Hitman’s nemesis

We’ve seen plenty of videogame properties turned into movies (with gigabytes more on the way), but the quality-to-quantity ratio hasn’t exactly been in favor of anyone who’s seen TOMB RAIDER or DOOM or WING COMMANDER or HOUSE OF THE DEAD. Will HITMAN break the trend?

The movie stars Timothy Olyphant (DEADWOOD) as the bald rogue assassin of the title, and now he’ll apparently be chased by actor Dougray Scott (an actual Scot), who’s been keeping a relatively low profile since the lengthy MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 2 production prevented him from wearing Wolverine’s adamantium in the first X-MEN movie (before Jackman stepped in). He probably wants to hunt down John Woo now too, considering how that all turned out…

The HITMAN game series revolve around a proficient international contract killer, a smooth-headed barcode-branded enigma known only as Codename 47, who pieces together his own mysterious genetic origins while using firepower, ingenuity and hi-tech equipment to eliminate a succession of targets. Producers Luc Besson, Daniel Alter, Adrien Askariah and Chuck Gordon are converting polygons to feature film, with Xavier Gens directing a script from Skip Woods. The plan is to have the carnage in theaters before the end of 2007.