Daniel Radcliffe to star in drama about Grand Theft Auto

In 2003, American attorney Jack Thompson went on a crusade on, among other things, the level of violence in videogames. One of his most high-profile targets was Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series, which he claimed had inspired cases of copycat violence.

Thompson's campaign lasted for several years, taking in several Grand Theft Auto sequels and several other games in Rockstar's stable, including Bullyand Manhunt2. The Rockstar-Thompson story is to be dramatised in Grand Theft Auto, a forthcoming feature from BBC Films.

Daniel Radcliffe is, according to the latest reports, in talks to play the lead role of Sam Houser, the co-founder of Rockstar. It's the latest in a string of interesting choices from Radcliffe, who's spent his post-Pottercareer pursuing left-field projects like Hornsand Kill Your Darlings rather than more mainstream roles.

We don't know who'll star alongside Radcliffe in the Jack Thompson role yet, but we do know that Grand Theft Auto will be directed by Owen Harris, who's recently made the leap from popular TV shows like Black Mirrorand Misfitswith his forthcoming black comedy, Kill Your Friends.

Harris's GTAmovie is based on David Kushner's extremely good book, Jacked: The Outlaw Story Of Grand Theft Auto. It's well worth a read if you haven't picked it up already.

More news on this as it comes in.

The Hollywood Reporter