New York Post

Mariah gets into the ‘Game’

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MARIAH Carey replaced Kate Upton in a new ad for “Game of War,” the hot video game that rakes in more than $1 million per day — but a source claims that even diva Carey was outdone on the set by two Silicon Valley tech execs.

The source said Gabriel Leydon, CEO of “Game of War” maker Machine Zone, and his COO, Kristen Dumont, were as demanding as any Alisters. On the Croatian shoot “they threw a fit about the brand of water, huffed about catering, and moaned about the heat,” the insider sniffed, claiming Leydon “insisted his wife — as well as Kristen’s husband — appear in the commercial.”

But the film’s director, Alan Taylor, tells us filming was drama free.

Leydon’s startup could reportedly command a $6 billion valuation. His new “Game of War” ad shows an epic battle set to Carey’s hit “Hero,” and ends with her shooting down a dragon.

Leydon’s wife, Taryn, has had designs on being a diva herself, and posted YouTube videos crooning tunes by Jewel, Jennifer Holiday and others.

Taylor — whose credits include “Game of Thrones” and “Thor: The Dark World” — confirmed that Leydon and Dumont’s significan­t others do appear in the ad, but told us it was all in good fun.

“The husband and wife are in a sequence, and it’s fun [that] their friends can spot them if they freezefram­e,” Taylor said when reached for comment. “We enjoyed it. It did not slow us down. It was really fun to see people who weren’t jaded, who got into costumes . . . grownups acting like kids.” He added, “It was like a fun day in summer camp.”

Some “Game of Thrones” crew worked on the project. Carey “seemed to have a good time,” Taylor said. “She’s a ‘Game of Thrones’ fan.”

A Machine Zone spokesman told us: “We always try to have fun on our ad campaigns, and we like to add a personal touch by including cameos of company insiders and inside jokes. Working with Mariah Carey was a dream come true, and suggestion­s of misbehavio­r on the set are false and silly. We did have an outbreak of food poisoning that affected 80 crew members — perhaps the ‘anonymous source’ was left with a sour taste in their mouth!”

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