Tetris
Tetris poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed byJon S. Baird
Written byNoah Pink
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAlwin H. Küchler
Edited by
Music byLorne Balfe
Production
companies
Distributed byApple TV+
Release dates
  • March 15, 2023 (2023-03-15) (SXSW)
  • March 31, 2023 (2023-03-31) (Apple TV+)
Running time
118 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

Tetris is a 2023 biographical drama film directed by Jon S. Baird and written by Noah Pink. The film stars Taron Egerton and Toby Jones.

Tetris had its world premiere at SXSW Film Festival on March 15, 2023, and is scheduled to be released on March 31, 2023, by Apple TV+.

Premise

The true story of the high-stakes legal battle to secure the intellectual property rights to Tetris.

Cast

Production

In July 2020, it was reported that a biopic was being made about the making of Tetris, which will delve into the legal battles that took place during the Cold War over ownership of the game, with Jon S. Baird directing and Taron Egerton cast to portray the game publisher Henk Rogers.[2] Egerton confirmed this report in an August 2020 interview, explaining that the film would mirror a tone similar to The Social Network.[3] In November 2020, Apple TV+ acquired the film.[4]

Filming began in Glasgow in December 2020, including Glasgow Prestwick Airport on the Ayrshire coast.[5] In February 2021, filming took place in Aberdeen at locations including the University of Aberdeen's Zoology Building, which was used as the headquarters of Soviet firm Elorg,[6] and Seamount Court[7] which was used for several scenes. Production then returned to Glasgow for a few days, before wrapping in early March 2021.[8][9] Reshoots took place in 2022, and the film's release was planned for later in the year.[10]

Release

The film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 15, 2023.[11] It will premiere on Apple TV+ on March 31, 2023.[12]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 81% of 37 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The website's consensus reads, "While it's nowhere near as addictive or fast-paced as the game, Tetris offers a fun, fizzy account of the story behind an 8-bit classic."[13] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14]

Historical accuracy

In an interview prior to the film's release, Henk Rogers said that both he and Alexy Pajitnov reviewed the script and made suggestions.[15] However, Rogers noted, "It's a Hollywood script; it's a movie. It's not about history, so a lot of [what's in the movie] never happened." He did emphasize that the producers wanted to "capture the darkness and the brooding" that he felt during his time trying to get the rights to Tetris in then-Soviet Russia. He continued, "They tried their best to accept our changes when they had to do with authenticity. But when it started getting into [creative flourishes like] the car chase and all that, it was like, ​'OK, now it’s all them.' We couldn't change anything."

References

  1. ^ "Tetris (15)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  2. ^ Jennings, Collier (23 July 2020). "Tetris Movie Casts Taron Egerton as Its Lead". Comic Book Resources.
  3. ^ Dean, Jonathan (24 August 2020). "Taron Egerton: 'The Tetris film is more Social Network than Lego Movie!'". British GQ.
  4. ^ Grater, Tom (19 November 2020). "Apple Boards Taron Egerton-Starring 'Tetris' From 'Stan & Ollie' Director Jon S. Baird, 'Rocketman' Producer Matthew Vaughn". Deadline Hollywood.
  5. ^ Williams, Craig (4 December 2020). "Tetris movie begins filming in Glasgow starring Rocketman's Taron Egerton". GlasgowLive.
  6. ^ Cameron, Ewan (20 February 2021). "Hollywood movie Tetris starts filming in Aberdeen with star Taron Egerton". Evening Express. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  7. ^ Durham, Thomas (17 January 2022). "The north-east in the spotlight - here are where some blockbusters were filmed in the north-east". Aberdeen Live. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  8. ^ Haugh, Jack (2 March 2021). "'I couldn't be prouder': Taron Egerton updates fans on Tetris film shot in Glasgow". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  9. ^ Jon S. Baird [@jonsbaird] (3 March 2021). "That's a wrap on Tetris. It's been emotional 🎬🎥🥂🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🙏#Tetrismovie" / Twitter" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 March 2021 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Julia Cunningham (28 June 2022). "Taron Egerton". The Jess Cagle Podcast w/ Julia Cunningham (Podcast). SiriusXM. Retrieved 4 August 2022.
  11. ^ "Tetris - 2023 Schedule". SXSW. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Apple Original Films unveils trailer for "Tetris," new thriller starring Taron Egerton". Apple TV+ Press. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Tetris". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Tetris". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Meet Henk Rogers, video game icon turned climate champion". Canary Media. Retrieved 23 March 2023.

See also