Spector + Woo = Awesome ...

OK, all of the news posts about the newly announced Ninja Gold game and film have focused on John Woo, largely because of his current work on the Stranglehold video game from his studio Tiger Hill Entertainment (and Midway Entertainment).

But John Woo is partnering with Warren "Deus Ex" Spector for Ninja Gold. , who will be serving a critical role on the game (I suspect through his Junction Point Studios) and the film.

To me, that's the news. As the Hollywood Report coins it, it's a "collaboration between one of the biggest names in video games and one of the top action filmmakers."

Said Spector:

"What happened with 'Ninja Gold' was very different and, to my mind, much cooler. I know that my thought from the start was to develop something that would work just as well in games as in movies, and I know John was thinking along the same lines. This was an attempt to create a concept that would work in, and be developed for, a variety of media simultaneously. That's something new for games -- and for movies."

Over at Gamasutra.com, they're detailing the film will be released under the 20th Century Fox genre label Fox Atomic, and Spector will serve as executive producer.

Plot details are understandably sparse:

"The movie's, as well as presumably the game's, plot is set in the modern
day, but focuses on a group of ninjas still dedicated to centuries-old
traditions. The title refers to the smuggling of gold from South Africa by
organized crime syndicates."

No timetable has been set for the game or movie, though I've seen some unconfirmed reports that "production will start in 2008".

A slightly longer (badly titled) article is available from Yahoo News.