A deal over rights to develop a film adaptation of Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto series came very close to completion but fell apart at the last minute, says Variety's Ben Fritz.

Writing in a blog post, Fritz says that a deal between one of the six major US film studios and Rockstar was "virtually in place" to begin developing a Grand Theft Auto film, and Eminem was considered for the starring role. But before any plans could be firmed up, the deal dissolved.

"I'm told [Rockstar parent Take Two Interactive] couldn't finalize terms with the studio," wrote Fritz. "I'm not sure if it was a purely financial issue or if, in the end, the publisher got cold feet about giving away rights to its baby."

Fritz speculated that the deal came about as a result of corporate restructuring at Take Two. After former Take Two CEO Paul Eibeler was outed during an investor coup last year, Strauss Zelnick—once a CEO at BMG Music— was installed as his replacement. Zelnick's ties to the film and entertainment industries were the likely grease on the proverbial wheels of the GTA film project.