The Grand Theft Auto movie will star Harry Potter and Private Hudson

How do you make a movie about Grand Theft Auto? The games themselves ape cinematic crime stories, so filming a gangster epic and tacking the Grand Theft Auto name to it would be covering old ground. The BBC has a better idea. Make a movie based on the conflict between those that wanted to ban violent video games and the people that made their living from creating games. Game Changer, based on David Kushner’s book Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto, will cover the battle between moral activists and Rockstar, the studio that turned lap dances, hookers, and shooting sprees into games. Daniel Radcliffe will play Rockstar co-founder Sam Houser. Bill Paxton will take on the role of Jack Thompson who, before his fall from grace in 2008, led the media fight against what he called “murder simulators” and video games.

Game Changer’s script was written by James Wood (Rev, Ambassadors) and will be directed by Owen Harris (Black Mirror, Misfits). No air date has been announced yet.