Oh Josh Horowitz. The intrepid managing editor of MTV Movies is one of the best interviewers in the game... but he's also the undisputed king of the awkward moment. Take this one, on the red carpet at Sunday's 82nd Annual Academy Awards show. Josh asked "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" star Jake Gyllenhaal about almost starring in "Avatar" instead of, you know, the movie he's got coming out in a few months. I think Gyllenhaal handled himself very gracefully.
"There were definitely discussions and it was what it was, but ultimately it's a great honor that I was even thought of," the actor replied, looking slightly confused. Josh then starts to ask another question about "Avatar"... before quickly switching gears with a "maybe I should ask about 'Prince' instead." Gyllenhaal replied, "Yeah, that's a good idea."
Josh asked, after seeing the trailers, if we can expect to see the actor running around the desert with no shirt on for two hours. "You have no idea what you're going to see," he replied. "It's really good."
Of course, any time a movie based on a video game hits theaters, there's always the worry that it's going to follow in the footsteps of those that came before... and suck royally. Obviously the star isn't going to badmouth the movie he's in, but Gyllenhaal nonetheless sounds confident in the work he's done.
"I can say right now, this will reinvent the video game adaptation," he said. "This will finally pull off and does finally pull off what everybody hopes that video game adaptations would." Those are some might bold statements. As an unabashed lover of video games, I truly hope he's proven right. We'll find out when "The Sands of Time" hits theaters on May 28.
What is your favorite video game adaptation? What is your least favorite?
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