Grand Theft Auto, The Movie

Did you know that there is a movie called Grand Theft Auto and it predates every GTA game in existance? Don’t get too excited though, it was written, stars and directed by the original Richard Cunningham, Ron Howard and isn’t quite the car stealing, whore killing epic you might expect it to be.

Grand Theft Auto (film)It’s actually more Destruction Derby than it is GTA with a splash of Cannonball Run in there to try and make things more exciting and since it has an IMDB rating of 5.1, you’ll understand why it’s more Wacky Races than Grand Theft Auto with the only car that’s  technically been stolen id the Rolls Royce that Ron and his bride-to-be have taken in order to get to Vegas to get hitched.
A rich girl steals her dad’s Rolls Royce and heads off to Las Vegas to get married. However, her angry parents, a jealous suitor, and a bunch of reward seekers are determined to stop her.
It runs for 80 minutes (84 if you include credits), is typical of the madcap slapstick motor movie of the 70’s and is probably the first proper movie Ron Howard directed, but who would’ve thought that it would become a videogame title 20 years later and go on to be a successful franchise?
If they decided to make a movie today, would you want it based on the original GTA or one of the ‘3D’ versions? Who would play the lead role? So many hyperthetical questions that may never get answered although, one last question, do you think the game would have been the major success it has become if it was known as its original title, Race N Chase?