It was very exciting, at least for me, when we began to see the traditional sports underdog movie utilize the world of professional wrestling. And now we’re going to see that formula used again in another non-traditional sport, professional video gaming, in an eSports movie from Buzzfeed that’ll star Ellen Page.
THR reports Page will star in 1UP, an esports film that will mark Buzzfeed’s entry into the world of narrative movies. The newly-minted Buzzfeed studios plans to “develop and produce what it sees are socially relevant and high-concept feature films for global millennial and Gen Z audiences.”
Well, an eSports film definitely fits into that. Described as similar to Pitch Perfect, the film centers on gamer Vivian Lee, who quits her college eSports team rather than deal with sexist teammates. But with her scholarship on the line, Vivian gathers together a team of misfit female gamers to challenge her former squad. Page will play the team’s enigmatic coach, who attempts to whip the unskilled players into shape after dealing with her own Gamergate-type scandal in the past. Hubie Halloween‘s Paris Berelc will play Vivian.
Behind the camera is Kyle Newman, who directed the Star Wars-themed road trip movie Fanboys, as well as the Hailee Steinfeld action-comedy Barely Lethal. The script is by first-time writer Julia Yorks.
Not going to lie, Newman instills little confidence that gaming will be made to look cool on the big screen, but in general the premise sounds like a lot of fun. While it takes a lot of heat now, 1989’s The Wizard was a model for how to do a professional gaming underdog story. Remember how that film was also how Nintendo first-revealed Super Mario Bros. 3 to the world? That shit was NUTS! I’d love to see Buzzfeed partner with a studio so 1UP can feature an actual game that eSports players are playing.
As for Page, she’s quite familiar with the world of video games. While Ellen Page has accused Naughty Dog of using her likeness to create Ellie, the popular character of The Last of Us 2, the one game she was actually a part of was 2013’s Beyond: Two Souls.
