SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT TEAMS UP WITH
ICONIC VIDEO GAME COMPANIES
AS CLASSIC CHARACTERS COME TOGETHER IN “PIXELS”
PAC-MAN, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Frogger, Q*bert, Space Invaders and Centipede® Join the Cast
CULVER
CITY, Calif., July 21, 2014 – Sony Pictures Entertainment announced
today that the studio has brought together an extraordinary number of
iconic video game companies, whose classic characters – including
PAC-MAN, Donkey Kong, Centipede®, Galaga, Frogger, Q*bert, and Space
Invaders – will be featured in the highly-anticipated action comedy Pixels,
starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage,
Josh Gad, and Brian Cox, and directed by Chris Columbus. The film will
be released in the US on May 15, 2015.
In Pixels,
when intergalactic aliens misinterpret video-feeds of classic arcade
games as a declaration of war against them, they attack the Earth, using
the games as models for their various assaults. President Will Cooper
(James) has to call on his childhood best friend, ’80s video game
champion Sam Brenner (Sandler), now a home theater installer, to lead a
team of old-school arcaders (Dinklage and Gad) to defeat the aliens and
save the planet. Monaghan plays the team's unique weapons specialist.
The action-comedy is directed by Chris Columbus from a story by Tim
Herlihy and a screenplay by Tim Herlihy and Timothy Dowling, based on
the original short film of the same name by Patrick Jean. The film is
produced by Adam Sandler, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, and Allen
Covert. Executive Producers are Barry Bernardi, Michael Barnathan, Jack
Giarraputo, Heather Parry, Tim Herlihy, Steve Koren, Patrick Jean,
Benjamin Darras, Johnny Alves, Matias Boucard, Seth Gordon, and Ben
Waisbren. The film, a Columbia Pictures presentation in association
with LStar Capital, is a Happy Madison / 1492 Films production in
association with One More Production.
Companies with classic arcade games that are teaming with Sony Pictures on the film include:
- Atari® Interactive: (Asteroids®, Breakout®, Centipede® and Missile Command®)
- Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. (Frogger)
- BANDAI NAMCO Games Inc. (PAC-MAN, Galaga, and Dig Dug)
- Nintendo (Donkey Kong)
- Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. (Q*bert)
- Taito Corporation (Space Invaders)
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (Joust, Defender, Robotron and Wizard of Wor)
Commenting
on the announcement, the film’s director, Chris Columbus, said, “There
would be no way to make the movie without these legendary characters –
they are as important to the film as the roles that Adam, Kevin,
Michelle, Peter, Josh, and Brian are playing. It was a real thrill to
see everything come together exactly as we envisioned it, and we’re
grateful to have all of these fantastic companies on board.”
Producer
Allen Covert added, “These classic characters are part of the DNA of
the project, so it was critical that we work together to bring them on
board. Fortunately, they were all extremely receptive. We approached
them with a deep love for their characters and a respect for the
elements that make them unique and iconic, and we’ve worked with the
companies to incorporate those elements into the film.”
At Comic-Con San Diego, from July 24-27,
arcaders 13 years of age and older with Comic-Con badges will have the
chance to engage with many of these classic original arcade games and
try them out again as the studio features a Pixels Electric Dreams
Factory arcade at the Hard Rock Hotel, 209 5th Ave., San Diego.
“There’s
no better way for the core Comic-Con audience to interact with the
movie than to get a hands-on refresher on the games that will be a part
of it,” said Dwight Caines, president, Theatrical Marketing for Sony
Pictures.
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