Los Angeles (AP) – When Jack Black I received the call to play in the film “Minecraft”, the advantages were numerous. He was able to work alongside Jason MomoaFind the director of “Nacho Libre”, Jared Hess, and engages in a world of beloved play.
But before he agreed, Black turned to real decision -makers: his sons, who are passionate players from Minecraft. They did not just give their approval, but practically begged him to play the role.
Like his sons, Black has noticed the buzz since the announcement of the release of ” A minecraft film“, Which will be released in theaters on Friday. The actor already knew the video game, having played it occasionally with his sons while preparing for live adaptation.
“My boys were playing, and I wanted to speak their language,” said Black, who plays the main protagonist Steve, who becomes a minecrafter expert after being aspired in the too much dimension of the world. His character ends up associating with a band of misfits which are mysteriously drawn through a portal in this new kingdom by a cube object which thrives on the imagination.
The film also features Momoa, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Coolidge and Sebastian Hansen.
Before his character finds himself in the world, Black plunged into the world of Minecraft games alongside his sons. He spent more than 100 hours playing the game on the set.
“I put the work,” he said. “You have to put the work days. Watch YouTube videos to get advice on how to survive this first night in the world. I was pretty paid in it.”
What is the craze behind Minecraft?
After Minecraft released in 2009, it only took two years to reach a million players. Since then, it has sold more than 235 million copies on various game platforms, cementing its status as a global phenomenon with its mixture of elements of creativity, exploration and survival.
The open design of the game allows players to cut their own experience, whether it is to survive against crowds, exploit resources, agriculture or use block structures to create artistic masterpieces. He also favored a prosperous multiplayer community where players collaborate to build their worlds together, while his educational applications extend to coding, architecture and problem solving.
Basically, Minecraft is an unlimited digital sandbox, where the imagination transforms simple blocks into all, houses comfortable to sprawling cities.
Minecraft designers’ gameplay videos have generated millions of pages viewed on YouTube.
These are some of the elements that attracted Myers and Hansen to the game during their childhood.
“I played a lot during the cochery,” said Hansen, 14, who plays Henry, a shy but creative and intellectual kid trying to sail in his new high school. Once his character is thrown into the world, he feels comfortable with the environment.
“I played it a lot during my childhood, watching videos and stuff all the time,” he said.
Myers began playing pocket edition with friends around the age of 10. She said that the digital and real elements complement perfectly.
“I think it’s very versatile,” said the 22 -year -old actor who plays Natalie, a character who suspended his life plan to take care of Henry, his younger brother. “I think Minecraft forces you to be creative and … solve problems in a way you would probably not think in the first place.”
Do video game adaptations really work on the big screen?
The road to the cinema console has not always been fluid.
Many video game adaptations have struggled at the box office, but recent hits like the series “Sonic”, “Five Nights at Freddy” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie “proved the potential of the genre.
These three films dominated the box office, with “Super Mario Bros.” Rking in more than $ 146 million during its opening weekend in 2023, according to Comscore. The three films “Sonic” made their debut between $ 58 and $ 72 million, while “Five Nights At Freddy’s” dollars.
It is a significant jump of other adaptations such as “The Angry Birds Movie 2”, that the Comscre Records will show a lukewarm opening of $ 10 million in 2019. Other attempts such as “Mortal Kombat (23 million dollars in 2021) and” Resident Evil: Welcome to Racoon City “($ 5.3 million the same year) fought to win the traction.
Black, who played in popular films like “School of Rock” and the “” Kung panda “The series said that he had never been part of a film as awaited as” Minecraft “.
Is Minecraft just for children?
If you ask Hess, this is certainly not the case. For him, the game is a family affair, woven in his household dynamics while he and his children frequently explore the world.
It made the sale easy for him to direct “a film minecraft”.
“The game is one of my favorite games of all time, and it was such an important part of our family life,” said Hess, 45, who made films including “Napoleon Dynamite”, “Masterminds” and “Nacho Libre”.
The game has no scenario, so Hess wanted to help create one for the film according to his knowledge after playing it for hours.
“This world of Minecraft is so crazy in a setting so perfect for an epic adventure film which was really ridiculously funny,” he said. “There are so many places you can go with it. There is no story in the game, so there was a lot of creative license to find.”
Torfi Frans ólafsson said he had thousands of hours on Minecraft, sometimes playing an entire night until 5 am, even if he has a meeting at 8 a.m. He recalled an entire weekend playing with his son, who was 6 years old at the time.
“I don’t think we have done something else,” said ólafsson, creative director at Minecraft and film producer. “We had a mission. We are trying to kill the dragon. It was just a lot of work and he continued to play. … But it was a wonderful moment of connection between father and son.”
Ólafsson added: “It’s the thing that matters. This game brings people together and creates shared memories and gives meanings to things.”
