Grand Theft Auto drama starring Daniel Radcliffe and Bill Paxton confirmed by BBC

The BBC’s factual drama, following the story of Grand Theft Auto and Rockstar’s battle with attorney Jack Thompson, has been confirmed and detailed.

Daniel Radcliffe has been confirmed to play the role of Sam Houser, the co-founder of Rockstar, and Bill Paxton will play Jack Thompson. Much like the game, the movie is apparently being targeted at an adult audience, and will focus on the controversy that has surrounded the GTA series.

The now disbarred Florida attorney Jack Thompson campaigned hard against violent video games and cited Grand Theft Auto in numerous court cases as a cause for violent behaviour. Thompson also lobbied to have Grand Theft Auto removed from sale at retailers.

Filming on the drama has begun. The drama is expected to air later this year, and the BBC has described the premise of it in an update today.

Grand Theft Auto offers gamers the chance to step into a fantasy world where they can behave like criminals, gun down rival gangsters and cops, hijack cars and venture deeper into an imaginary American underworld.

But the violent gameplay coupled with its outstanding commercial success leads to fierce opposition: from parents worried about children immersing themselves in such a violent world; from politicians, alarmed at the values they say it encourages; and above all from moral campaigners, who fight passionately to ban it. At the vanguard of this crusade is the formidable campaigning lawyer Jack Thompson, a man determined to do whatever he can to stop the relentless rise of Grand Theft Auto.

Game Changer (w/t) tells the story of an extraordinary chapter in the history of this iconic game, and reveals the major impact it has had on our cultural landscape.