We'd think up a better opener than "Hollywood is clearly out of ideas," but clearly Hollywood is out of ideas as the next mega movies could be based on 36-year-old Atari games.
Film adaptations of Missile Command and Centipede are coming to the big screen after Atari struck a partnership deal with Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films, according to Deadline Hollywood.
Fred Chesnais, CEO of Atari, said that both games make up two of the company's "most beloved titles" in its "unparalleled and rich library of popular games," though we struggle to find the part in Chesnais' remarks that equate quarter-munchers to good film fodder.
Now, it's worth mentioning that Atari has been fruitlessly pitching a Missile Command movie for several years. Even if a production company is on board, it's too soon to call the project a sure thing, so rest easy for now.
Ironically, as video game discussion series Extra Credits points out, the narrative strengths of games like Missile Command lie in the mechanics, positing that removing gameplay to make a movie defeats what made those games a classic in the first place.
That is to say, prepare to do a lot of writing, F/E/O Films. You've got titles for your screenplays courtesy of Atari, but nothin' else.
