Pac-Man and Artistic Interpretation

[Chief Redcock]

Could a Pac-Man movie POSSIBLY be good? How so? What do you think of the actual game? Work of art or dated museum piece?

I love it, personally. Still a fave.

[Chief Redcock]

Man, I can't believe this bombed. I'll go hang my head in shame now.

[Seppuku]

I'm sure somebody wrote a Pretend Movie Adaptation of a Pac-man game in a talkback once...I'm pretty sure it was Zombie Solutions too. Maybe he can dig it out of the vaults and post it here to give your thread a bit more meat on its bones.

And I've always been more of a Pong man myself.

[Chief Redcock]

Aren't they making a for real adaptation of the game, and isn't it supposed to be live action? Did I just dream that? Too much crack, maybe.

[Seppuku]

Holy shit, you're right: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473377/.

It looks like they're just in the script-writing stage, but that news is crazy. Why would they want to adapt it, how would they even think about going about it? Will it be like some Russian hit-men are after a studly rotund guy with a bad sun-tan (that's made him turn yellow)? Wasn't the cartoon series bad enough, now they have to make this...

[Shane]

I don't see how it could work.

[minstrel]

It's a ridiculous idea. Why do it? Is there a plot? Any characters involved? As soon as you introduce plot and characters, you're not talking about Pac-Man anymore, are you?

And if you HAVE plot and characters, why on earth would you want to call it Pac-Man?

[Chief Redcock]

Ok, let me retool the question a bit.

Say you're an up and coming screenwriter, on the make in Hollywood (which you may or may not actually be). Someway, somehow, Namco has chosen to entrust you with their sacred Pac-Man property. They've given you free reign with the story, the actors, and the budget, as long as the project could still conceivably be called "Pac-Man" and somewhat resembles the game. The project baffles you, but it's the only work you can get. What would you do? What. Would. You. Do.




'K. Watch this bomb.

::ducks for cover::

[Bob Samonkey]

One way and only one way this would work. You want a plot that only kinda makes sense. You need anime.

[buster00]

Jack Black as Pac-Man. I can see the overworked sloganeering on the one-sheets now.

Charlize Theron as Ms. Pac-Man.

Dennis Hopper as Inky.

Stephen Colbert as Blinky.

Benicio del Toro as Pinky.

Dane Cook as Clyde.


and of course...

CHRISTOPHER LEE...as...Mezmaron!

[ThisIsTheGirl]

I thought Pac-Man VS on the Gamecube was a really cool update of the game.

Dunno if anybody here played it, but you needed to hook up a GBA to your Gamecube. The GBA player, who controls Pac-Man, could see the whole board, while the other players (3 for maximum enjoyment) play the ghosts, and can only see their immediate surroundings. Good little game, I picked it up for about $15, unboxed.

Here's a screenshot for you lucky, lucky people:



Not much to look at, but it was pretty addictive...

[Shane]

I could see it as some sort of strange Robot Chicken type claymation, complete with the vulgar humor.

[Hermanator X]

I hope they use this old chestnut for a story kickoff -
Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music. - Kristian Wilson, Nintendo, Inc, 1989
Set it in a nightclub with a freaked out clubber, and have Ghosts\bouncers coming after him. The changing beats and tunes make the dance floor shift, effectively like a maze (come on, who hasnt got lost in a big club).
I dont have any idea of a plot or purpose, but it could be a fear and loathing in las vegas kinda trip.
Absolute nonsense I know, but we are talking about a pac man movie.

[buster00]

I hope they use this old chestnut for a story kickoff -
Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music. - Kristian Wilson, Nintendo, Inc, 1989

HA!

Let's see -- check...check...aaannd...check.

[ThisIsTheGirl]

Computer games don't affect kids; I mean if Pac-Man affected us as kids, we'd all be running around in darkened rooms, munching magic pills and listening to repetitive electronic music. - Kristian Wilson, Nintendo, Inc, 1989

I have the strangest sensation of deja vu.....

Great quote, but it wasn't made by Kristian Wilson, it was made by Marcus Brigstocke in about 1995

You're welcome!

[Hermanator X]

ah well never mind. I remembered the quote as being ahead of its time, etc, and googled it to find it.
What can I say, the internet lied to me!!

having read the link I can say it all makes sense now, but takes away some of the magic. haha.

[King Psyz]

I thought the thread title was aluding to something like this;

[Chief Redcock]

All I know about this is that it should be completely chase oriented... it should be like Tron mixed with the batmobile chase scene in Batman Begins. Have some teenagers, or a bunch of computer programmers, or something, be sucked into a computer program, or a military training program, or something, run amok. Throw them into a big yellow contraption that's partly a cool high tech vehicle and partly a giant CGI Pac-Man. Have them run around in a big fucking maze, trying to get out of the program, or whatever... throw in lots of incredibly ghoulish, over-the-top CGI ghosts. Or if you don't like the CGI, make 'em clamation or puppets or something. Get Guillermero Del Toro to direct. Make the whole fucking thing look like Tron. Give it a hip rave, trip-hop soundtrack. And then... and then...

...ummm. They chase each other for, like, an hour and a half. Around the maze and, ummm... okay. Maybe there're a few rough patches here, script wise. But what the heck. That didn't stop Gus Van Sant, did it?

[Bob Samonkey]

I thought the thread title was aluding to something like this;

HAHAHAHA

I still play Excitebike.

[ZombieZoneSolutions]

I think the PAC MAN film should be used as an allegory for the inevitable collapse of capitalism.

PAC MAN would play the greedy capitalist; raiding the maze of the ghosts of the lumpen proletariat -- stealing their dots, "power pellets", and food -- in order to boost his own status.

The ghosts of the lumpen proletariat, enraged, will rise from their graves to kill PAC MAN.

Now, as with Capitalism, PAC MAN is a powerful beast which can outrun the ghosts of the lumpen proletariat, seemingly endlessly stealing all of their resources and devouring them over and over again with his "patterns."

HOWEVER, as we all know, eventually, PAC MAN is going to die; and there are no continues.

This GAME OVER for PAC MAN signifies the inevtiable end of Laize-Faire / Imperialist Capitalism, and the rise of the workers who overthrow their greedy capitalist overlords and establish a workers paradise...

[Bob Samonkey]

I think the PAC MAN film should be used as an allegory for the inevitable collapse of capitalism.

PAC MAN would play the greedy capitalist; raiding the maze of the ghosts of the lumpen proletariat -- stealing their dots, "power pellets", and food -- in order to boost his own status.

The ghosts of the lumpen proletariat, enraged, will rise from their graves to kill PAC MAN.

Now, as with Capitalism, PAC MAN is a powerful beast which can outrun the ghosts of the lumpen proletariat, seemingly endlessly stealing all of their resources and devouring them over and over again with his "patterns."

HOWEVER, as we all know, eventually, PAC MAN is going to die; and there are no continues.

This GAME OVER for PAC MAN signifies the inevtiable end of Laize-Faire / Imperialist Capitalism, and the rise of the workers who overthrow their greedy capitalist overlords and establish a workers paradise...

Ok, as long as it is PG-13 for the kids demographic and it has lots of explosions and boobies

[HollywoodBabylon]

Didn't they make a film once of the 'Mario Brothers' with Bob Hoskins?
A salutary warning.

[ZombieZoneSolutions]

I think the PAC MAN film should be used as an allegory for the inevitable collapse of capitalism.

PAC MAN would play the greedy capitalist; raiding the maze of the ghosts of the lumpen proletariat -- stealing their dots, "power pellets", and food -- in order to boost his own status.

The ghosts of the lumpen proletariat, enraged, will rise from their graves to kill PAC MAN.

Now, as with Capitalism, PAC MAN is a powerful beast which can outrun the ghosts of the lumpen proletariat, seemingly endlessly stealing all of their resources and devouring them over and over again with his "patterns."

HOWEVER, as we all know, eventually, PAC MAN is going to die; and there are no continues.

This GAME OVER for PAC MAN signifies the inevtiable end of Laize-Faire / Imperialist Capitalism, and the rise of the workers who overthrow their greedy capitalist overlords and establish a workers paradise...

Ok, as long as it is PG-13 for the kids demographic and it has lots of explosions and boobies

EXACTLY! What would a proto-socialist allegory about a video game be without copius boobage and splosions.

Don't forget, it also requires a "slammin'" soundtrack packed to the gills with Safe, Status Quoish, Corporate Sponsored Rebellion (TM).

[buster00]

Zombie, I LOVE your treatment and I will never play my Playstation One "Greatest Arcade Hits" Pac-Man the same way again.

Yes, you read that correctly. I'm a caveman.

[Doc Holliday]

A live action conversion - never going to work. But an animated feature - sure, why not?

This one needs the full 3-D, Pixar or Dreamworks style treatment. But why not? Remold any other tale, change a few details and voila! You have your protagonist, the heroine, the antagonists...you need a King Ghost who stands out from the Pac (geddit?) for the inevitable climactic showdown. You have as many plot devices as you can think fruits...

Hell yeah, go for it! Anyone remember the Pac-Man cartoon? I seem to remember liking it...it was chiefly the reason I endured Roland Rat's substandard grasp of the Englishlanguage for an enitre Summer...well, Pac Man, George of the Jungle and Roger Ramjet anyways....

[Chief Redcock]

Okay. Grudgingly, I will concede your point that live action *might* be the wrong way to go with this. Imdb, in fact, now has this upcoming film listed as animation/adventure... I guess the buzz about it being live action was wrong... or the studio execs changed their minds.

Still, it's fun to contemplate a surreal, live action version of this concept. Eh? Eh? Zombiesolutions' pitch was actually rather brilliant... I'd love to see that movie, though I always saw the ghosts as being ex, dead Pac-Men, myself. Anyway, keep these comin'. I'm lovin' em. I'll be back in a bit, as soon as I have free time (yeah right) to post more pretentious musings on the subject...

[TheButcher]

Pixels - Trailer #2



Pac-Man and the Arcade Renaissance
The arcade explosion took everyone by surprise in 1980, and no one shined (or ate) more than Pac-Man.

[TheButcher]

This Is What Pac-Man‘s Creator Thinks 35 Years Later
TIME talked to the creator of one of the most important characters in gaming history

MUSICALS AND GAMING SUITS: AN INTERVIEW WITH PAC-MAN CREATOR TORU IWATANI
“Pac-Man represented the '80s. It's essential,” the professor said. “If you're going to use '80s video game characters, Pac-Man is essential.”

[TheButcher]

Nintendo Might Make Movies Again, Despite PIXELS
The game company is thinking of going Hollywood.

[Wolfpack]

Uwe Boll has ruined the whole idea of video game to movie adaptations.

[TheButcher]

Variety:
‘Pac Man’ Pioneer Masaya Nakamura, Founder of Namco, Dead at 91

Masaya Nakamura, the arcade entertainment pioneer who pioneered smash hit video game “Pac-Man” has died, age 91. He founded the giant gaming company Namco and for 10 years Namco was also owner of the Nikkatsu film company.

Nakamura’s death was recorded as having taken place more than a week ago, on Jan. 22, 2017. But it was only announced, by Namco today on its Japanese-language website.

Having attended technical university in Yokohama, Nakamura reportedly founded Namco in 1955 as a company operating mechanical horses on the roof of a department store. After Namco was merged with another Japanese games firm Bandai to form Namco-Bandai (later Bandai Namco) in 2005, Nakamura retained an honorary position. He was also awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, by the Japanese government for his services to industry.

Pac-Man, conceived to look like a pizza with a slice taken out of it, was invented by Toru Iwatani and went on sale as a coin-operated game in 1980. It expanded onto consoles before spawning massive merchandise sales, TV series, theme parks and a film.

Namco bought Nikkatsu in 1993. Japan’s oldest film studio was once famous for its pink-eiga, the free-ranging soft porn genre that gave many contemporary Japanese film makers their career start. Nakamura is credited as executive producer on several of its titles (“Warm Water Under a Red Bridge,” “A Stranger of Mine”.) Hewas also executive producer on Crystal Sky’s 2010 game adaptation “Tekken”.