The film is part of Apple Inc.'s increasing presence in Hollywood. The smartphone maker is ramping up to spend over $1 billion a year on films for theaters and ...
Dutch video game designer Henk Rogers purchased the Japanese rights to Tetris in 1988, after playing a demo of the game at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las ...
The company was founded in 1996 and handles all of the Tetris rights. Specifically, the Tetris movie is based on the messy legal battle for the rights to Tetris. The Tetris movie is more or less accurate, but it definitely exaggerates key details for the sake of a more exciting movie. For example, the pretty young blonde woman, Sasha (Sofia Lebedeva), who serves as Rogers’ interpreter and ally in Russia is revealed to be a KGB agent, and this is meant to be a big moment of betrayal. Stein agreed to sign a contract to give Nintendo handheld rights but then began to give Rogers the run-around. The Tetris movie is based on the true story of the popular block-building video game. (There is even home video footage of him dozing on the plane in the BBC documentary.) In fact, most of the KGB drama seems to be largely exaggerated. Read on to learn about the Tetris movie true story, and find out how accurate the Tetris movie is. Belikov accused Rogers of selling the game illegally, and secretly met with Maxwell and Stein, confronting them about the so-called broken contract. But Nintendo needed the handheld rights to the game. Because Tetris was designed by a Russian programmer at the height of the Soviet Union, the forces of capitalism had to work extra hard to make as much money as possible. [Tetris](https://decider.com/movie/tetris/) movie, which began streaming on [Apple TV+](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/tetris/umc.cmc.4evmgcam356pzgxs2l7a18d7b) today, takes on the difficult task of transforming the Tetris true story—a legal battle over intellectual property rights—into a compelling, watchable movie.
'Tetris' explores the true story behind the late 1980s legal battle that led to the classic video game becoming an international phenomenon.
Rogers also cemented a friendship with Pajitnov during his time in Moscow and eventually helped him to profit from the game he had invented. A tense three-way battle over the rights to the game ensued between Rogers, Stein, and Mirrorsoft owner Robert Maxwell (played by Richard Allam) and his son Kevin Maxwell (Anthony Boyle). Rogers’ arrival in Moscow with the Nintendo Famicon version of Tetris led to the revelation that Stein had been trading rights he did not own. Like in the movie, after Tetris was ported to the IBM PC in 1985 and began to spread throughout the Soviet Union, Hungarian businessman Robert Stein (played by Toby Jones) made an attempt to secure the computer rights to the game for his company, Andromeda Software. You’re not allowed to speak to anyone.’ And I said, ‘Well, I didn’t come all this way to stand in front of the door and go back to Tokyo to get a visa. Rogers went on to land a deal with Nintendo via his company Bullet-Proof Software, and Tetris for the Nintendo Famicon console was released in late 1988. “I am about to walk in the door and my interpreter says, ‘You can’t go in there,'” Rogers told Baird and written by Noah Pink, follows Henk Rogers ( [Taron Egerton](https://time.com/5591284/rocketman-elton-john-movie-review/)), a Dutch game designer who, after learning about Tetris at a 1988 Las Vegas tradeshow, traveled to Moscow to secure the game’s licensing rights from behind the Iron Curtain. [Apple TV+](https://time.com/6262001/extrapolations-review/) movie streaming March 31, explores the true story behind the late 1980s legal battle that led to the classic video game becoming an international phenomenon. It was in Moscow that Rogers met Alexey Pajitnov (played by Nikita Efremov), a software engineer at the Soviet Academy of Sciences who created the original Tetris on a rudimentary Electronika 60 computer. However, the contract expressly forbid Stein from licensing the rights to the arcade and handheld versions of the game, as well as any other mediums The puzzle game—which requires players to fit together geometric shapes composed of four squares to form horizontal lines—skyrocketed to popularity so quickly that in 1994, writer Jeffrey Goldsmith coined the term the [Tetris Effect](https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20121022-the-psychology-of-tetris) to explain the psychological phenomenon that occurs when people devote so much time and attention to something that it begins to pattern their thoughts, mental images, and dreams.
Despite being based on one of the most inoffensive and family-friendly games of all time, the Tetris movie is rated R. Starring Taron Egerton, ...
However, in the case of Tetris, the decision may have an unexpected silver lining. The MPA's decision regarding Tetris rating is reflected in rating agencies around the world. This explained why Tetris is rated R, in spite of its more family-friendly branding. Likewise, Canadian regulators have marked the movie as an 18A, although this age limit is self-applied. As demonstrated by [the Tetris trailer](https://screenrant.com/tetris-movie-trailer/), the story is much more frenetic and action-packed than many viewers might expect from a biographical legal drama. As a result of this historical angle, Tetris is about much more than brightly colored blocks slotting neatly on top of one another – going some way towards explaining its slightly surprising rating.
As fact-based movies go, "Tetris" plays like a Cold War espionage thriller, which merely underscores the crazy amount of globetrotting intrigue that ...
The business aspect and the ’80s framing in some respects mirrors another movie arriving soon, Add to that Russia’s current war in Ukraine and the film possesses a timeliness that goes beyond just another Egerton helps hold it all together as a believable everyman, straddling the line between nerve and pigheaded foolishness. Rogers at first seems blissfully unaware of the danger to which he’s exposing himself, or the watchful eyes that could cause trouble for Pajitnov. Starring Taron Egerton, this Apple TV+ movie, like the game, is colorful and engaging enough that it’s hard to take your eyes off the screen. A P.T.
AppleTV+ film Tetris is based on the true story of video game creator Alexey Pazhitnov and entrepreneur Henk Rogers.
Henk Rogers and Alexey Pajitnov founded The Tetris Company in 1996. But when it started getting into the car chase and all that, it was like, 'OK, now it's all them.' We couldn't change anything.” He achieved this, and was able to bring Tetris to western gamers. Tetris was invented in 1984 by Pazhitnov - the game, named for the Greek ‘tetra’ meaning four, and ‘tennis’ because of Alexey’s love of the sport, became a worldwide sensation and is still popular almost four decades later. This is everything you need to know about the true story of Tetris: The film stars Kingsman actor [Taron Egerton](https://www.nationalworld.com/culture/television/black-bird-apple-tv-release-date-trailer-cast-taron-egerton-ray-liotta-true-story-james-keene-larry-hall-3742049) and features a supporting cast that includes [Toby Jones](/topic/toby-jones), Togo Igawa, and Rick Yune.
In an interview with IGN, The Tetris Company co-founders Alexey Pajitnov and Henk Rogers discuss the Tetris movie and reflect on that period of their lives.
The video also reveals a Nintendo Switch OLED Model The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom edition will be available on April 28, 2023, with a Nintendo Switch Pro controller - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom edition and Nintendo Switch carrying case - Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom edition available on May 12, 2023.The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will be available on Nintendo Switch on May 12, 2023.](/videos/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-official-gameplay-demonstration) I did go to the Soviet Union before the fall of the Iron Curtain, and it was very different than it is today, certainly. But when the pair was invited to the premiere in Austin, it was a different story. "I did go to Arakawa and I did convince him to pack in Tetris," Rogers recalls. I was really warmed up by the acceptance of the public. Later on, we gave up to this Hollywood stuff to be in the movie, deciding that we will kind of accept or do the good compromise on everything, which might not happen, but might happen in this particular circumstance." Pajitnov also eventually made his way to Japan, where it seems Rogers gave him a pretty overloaded schedule with the media, as Pajitnov recalls: "He tortured me a lot when I was invited to Japan. The journey stretches from Japan to Russia, as Rogers encounters high-profile figures from Nintendo like Hiroshi Yamauchi, Minoru Arakawa, and Howard Lincoln while also dealing with the challenges of conducting business in Soviet Russia. When I realized that we are at the same mission in this world, we kind of became friends. Pajitnov reflected on initially meeting Rogers when he came to Russia in an attempt to acquire the rights for Tetris. The pair recently sat down with IGN to discuss their memories of Tetris' origins, and how the movie adaptation differs from what actually happened. I'm a better driver than Alexey,'" Rogers jokes, referring to a car chase that takes place during the movie.
Tetris star Taron Egerton discusses what appealed to him most about the script, what made filming difficult, & talks directing & upcoming projects.
I have my own idea that I would like to pitch to Matthew, and I think that will be happening soon but he has the wheels in motion on a big idea of his own. It's the role that made my name, so I suppose, in a way, I just want it to be absolutely right if we do it again, and I want the story to do justice to the part that really changed my life. It's the worst thing in the world,” and it's– I mean, look, First World problems, but it's just very uncomfortable and itchy, and there's just something about having something in the front-middle of your face that really puts you in a bad mood. So, I can't believe that in the years between Eddie the Eagle and Tetris, which was probably about five or six years in terms of production dates, that I forgot how uncomfortable it is and deigned to wear one for an entire shoot. I found it was so interesting that you filmed this movie in Scotland in, I believe, Aberdeen, which had the architecture for Russia. Even down to the fact that Henk [Rogers], Robert Stein, and Maxwell, the younger Evan Maxwell, all turned up a log on the same day, is true So, yeah, I mean, if you were to put a crude percentage on it, I think 85, 95% of it it's true. EGERTON: I mean, I was insistent on doing that because I don't grow a very strong mustache, so I had to wear a fake one, but… It was the scene in the first Kingsman where I am strapped to the track in one of the Kingsman test exercises, and he is stood over me in a parka directing me, but he's directing me in quite an emphatic way. You know, it was divided up into chapters that were sort of crude representations of the process of engaging in a game. And whilst I can't say anything about it because it's – well, least of all because it's in the process of being created – it's a completely different role for me, and a very fresh challenge, and I think in some respects, I think it could feel like a kind of sister piece to Black Bird, which is cool. I know it's so generic, but how much did you know, and how much were you surprised it was actually real? EGERTON: I ain't buying a bottle of whiskey that Matthew is going to enjoy.
Director Jon S. Baird talks about turning Tetris into a thrilling drama with Taron Egerton as the man who brought the game to the west.
There were versions of the film where it was overwhelming and it was too much and almost like was pulling out the thriller into more of a gimmicky thing. And then a lot of it went in, and we probably found it was a bit too much so we pared it back. There’s a lot of prep that went into that and a lot of testing. In terms of the computer graphics stuff, that was in a script. Now I appreciate it more, I think, because I know the story and how hard it was to get to the world you know. It wasn’t called “Tetris,” at the time it was called “Falling Blocks,” but we thought that “Tetris” was probably a title that would get people in a bit more, just kind of fool them into thinking it was a film about a computer game but it’s not really at all. We’ve sort of came up through the ranks at the same time, and we’ve both got the opportunity to do this film at a higher budget at the same time. And I think the compelling thing about the “Tetris” game itself is the simplicity of the game. But when it came to “Tetris,” Matthew was probably busier with the “Kingsman” prequel at the time. I was working with them on one of the “Kingsman” scripts before and worked quite closely with him on that. But it gave us time to refine the script, and in particular the ending, to have a more fast-paced conclusion. And at the same time, Noah [Pink, screenwriter] had this script and it was almost there.
What makes Tetris 'the perfect game'? Experts break down an addictive classic. Nikita Efremov sorting pentomino pieces next to a computer in "Tetris.".
“I think Tetris, in many ways, was responsible for the success of the Game Boy,” said Fullerton. “I’ve got OCD [obsessive-compulsive disorder], and it really appeals to me, this game, because you compartmentalize everything, and then it disappears.” “It encapsulates a lot to say it’s the perfect video game,” said Tracy Fullerton, a USC professor and the director of its Game Innovation Lab. “The technology was mind-blowing back then.” This original Tetris was a computer game that eventually made its way to arcades and consoles. “It’s the godfather of all those types of game. And the film’s version of Rogers describes it as “the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.” “There’s no such thing as a perfect game,” said deWinter. Because you know what blocks are coming, but every time it’s a little different, and every time you play, it ends up a little differently.” Baird (“ [Stan & Ollie](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-stan-and-ollie-review-20181227-story.html)”) from a script by Noah Pink (“ [Genius](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-genius-review-20170425-story.html)”), the film follows Rogers (portrayed by [Taron Egerton](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-11-05/taron-egerton-elton-john-rocketman)) after he is so dazzled by Tetris, which he stumbles upon at a game expo, that he bets everything on its success. “And we need to play more, I believe.” [the center of “Tetris,”](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-03-29/tetris-review-taron-egerton) out now on Apple TV+ after premiering earlier this month [at SXSW](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-03-09/sxsw-2023-film-tv-what-to-watch-for).
Apple TV+'s spy-thriller “Tetris” delves into the incredible true story behind the creation of the iconic strategy game. The film depicts the risk-taking ...
Gorbachev. Nintendo. Robert Maxwell. All embroiled in the making of an elegantly simple video game that's served as a blissful time-filler for four decades.
“I didn’t want that to be lost in the Hollywood-ness of the movie. “I was very keen to dissect what was truth and what was fiction and what was the Hollywood zhuzh,” he says. It was this aspect of the story that gripped Baird, who studied politics and international relations at the University of Aberdeen and lived through the era. “We lived with that, and I think kids now have, ironically, got more of an idea of what it was like back then through this terrible war.” “He wasn’t the first adventurer who was seeking Tetris at that time,” says the Russian today. “Do I view him as the villain?” muses Egerton. “Robert Maxwell is portrayed in pretty much the way he was in real life,” confirms Rogers. “I didn’t get a smile out of anybody.” “I didn’t know whether I was going to end up in a gulag, or whether they were going to even let me in,” he says. Rogers found it “a very strange place” to visit. “I was sort of amazed to learn that a lot of what is featured in the story did actually happen. All embroiled in the making of an elegantly simple video game that’s served as a blissful time-filler for four decades.
The real-life heroes who outran the KGB to bring Tetris to the world reveal the true tale that inspired the new Apple TV movie. It's a wild ride.
But I was really surprised that the movie is really compelling. In the end, Pajitnov has been cajoled into an Armani jacket and Prada shoes, and the pair retired to his house with a bottle of wine. He looks at Russia and can only hope that a movement will re-emerge to echo the changes of the late ’80s and early ’90s. To Rogers’ surprise Pajitnov approaches him at the end of the meeting and arranges to meet in secret later. Few ordinary people in the West realise in 1989 that the Soviet Union is on the brink of collapse. “I wanted to smile to him and be friends with him because he’s the creator of this great game,” says Rogers. “Basically I was invited for a routine meeting with some kind of con artist, or adventurer who pretends to be a businessman for Tetris,” he says. Skip forward half a decade to the start of the ’90s and Tetris is among the most played games on the planet. “I was looking for games to publish in Japan at the time. He boards a plane to Moscow, planning to put that silver-tongued charm to work in persuading Elektronorgtechnica (Elorg), the Soviet Union’s central organisation for the import and export of computer software, to sign off on his Nintendo deal. Rogers just has to get the handheld rights, and his games company is set to hit the big time. At the Moscow Medical Institute, they have a productivity problem – which, in a society where the state owns the means of production, is skating close to treason.
The film is a biographical drama about the origins of the puzzle video game, but earlier plans were for a fantastical adventure with magical elements.
"I'm sure there's a lot of things in there that they think, Oh, it's not quite right. "We couldn't get them across to the U.K. And then people watch the movie and they'll say, 'Wow this has nothing to do with the game that I fell in love with,' and then so they even p***** those people off." He continued, "We don't get to talk to those kids. The perestroika spirit and dark time of this communist era. "We had a lot of fun. Yeah, it's a game, but it's a movie about people. Tetris started shooting in late 2020, when strict COVID-19 rules were in place, meaning Pajitnov and Rogers couldn't be present during the shoot. That's according to both the creator of the game and the man who helped spread it globally: Tetris Co. Over the decades since the game's release, there have been a number of near-misses for a Tetris movie, with wildly different tones. "I've seen a lot of computer game [movies] go very strange," Rogers told Newsweek. They are the executive producers of Tetris, now available to watch on Apple TV+.