The producer of "Despicable Me" will help oversee production on a movie based on the "Angry Birds" video game.
Rovio Entertainment, which is financing the film, said that not only will John Cohen produce the "Angry Birds" flick, it has also lined up former Marvel Studios chairman David Maisel as executive producer.
Maisel produced "Iron Man," which helped establish Marvel as a major force in movies. Maisel left the company after it was sold to Disney for $4 billion in 2009.
Rovio said that Cohen also deserves credit for helping to develop a feature film version of "Alvin and the Chipmunks."
Rovio, which has never produced feature films and is backing the film outside the studio system, will presumably lean heavily on their expertise.
Seeing those irate avians on the big screen will take some time. Rovio said that the film is scheduled to hit theaters in summer 2016.
The list of good movies made from well-known video games is scant ("Super Mario Bros.," anyone?), but Angry Birds is a true phenomenon. Since its debut in 2009, the Angry Birds game has been downloaded more than 1 billion times.
Now to turn all those players into moviegoers…
