Daniel Radcliffe, Bill Paxton to star in 'Grand Theft Auto'-themed TV movie 'Game Changer'

LONDON, April 22 (UPI) -- Daniel Radcliffe and Bill Paxton are to star in the fact-based TV movie, Game Changer, the BBC announced.

Written by James Wood and directed by Owen Harris, the 90-minute drama tells the story of the controversy surrounding the popular video game Grand Theft Auto.

"Its triumph was down to a bunch of British gaming geniuses who had known each other since their school days, and at the heart of it all was GTA's creative mastermind, Sam Houser," the British broadcaster said in a news release Tuesday.

"Its latest iteration -- GTA:V -- earned $1 billion in its first three days, becoming the fastest selling entertainment product in history. 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."

Harry Potter icon Radcliffe is to play Houser and Twister star Paxton will play Thompson.