Hey, remember the Gizmondo? No? I don’t blame you. It was a handheld video game system that came out back in 2005 and tried to compete with the big boys (Nintendo and Sony), only to become one of the worst commercial flops in recent years. There have since been some sketchy rumours about a next-gen Gizmondo in development, but now it looks like the system may be making a comeback of a different sort: on the big screen!

That’s right, director Craig Zobel and producer Beau Flynn believe that the story behind this epic fail is fit for a feature film, and you know what? I actually agree with them. The movie, tentatively titled Gizmondo, will be based on a Wired Magazine article about Swedish co-creator/con artist Bo Stefan Eriksson, who had ties to organized crime and was eventually charged for embezzlement, grand theft auto, cocaine possession, and weapons charges, among other things. He is best known for crashing a million-dollar Ferrari while driving 199 mph on the Pacific Coast Highway, and walking away with little more than a split lip. (Check out this handy flowchart for an overview of the madness.)

The movie will obviously have a humourous slant to it as Zobel is one of the original creators of Homestar Runner and previously directed the indie comedy Great World of Sound, which I heard good things about. He also worked with David Gordon Green as a co-producer on George Washington and second unit director on Undertow. Everyone with ties to David Gordon Green seems to be blowing up right about now, so why not him? I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this project, as I think it sounds quite promising.