'Tetris' game gets China-US co-produced film

By Zhang Rui
0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, May 25, 2016
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Chinese and American producers have announced a new film trilogy based on the iconic "Tetris" video game.

Producer Larry Kasanoff's Threshold Entertainment Group and Chinese investor Bruno Wu's Seven Star Works recently announced that they would develop and finance film projects for "Tetris," which is going to be an epic, sci-fi thriller with an US$80 million budget attached.

Chinese and American producers have announced a new film trilogy based on the iconic "Tetris" video game.

This will be one of the biggest U.S.-China co-produced films with plans to film in China. The film will feature a Chinese cast, more than one third of the ensemble. The film franchise will have at least three installments.

The team has been working with The Tetris Company for over a year. Financing has been secured, the story has been created, and now Wu and Kasanoff will co-produce the first installment, which is set to start production in first quarter of 2017.

Kasanoff, the first producer to develop a hit movie based on a video game, with two "Mortal Kombat" films to his credit, said in a statement that "Tetris," one of the most recognized video game franchises of all time, is the perfect inaugural effort for them to begin cooperation with their Chinese partner.

"Today, there are so many great sources on which to build a movie blockbuster and video games are certainly an amazing category with their huge international following. So, to have this legacy brand 'Tetris,' is a great first project for us with Larry, who knows his way around the landscape," said Wu, who is the founder, Co-Chairman and CEO of Sun Seven Stars Media Group, one of the biggest private media and entertainment investment companies in China with some 60 film production companies in its portfolio.

Threshold's Jimmy Ienner is executive producer with The Tetris Company and Seven Stars.

Kasanoff also said they would plan to make a "Tetris" beyond game and film, as they would also make other merchandise and create theme park based on it.

The "Tetris" brand is one of the leading and most distinctive video game brands in the world, with over half a billion mobile downloads and billions of games played online per year. In the game's 32-year history, hundreds of millions of players have experienced the "Tetris Effect." "Tetris" is loved globally by people of all ages and all cultures. Working with Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Sega, and many others, the "Tetris" game continues to be one of the most widely recognized video games of all time.

In addition to "Tetris," the video game "Fruit Ninja" and new "Tomb Raider" reboot film adaptations were also announced recently in plan for future development.

Film adaptations of video games haven't performed well in the market for years. In the past two decades, films such as "Super Mario Bros" and "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" didn't generate box offices rewards or critical applause, and were disastrous flops. In this genre, the biggest film was and still is "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" (2001), which grossed US$131 million in North America and is the only video game film adaptation that passed the US$100 million mark.

However, things may change. Sony's "The Angry Birds Movie" flew to victory at the North American box office over the weekend, taking in an estimated US$39 million, becoming the second-best debut weekend ever for a video game adaptation, behind the US$47 million debut of "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." Its international grosses came in at US$112 million, including the Chinese film market's US$29.2 million.

Two other highly anticipated video game film adaptations, namely, "Warcraft: The Beginning" from Duncan Jones and "Assassin's Creed" from Justin Kurzel will also hit theaters this year.

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