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The BBC has released the first trailer for its upcoming drama based on the development of Grand Theft Auto.
In it we see Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, who plays Rockstar president Sam Houser, and Bill Paxton, who plays controversial lawyer and outspoken GTA critic Jack Thompson.
The show itself was announced back in March as part of the BBC’s Make It Digital initiative. Radcliffe and Paxton were confirmed as stars a month later.
However, those involved in the development of the GTA series have expressed their concern about the drama, which is based primarily on David Kushner’s 2012 book Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto, as well as assorted court documents.
In fact, Rockstar is so upset by the film that it has launched a lawsuit against the BBC. Said Take-Two: "While holders of the trademarks referenced in the film title and its promotion, Rockstar Games has had no involvement with this project. Our goal is to ensure that our trademarks are not misused in the BBC’s pursuit of an unofficial depiction of purported events related to Rockstar Games.
We have attempted multiple times to resolve this matter with the BBC without any meaningful resolution. It is our obligation to protect our intellectual property and unfortunately in this case litigation was necessary."
The Gamechangers will be aired at 9pm on September 15th. Here’s the trailer:
[EDIT – the trailer has now been removed. Instead, here are two stills. We’ll put it back up as soon as the BBC does.]
