Home > News and Features > News > Cinema
'Asteroids' lands at Universal
July 2, 2009
Universal has won a four-studio bidding war to pick up the film rights to the classic Atari video game "Asteroids." Matthew Lopez will write the script for the feature adaptation, which will be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
In "Asteroids," initially released as an arcade game in 1979, a player controlled a triangular space ship in an asteroid field. The object was to shoot and destroy the hulking masses of rock and the occasional flying saucer while avoiding smashing into both.
As opposed to today's games, there is no story line or fancy world-building mythology, so the studio would be creating a plot from scratch. Universal, however, is used to that development process, as it's in the middle of doing just that for several of the Hasbro board game properties it is translating to the big screen, such as "Battleship" and "Candyland."
Senior vp of production Jeff Kirschenbaum will oversee the project for Universal.
Di Bonaventura's next outing is "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," which Paramount is set to open Aug. 7.
Lopez came out of Disney's writing program and worked on that studio's recent movies "Bedtime Stories" and "Race to Witch Mountain." He also wrote the most recent draft of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," currently in production with Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel starring.
-Nielsen Business Media
'Asteroids' lands at Universal
July 2, 2009
Universal has won a four-studio bidding war to pick up the film rights to the classic Atari video game "Asteroids." Matthew Lopez will write the script for the feature adaptation, which will be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura.
In "Asteroids," initially released as an arcade game in 1979, a player controlled a triangular space ship in an asteroid field. The object was to shoot and destroy the hulking masses of rock and the occasional flying saucer while avoiding smashing into both.
As opposed to today's games, there is no story line or fancy world-building mythology, so the studio would be creating a plot from scratch. Universal, however, is used to that development process, as it's in the middle of doing just that for several of the Hasbro board game properties it is translating to the big screen, such as "Battleship" and "Candyland."
Senior vp of production Jeff Kirschenbaum will oversee the project for Universal.
Di Bonaventura's next outing is "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," which Paramount is set to open Aug. 7.
Lopez came out of Disney's writing program and worked on that studio's recent movies "Bedtime Stories" and "Race to Witch Mountain." He also wrote the most recent draft of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," currently in production with Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel starring.
-Nielsen Business Media
In "Asteroids," initially released as an arcade game in 1979, a player controlled a triangular space ship in an asteroid field. The object was to shoot and destroy the hulking masses of rock and the occasional flying saucer while avoiding smashing into both.
As opposed to today's games, there is no story line or fancy world-building mythology, so the studio would be creating a plot from scratch. Universal, however, is used to that development process, as it's in the middle of doing just that for several of the Hasbro board game properties it is translating to the big screen, such as "Battleship" and "Candyland."
Senior vp of production Jeff Kirschenbaum will oversee the project for Universal.
Di Bonaventura's next outing is "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," which Paramount is set to open Aug. 7.
Lopez came out of Disney's writing program and worked on that studio's recent movies "Bedtime Stories" and "Race to Witch Mountain." He also wrote the most recent draft of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," currently in production with Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel starring.
-Nielsen Business Media
More Cinemas
Metropolitan Opera HD series adds 300 theatres“The Met: Live in HD,” the Metropolitan Opera’s Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series of live performance transmissions into movie theatres around the world, will expand in its fifth season to 1,500 theatres (an increase of 300 theatres), while adding Egypt, Portugal and Spain to its network of now 46 participating countries. More » |
Cineplex launches Classic Film SeriesCineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events is presenting the “Classic Film Series” at participating Cineplex theatres across Canada. More » |
NCM Fathom to screen figure skating doc 'Rise'NCM Fathom, the entertainment division of National CineMedia, announced an agreement with U.S. Figure Skating to present the feature Rise as part of a special in-theatre event on Feb. 17, 2011. More » |
Malco launches 'Rave for Faves' canned food driveMalco Theatres is helping their communities during the month of September with a different twist on the traditional “canned food festival.” More » |
ADVERTISEMENT
REVIEWS
Film Review: Machete
Robert Rodriguez’s unofficial sequel to his half of Grindhouse is a lot like its predecessor—gory, funny and, in the end, somewhat disappointing. More »
Film Review: Going the Distance
An aspiring journalist and a music-industry slacker discover the many downsides of long-distance romance in this formulaic comedy, which relies too heavily on the charm of stars Drew Barrymore and Justin Long. More »
ADVERTISEMENT
INDUSTRY GUIDES
» Blue Sheets
FJI's guide to upcoming movie releases, including films in production and development. Check back weekly for the latest additions.
ORDER A PRINT SUBSCRIPTION
Subscribe to the monthly print edition of Film Journal International and get the full visual impact of this valuable resource for the cinema business.
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Learn how to promote your company at the Nielsen Film Group events: ShoWest, Cinema Expo International, ShowEast and CineAsia.