No, it’s not April 1st. Following the “success” of last year’s Starburst favourite Battleship comes the terrifying if inevitable news that Hollywood, the Dream Factory, will be bringing an animated Angry Birds movie to the screens for summer 2016. If you’re not responsible for one of its near-2 billion downloads since its launch in 2009, Angry Birds is the popular mobile phone/PC game in which a variety of exploding birds are catapulted at pigs strategically positioned around an ever-changing playing field and the aim of the game is for the birds to destroy the pigs so the player can move on to the next playing level. It’s much more fun that it sounds – but whether the world needs a movie spin-off remains to be seen.

The project was announced last December and Sony have now won distribution rights for the movie. ”Every studio in town would love to add Angry Birds to their slate,” said Sony co-chairmen Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal (we’re not sure if they said it simultaneously) without a trace of irony or desperation. “There are few titles out there that bring this kind of excitement, brand awareness and built-in audience to the table.” We’re tempted to move to another table…

The movie is being funded by Rovio Entertainment who created the damned game which has already led to a line of toys, soft drinks and a theme park in Finland. Words nearly fail us.

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