News
‘Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots’ by Marvin Glass to be a Movie
Vin Diesel will be packing a punch when he stars in a live-action Rock’em Sock’em Robots movie for Universal Pictures. The classic head to head game was designed by Marvin Glass & Associates and originally released by Louis Marx & Company in 1964. Mattel produces the game today in all its power-punching pugnacity. The game allows kids to control the rollicking Red Rocker and the tough-as-nails Blue Bomber who are trying to knock each others block off to determine who will win the “Battle of the Century”.
Deadline details, “Rampage and The Commuter scribe Ryan Engle wrote the screenplay which follows a father and son who form an unlikely bond with an advanced war machine.”
“To take the classic Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em game, with Mattel as my partner, and align it with the kind of world building, franchise making success we have had with Universal, is truly exciting,” Vin Diesel said.
“We are proud to bring this iconic piece of Mattel IP to life on the big screen with our tremendously talented partners Vin Diesel, One Race Films and Universal,” Mattel Films Executive Producer Robbie Brenner added. “Our rich library of franchises continues to yield compelling stories and we look forward to creating what is sure to be a thrilling action adventure for the whole family to enjoy with Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.”
This is a great time to learn more about the secretive Marvin Glass & Associates who invented Rock’em Sock’em Robots, including Marvin Glass himself and the shocking fatal hurdles the company had to battle to create this classic game. The biography “A World Without Reality: Inside Marvin Glass’s Toy Vault” can be purchased on Amazon.com and Itascabooks.com
https://itascabooks.com/a-world-without-reality-inside-marvin-glasss-toy-vault/
Author Interview on Toy Tales website – The Friday Five
Joanna Hauser from the Toy Tales website asks author Bill Paxton five questions for The Friday Five section. The five questions (well…actually six) are:
1- In what ways did Marvin Glass change the way toys and games were created?
2- You conducted around 100 interviews for this book. Whom did you talk with and what did they share about Marvin Glass that surprised you?
3- What impact does Glass’ legacy have on today’s toymakers?
4- Why did you write A World Without Reality: Inside Marvin Glass’s Toy Vault?
5- How did you approach Glass’ associates for a conversation about the toy designer?
6- Glass had a reputation for his lavish, over-the-top lifestyle. How much of that was myth vs. reality?
To find out the answers just go to https://toytales.ca/the-friday-five-bill-paxton/
Author Interview on Power Kid Podcast
Phil Albritton from the Power Kid Podcast interviews author Bill Paxton. They discuss his biography on the enigmatic and secretive King of Toys Marvin Glass. Phil states the book is “truly fantastic” and when it arrived on his desk, “it blew my mind!” If you are a fan of toy history and great biographies you will not want to miss this 45 min. podcast interview!
Power Kid Podcast – https://powerkid.libsyn.com/inside-marvin-glasss-toy-vault-with-bill-paxton
Marvin Glass Movie “Mr. Toy”
A Marvin Glass movie has been announced! According to tracking-board.com Jim Carrey is attached to star in “Mr. Toy”, a biopic about Marvin Glass. The movie is in pre-production and is described as, “Steve Jobs meets A Beautiful Mind by way of Willy Wonka. Carrey is set to play Marvin Glass, a brilliant, charismatic, self-loathing, paranoid, demanding man – and probably the greatest toy inventor of all time. Glass and his employees at Marvin Glass & Associates created some of the most successful toys and games of the twentieth century including Mr. Machine, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Lite Brite, Ants in the Pants, Operation, and Mouse Trap.” The screenplay was written by Chai Hecht and the producer is Madhouse Entertainment’s Adam Kolbrenner. It seems like they are just trying to nail down a director.
One person who has read the screenplay described it as, “The whimsical rise and fall of Marvin Glass, the man who revolutionised the 20th century toy industry and created American favourites like ‘Mouse-trap’, ‘Mr. Machine’, ‘Yakkity Yak Teeth’, ‘Lite-Brite’, and many more.” The reviewer added, “Marvin Glass’ vision for wacky, useless inventions, and moreover his capacity to sell them, leads to wealth and fame, at the cost of his personal grounding, family life, and friendships. An entertaining portrait of an eccentric mastermind, full of intriguing characters and fantastic dialogue, interspersed with fantasy sequences that are visions of future toys.”
Stay tuned for more info about the movie and read his biography before it comes out!
