"Pixels," in theaters on Friday, is a lark of a movie about aliens who mistakenly think retro arcade game images are declarations of intergalactic war. To save humanity, President Will Cooper (played by the always presidential Kevin James) taps his buddy Sam Brenner (the always heroic Adam Sandler) to lead gamers played by Peter Dinklage and Josh Gad and save the planet.
Joining the effort to thwart giant Pac-Men and other threats is Lt. Col. Violet Van Patten, played by Michelle Monaghan.
OK, so it’s not exactly a documentary. But Monaghan, currently in Atlanta filming “Sleepless Night,” said working on “Pixels” was a blast.
“It started out as a short film,” she said. “Adam’s company thought it would be a great feature. They came up with this very original and inspired idea taking all of these old, classic video games. It really made me laugh. Initially when they told me the premise, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. When I read it, I thought, ‘This is so smart.’ You’ve got a really nice, heartwarming story at the heart of it.”
Given the subject material, she figured the set would be tricked out with rows of throwback arcade games. No dice.
“Fortunately, I had played enough of those in my childhood to be familiar with them,” said Monaghan, a Pong and Pole Position pro back in the day.
She's got another few weeks here to work on the thriller starring Jamie Foxx, Gabrielle Union and T.I.
“We’re actually pretty sad to leave Atlanta,” she said. “It’s hot but you get those beautiful thunderstorms. That’s not something we get every day in Los Angeles. I love the food. We love Barcelona, Sotto Sotto, Krog Street Market. We love the aquarium. We’re big fans of King of Pops.”
Given her video game cred, she may work in a visit to Joystick Gamebar at 427 Edgewood Ave. S.E., which features some of the classics.
“I’m so proud to say I’ve been able to put my initials in Pac-Man,” she said. That’s a reference kids today won’t be familiar with, but once upon a time, it was a big deal for high scorers to be able to log their initials after a particularly epic round of Frogger or Centipede.
Monaghan was modest about her childhood triumphs: “I grew up in a town of 700, so the competition was slim.”
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