One of the movies I’m most looking forward to this summer is an Adam Sandler film. You read that right. I said Adam Sandler. While I’ll be the first one to admit his track record has some blemishes, I don’t think Pixels is going to be one of them. In fact, I think Pixels is going to surprise everyone when it turns out to be a lot of fun. If you’re not familiar with the film, it’s helmed by Chris Columbus and revolves around a group of 80's gaming champions who are called upon to defend Earth from alien invaders who have misinterpreted our classic arcade games as a declaration of war. Peter Dinklage, Michelle Monaghan, Josh Gad, Kevin James, and Brian Cox round out the cast. As a huge fan of 80s arcade games like Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Centipede, I can’t wait to see them brought to life in the film. The best part? Peter Dinklage’s character is inspired by Billy Mitchell. If you don’t recognize that name, watch The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters immediately.

Shortly before Sony’s panel at CinemaCon last week, I sat down with director Chris Columbus to talk about the film. He talked about what he’s learned from test screenings, how he tried to make an Amblin-type movie, the inspiration for Peter Dinklage’s character, the visual effects, the status of the Gremlins reboot, The Goonies sequel, and a lot more.

Here’s the interview followed by the time index. For more on Pixels watch the trailer.

Chris Columbus

• 0:30 – How he sells Pixels to people and why he’s happy about it.
• 2:25 – The inspiration for Peter Dinklage’s character.
• 3:17 – What he’s learned from test screenings and how he tried to make an Amblin-type movie.
• 5:02 – The status of the Gremlins reboot.
• 6:26 – How they plan to approach the reboot.
• 6:42 – The status of the Goonies sequel.
• 8:15 – What the studio plans to do to promote Pixels.
• 8:34 – The length of the first cut.
• 9:00 – When the invasion heats up.
• 9:16 – How they planned out the visual effects.
• 10:12 – Future projects.