had the good fortune of speaking with the film's directors, Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls, in honor of its release. During the conversation, I inquired as to how they got permission from Rockstar for the release. After all, we're talking about a multi-billion-dollar enterprise here, one that the company surely wants to protect. Fortunately, it wasn't an issue as Rockstar very much understood what the filmmakers were trying to do. As Grylls explained:

"Rockstar actually knew about the project from quite early on. When Sam made a few very short films that he put onto YouTube, just of him doing the opening scene of Hamlet with Mark ... it kind of went semi-viral, and we got word through people who we knew that people who worked for Rockstar had seen it and they were kind of tickled by it."

It would certainly be one thing if Crane and Grylls were trying to make an adaptation of the game in some way, shape, or form. After all, Hollywood came calling in the past and a big part of the reason a "Grand Theft Auto" movie never happened is because Rockstar is pretty protective of the IP. But as Crane explained in our chat, the studio very much understood that the movie is a love letter to the game as much as it's a production of a beloved play:

"They never wanted to have any kind of control over it or make it their film, but I think they liked what we were doing with it, basically. It's pretty clear I think that it's kind of a love letter to the game in some ways, as much as it is a love letter to Shakespeare."

It is interesting that this movie continues a trend of some of the best video game movies being sort of about video games, rather than direct adaptations of them. 2024 also saw the release of Netflix's criminally underseen "The Remarkable Life of Ibelin," which is focused heavily on "World of Warcraft," but isn't a narrative about the game, per se. Other successful movies such as "Free Guy" and "Wreck-It Ralph" are, similarly, for the love of games, as it were. Mercifully, Rockstar understood what these filmmakers were trying to do and didn't get in the way of that over some misguided corporate directive.

You can hear my full interview with the directors on today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast:

"Grand Theft Hamlet" is in theaters now.