Tom Clancy game heads for big screen

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Paramount has acquired film rights to Tom Clancy's videogame "Splinter Cell," Daily Variety reported Friday.

The paper said the studio has hired Peter Berg ("Friday Night Lights") to direct. Clancy's long-time manager, Michael Ovitz, will produce, while Berg, Clancy and Yves Guillemot -- the head of the video game publishing company Ubisoft -- will executive produce.

Berg, whose writing credits include "Friday Night Lights" and the TV series "Chicago Hope," will write the screenplay for "Splinter Cell," along with John J McLaughlin ("Man of the House") and J.T. Petty, who wrote the video game.

The game follows the adventures of a spy who must infiltrate an international network of terrorists and head off a high-tech threat.

Paramount has produced four hit movies based on Clancy's Jack Ryan novels -- "The Hunt for Red October," "Patriot Games," "Clear and Present Danger" and "The Sum of All Fears." The studio is also developing movies based on Clancy's Jack Ryan novel "Red Rabbit" and two featuring the best-selling author's popular John Clark character -- "Without Remorse" and "Rainbow Six."