We’ve already got one “must see” tech-themed movie coming up this year with the Aaron Sorkin-penned Steve Jobs biopic, but Hollywood’s not done when it come to giving technology the big screen treatment.
In a deal reported to be worth close to seven-figures, Sony Pictures Animation has reportedly beaten out two other major studios to win the rights to a movie based on none other than emojis.
Okay, so we get that The Lego Movie was better than it had any right to be, but is there really anyone who’s going to queue up for a movie based on the pictograms we send each other as jokes in text messages? According to movie industry trade website Deadline, Sony certainly thinks so:
“This appears to be a zeitgeist moment for these ideograms that hatched in Japan and have spread worldwide. Unlike like, say Lego, there are also no underlying rights here to purchase, which makes this as much a catnip idea to Hollywood as public domain fairy tales that fuel so many blockbusters. I’ve heard that another pitch is going to be shopped shortly, so there might be reason for Sony Animation to move quickly.”
The news comes just before the release of Chris Columbus-directed comedy Pixels, which stars Adam Sandler and some of the most popular video game characters in history.
Any takers on a predictive text script? I’m starting the bidding at a mere $100,000.
