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Asteroids

Game » consists of 22 releases. Released on October 1979

Atari's bestselling game of all time, Asteroids was one of the most influential releases of the Golden Age of Arcade Games. One of the first space shooters, it was the inspiration for many of the dual stick shooter games of the modern era, Geometry Wars chief among them.

Asteroids Smashing Into Theaters

Posted by Ryan (1247 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Drama! Excitement!
Even though no one has really cracked the code yet on making a video-game movie adaptation that's, well, watchable, there are certain games that are either archetypal enough in setting or rely on the familiar kinds of dramatic beats that an adaptation makes a certain amount of sense. When you tell me that BioShock or Uncharted or Gears of War is being made into a movie, I say "OK, sure, I can see that." But when The Hollywood Reporter, uh, reported this morning that Universal had picked up the rights to produce a movie based on the classic vector-based arcade game Asteroids--following an apparently heated four-studio bidding war, no less--I have to wonder just what in the holy hot hell is going on in Hollywood.

There's no story, casting, or title news at the moment, though Asteroids is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, whose most recent work includes Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, with Matthew Lopez, screenwriter on Bedtime Stories and Race to Witch Mountain, attached to write it. So, I guess expect a family-friendly PG adventure featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and eye-gouging CG effects?

As THP itself points out, there's no real story or characters or anything to Asteroids, though that's not stopping the development of movies based on the board games Battleship and Candyland either. Unless the producers are pursuing some kind of self-reflexive Tron-style meta-reality, I'm not sure how you specifically evoke Asteroids in a movie. I mean, yeah, it'll probably take place in space, and there goddamn well better be some giant space rocks, but at that point you're just kind of just paying for the name, which feels pretty dated as the name of a video game, and outright absurd as a movie. I'd be surprised if they leave the title alone, and while I'd like them to embrace the goofiness with something like Asteroids! I fully expect them to go with something more like Asteroids: The Battle for Infinity.

On the off chance that a person of influence is reading this, here's the best scene in a movie to feature asteroids. Take note!
 
Staff
#1 Posted by Ryan (1247 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Drama! Excitement!
Even though no one has really cracked the code yet on making a video-game movie adaptation that's, well, watchable, there are certain games that are either archetypal enough in setting or rely on the familiar kinds of dramatic beats that an adaptation makes a certain amount of sense. When you tell me that BioShock or Uncharted or Gears of War is being made into a movie, I say "OK, sure, I can see that." But when The Hollywood Reporter, uh, reported this morning that Universal had picked up the rights to produce a movie based on the classic vector-based arcade game Asteroids--following an apparently heated four-studio bidding war, no less--I have to wonder just what in the holy hot hell is going on in Hollywood.

There's no story, casting, or title news at the moment, though Asteroids is being produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, whose most recent work includes Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, with Matthew Lopez, screenwriter on Bedtime Stories and Race to Witch Mountain, attached to write it. So, I guess expect a family-friendly PG adventure featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and eye-gouging CG effects?

As THP itself points out, there's no real story or characters or anything to Asteroids, though that's not stopping the development of movies based on the board games Battleship and Candyland either. Unless the producers are pursuing some kind of self-reflexive Tron-style meta-reality, I'm not sure how you specifically evoke Asteroids in a movie. I mean, yeah, it'll probably take place in space, and there goddamn well better be some giant space rocks, but at that point you're just kind of just paying for the name, which feels pretty dated as the name of a video game, and outright absurd as a movie. I'd be surprised if they leave the title alone, and while I'd like them to embrace the goofiness with something like Asteroids! I fully expect them to go with something more like Asteroids: The Battle for Infinity.

On the off chance that a person of influence is reading this, here's the best scene in a movie to feature asteroids. Take note!
 
Staff
#2 Posted by JJWeatherman (13859 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Awesome, more fuel for the non-stop TANG train!

#3 Posted by Crash_Happy (563 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

This is aweful news.

#4 Posted by FrankCanada97 (4036 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

What is the world coming to?

#5 Posted by Aaox (1637 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago
@FrankCanada97 said:
" What is the world coming to? "
Ryan's TANG Empire.
#6 Posted by Death_Burnout (3698 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Bugs! Buuuugs!

You see a bug hole...Nuke it!

#7 Posted by BrowncoatGrimm (89 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Isn't the best use of asteroids in a film Star Wars:The Empire Strikes Back?

#8 Posted by TerraDelu (451 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

My dad is going to be so excited!!!!!!! ...oh. Also, this is dumb.

#9 Posted by TeufelHeunden (1 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Snakes on an Asteroid

#10 Posted by Weltal (2249 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

**SPOILERS**
Early footage of the movie. Man, look at Kevin Costner go!


  

#11 Posted by Sarumarine (1877 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Man, everyone else has already said it . . . but it seems like grade A TANG fuel.

#12 Posted by ArbitraryWater (8943 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Please no.

#13 Posted by DukeTogo (1505 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Wasn't Armageddon the Asteroids movie?  Or a scene from numerous Star Wars movies?

#14 Posted by whatisdelicious (723 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

all this news story did was reignite my desire to watch starship troopers over and over.

#15 Edited by FlipperDesert (1807 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

I'd much rather see a Pac-Man movie, where Pac-Man's a professional ghost hunter in a haunted maze and has an addiction to painkillers for his bad hip.

No, I do not know what the fruit is for.

#16 Posted by JJWeatherman (13859 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago
@TeufelHeunden said:
" Snakes on an Asteroid "
touché sir, and nice first post.   :P
#17 Posted by darkjester74 (1492 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Hollywood hasn't had a cognizant thought in decades.  Herein lies the proof.  Ugh...

#18 Posted by MordeaniisChaos (5703 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

................

#19 Posted by Cerza (1653 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

This is a joke right? It's a joke. It's gotta be a joke... a very unfunny joke... right???

#20 Posted by ZombiePie (4789 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Whatever happened to that Atari film about Nolan Bushnell staring Leonardo DiCaprio? That actually sounded like it could have been an interesting movie with an interesting hook.

This Asteroids movie on the other hand sounds like something a half developed monkey on day old crack would come up with.

Moderator
#21 Posted by Shadowself (22 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

The only good bug is a dead bug!

#22 Posted by zityz (2350 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Asteroids? pppfftt whatever I'm waiting for an River Raid Movie hellll yea.

Also, Starship Troopers was an awesome movie.

#23 Edited by MattyFTM (13801 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

I won't immediately dismiss the movie. Asteroids lack of storyline leaves plenty room for artistic license, and who knows, the movie could be good. However, the concept itself is dumb. They might as well make a movie about shooting asteroids that isn't based on the game. It would be no different.

Either way, more movies for TANG can only be a good thing.

Moderator
#24 Posted by DrainDeimo (120 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

coming soon a live action pac-man movie "Pac-Man Return of the Ghost"

#25 Posted by JeffGoldblum (3593 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago
@DrainDeimo said:
" coming soon a live action pac-man movie "Pac-Man Return of the Ghost" "
  
#26 Posted by TheAdmin (694 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

Here is the trailer:

  

#27 Posted by Media_Master (3283 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

ya NOOOOO

#28 Posted by Kou_Leifoh (1891 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

I love me some motha-fuckin TANG.

#29 Posted by PercyChuggs (1086 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

It could work. Remember that childrens book on toy ray guns? Independence Day.

#30 Posted by Black_Rose (7785 posts) - 3 years, 10 months ago

What a horrible, horrible idea.

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