PIXELS STAR GETS GIRL
Familiar face, familiar voice — Pixels star even gets the girl this time
Josh Gad battles aliens
Josh Gad is becoming a familiar face on the big screen after a 2011 Tony Award nomination for his acclaimed performance on Broadway’s The Book of Mormon. You might say Gad is a familiar voice, as well. He provided the snappy patter and the vocals for snowman Olaf in the Disney animated mega-hit Frozen and will do so again in the planned sequel.
Last winter, the 34-year-old teamed up with Kevin Hart for the romp The Wedding Ringer, and now he joins the Adam Sandler comedy ensemble in the action fantasy Pixels. Gad, Sandler, Peter Dinklage and Kevin James, are part of a 1980s video-game squad called into 21st-century service when aliens confuse an outer-space time capsule with a declaration of war.
The extraterrestrials misinterpret the message, and then respond by sending retro arcade games as models for assaults on humankind, including Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Centipede and Space Invaders. That’s when the former childhood gaming champs are recruited to defeat the attacks.
The Chris Columbus-directed movie is heavy on special effects and family-friendly humour, although Gad’s character does have a flirtation with a fictional lady-in-red arcade adventurer (Ashley Benson). The friendly actor, singer and writer spoke with Postmedia News from his base in New York:
Q How does it feel to get the girl — sort of?
A I didn’t know I got the girl in the movie. I thought they would edit it differently. But seriously, Ashley (Benson), created a larger-than-life character that movie fans will fall in love with immediately.
Q Your character is kind of huggable in a nerd kind of way. Do you agree?
A Every choice he makes is questionable, like he requires immediate psychological attention. But I hope he comes across vulnerable and people find him funny.
Q Did you feel welcomed into the Sandler comedy realm?
A Adam creates an environment that is unbelievably welcoming.
He goes out of his way to make filming like summer camp for the cast and crew. That camaraderie shows up on screen and that all starts with Adam.
Q There is, indeed, a sense of fun. Was there a discussion about a Pixels’ tone?
A Yeah, (Pixels), runs the gamut from fantastical to being human and relatable.
Q Does it help to have Columbus directing?
A He is the best at that kind of genre that recalls the ‘80s pictures that I loved, like Gremlins and The Goonies, both of which,
Chris (Columbus), wrote.
Q How familiar were you with the arcade gaming world?
A I remember vaguely going to the arcade with my brothers but I remember vividly bringing home my Nintendo to play Duck Hunt.
Q You sing Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants to Rule the World in Pixels. Whose idea was that?
A Tears for Fears is my band and I did suggest it. And it’s literally what everybody wants to do. Q Did you enjoy filming Pixels in Toronto last summer?
A It’s among my favourite places to shoot and live. I hope I get to shoot there again.
Q You have some exciting projects on the horizon. What’s the status of Triplets, the script you co-wrote as a Twins sequel, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito returning with newcomer, Eddie Murphy?
A We delivered the script, so it rests entirely on the shoulders of the studio. It’s out of my jurisdiction. Q You have two other potential films in the works. What’s up with your R-rated remake of the 1960s sitcom Gilligan’s Island, with you as Gilligan, and the biopic of comic Sam Kinison?
A We’re tweaking the Sam Kinison script and we’re waiting to see if there’s enough interest in Gilligan.
Every choice he makes is questionable, like he requires immediate psychological attention. But I hope he comes across vulnerable and people find him funny.