Washington [US], April 10 : Sony Pictures has signed filmmaker duo Zach Lipovsky and Adam B Stein to a sweeping first-look deal that spans all of its film labels, while also tapping the pair to direct a long-anticipated live-action adaptation of 'Metal Gear Solid'.
Under the new deal, Lipovsky and Stein, operating through their newly launched company Wonderlab, will develop films for their own direction as well as produce projects for other filmmakers.
The studio has described the focus as building "wildly fun, commercial, character-driven, genre-bending films," as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.
As part of the agreement, they will helm Sony's Columbia Pictures adaptation of 'Metal Gear Solid', based on the iconic stealth-action video game created by Hideo Kojima.
The film will be produced by father-and-son team Avi Arad and Ari Arad, and is expected to bring the franchise's cinematic world of espionage and science fiction to the big screen for the first time, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Sony Motion Picture Group President Sanford Panitch praised the filmmakers, calling them "thrilling storytellers, masters of visuals and suspense" in an official statement, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Lipovsky and Stein said they were "honoured" to partner with Sony, adding that the studio's teams share their vision for theatrical, event-driven cinema.
On 'Metal Gear Solid', they described the game as a "groundbreaking cinematic masterpiece" and expressed excitement about bringing its characters and world to life.
The duo's collaboration with Sony also includes an animated Venom film for Sony Pictures Animation, which they are directing, and the original sci-fi epic 'The Earthling', which they will direct and produce alongside Eric Heisserer and Scott Glassgold.
Their earlier credits include the indie sci-fi film 'Freaks', which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
A sequel to 'Freaks' is currently in post-production. The filmmakers have also worked on projects such as a new 'Gremlins feature' for Warner Bros., 'The Traveler' at Paramount.
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