Grumpy Cat meme to become a movie
This kitty oughta be in pictures — like, moving ones. And evidently, Hollywood agrees: EW has confirmed that Grumpy Cat, the pouting pet who instantly became a viral sensation after her photo was posted on Reddit last September, is getting her very own feature film. (A moment of silence for all the struggling, human screenwriters who just found out that they can’t compete with a one-year-old bundle of fur.)
The movie will be a “Garfield-like” tale in which Grumpy Cat — known to her friends as Tardar Sauce — has been granted the power of speech. It’ll be produced by Broken Road, the same company currently working to bring a Medieval Times movie to the big screen. “This started off as a picture of a cat, but rare is an image that evokes that much comedy,” one of the producers told Deadline, which initially reported the story. “You read all of the memes and the comments, and one is funnier than the next. We think we can build a big family comedy around this character.”
Plenty of Internet memes have netted their creators book deals — but this looks to be one of the first meme-to-movie transfers. And if we know anything about trends — not to mention Hollywood’s apparent allergy toward making films not based on preexisting material — it won’t be the last. Which other running Internet jokes could possibly inspire a feature film? Here are a few guesses; feel free to pitch your own in the comments.
Rage Comics — These crudely-drawn icons already have a sort of mythology built around them: Rageguy is the hotheaded leader of the group, Trollface is the smarmy second banana, Forever Alone is the empathetic sad-sack. Tell the story of how they all met, find them a common enemy — creepy Me Gusta Guy? — and boom, you’ve got yourself an Avengers-style superhero flick on a budget.
Ermahgerd — This adorably enthusiastic bibliophile is just begging to be the star of her very own coming-of-age tale. She’s like the post-Millennial Mary Katherine Gallagher! Maybe she goes on an epic quest to meet R.L. Stine before the very last Goosebumps book is released — and, in the process, she finds herself. Too bad Shailene Woodley‘s schedule is so booked.
Philosoraptor — It’ll be like Jurassic Park, except instead of eating people, the raptors all sit around a campfire and discuss the Hegelian dialectic. So maybe it’s actually more like My Dinner with Andre… with Dinosaurs.
Haters Gonna Hate — A jaunty comedy about never letting the bastards get you down, starring Jonah Hill as the devil-may-care title character. Co-stars Jake Johnson as Haters Gonna Hate Guy’s nonchalant, sunglasses-clad sidekick, Deal With It Guy.
First World Problems — a.k.a. Girls, The Movie.
Ryan Gosling Won’t Eat his Cereal — Obviously, the Internet’s favorite celebrity deserves his own meme-based movie. Maybe he’s locked in an epic, never-ending battle with Strutting Leonardo DiCaprio.
Your turn!
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