It appears that Hollywood has discovered a new reservoir in its tireless quest for adaptation-worthy source material: mobile games. With Angry Birds launching itself to the top spot at the domestic box office over the weekend, it didn’t take long until we heard about another game-turned-movie. According to THR, a gory slasher flick is next in line.
Hide your watermelons, folks — Fruit Ninja is on its way to theaters. A silver screen version of the popular mobile game is now in the works, but before you scoff and roll your eyes, consider that it has already been downloaded one billion times. That’s billion — with a B. That figure means a massive built-in audience for the film and is good enough to make it the second-highest-selling iOS game of all time, second only to — you guessed it — Angry Birds.
Since the game itself is essentially plotless, adapting it effectively may seem like a tall order, but it seems like Vinson Films — which will produce the film — has found the right man for the job. That man is Chad Damiani, who recently adapted Chuck Sambuchino’s offbeat, off-the-wall book, How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack: Defend Yourself When the Lawn Warriors Strike (And They Will), for the big screen.
The logic behind the choice is clear: If you can make a script out of an absurdist handbook for surviving a lawn gnome invasion, you can make a script out of anything. Unlike that film, however, Fruit Ninja will be shot in live-action, leaving open the possibility that a whole lot of actual fruit will be harmed during the filming of this project.
No word yet on when it will be released, or who will star in it, but we’ll keep you posted as additional news breaks.
In the meantime, you’ll just have to content yourself with punishing produce on your phone or tablet.
