'Pixels' taps into vintage Chris Columbus
There are more throwback aspects at play in the video-game comedy Pixels than just Pac-Man and Peter Dinklage's epic mullet.
Even though the new Chris Columbus movie (in theaters Friday) takes place now, it's an homage to the 1980s screenplays he wrote for Gremlins, The Goonies and other fare from Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment company when his career was just starting.
He intends to continue making like-minded movies. "They don't have to take place in the '80s — they just have whatever the '80s sensibility is," says the 56-year-old director. "I can't describe it because I lived it, but it certainly works in the world of Pixels."
That Reagan-era storytelling gets a boost from current-day special effects in the movie, which reteams three estranged friends and former video-game champions (Dinklage, Adam Sandler and Josh Gad). The aging arcade heroes are the last defense against a bunch of giant alien invaders who saw old-school 8-bit games such as Centipede and Galaga as an intergalactic threat against them.
"The concept was so fresh, and in a summer with superhero films and sequels, this felt totally original," says Columbus.
The guys' sense of camaraderie and connection is a thematic staple in the filmmaker's work. The Goonies obviously fits into that mold, as do his directorial efforts Mrs. Doubtfire, Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter movies.
"This is three guys trying to put their family back together," Columbus says. "Those are for me the most successful movies I've made, but also the ones that are closest to my heart."
Columbus has diversified his resume in the past 10 years, directing a big-screen version of the musical Rent and producing movies such as the Night at the Museum series and the Oscar-nominated drama The Help.
With Pixels, though, Columbus wanted to recapture that piece of his younger self who wrote the adventures of Gizmo in Gremlins and a group of spunky treasure-hunting kids in Goonies.
"It's still in my DNA. I didn't have to go and look back," Columbus says. "Josh Gad saw (Pixels) and he said to me, 'That's the first Amblin movie I've seen since 1984.' That's a great compliment."