Exclusive: Keith Le Goy on ‘Twisted Metal’ “buzz” as Sony’s next video game adaptation hits market

Twisted Metal

LA Screenings is well and truly underway, with shows already beginning to move. Sony Pictures Entertainment announced international deals today with the likes of SonyLIV in India and Stan in Australia for several of its key titles: The Winter King, Twisted Metal and Ten Pound Poms.

We are hearing a lot of buzz around Twisted Metal. We’ve seen a real uptick in the quality of video game adaptations

While the writers’ strike will undoubtedly present some bumps in the road ahead, Keith Le Goy, chairman of worldwide distribution and networks at Sony Pictures Entertainment, tells TBI that in the here and now, its latest slate has already been produced and is ready for immediate delivery.

The Winter King is a “powerful, contemporary take on the Arthurian legend made by Bad Wolf Productions,” says Le Goy, while The Killing Kind is “a taut, sexy, psychological crime thriller from Eleventh Hour Films, with myriad twists and turns that will keep global audiences riveted,” he adds.

Ten Pound Poms, meanwhile, has already found a following on the BBC in the UK and Stan in Australia, but it is video game adaptation Twisted Metal that Le Goy expects to really draw attention.

Keith Le Goy

Ready, set, go

Hailing from Sony Pictures Television and Sony-owned PlayStation Productions, who previously partnered on HBO mega-hit The Last Of Us, Le Goy hopes that the video game-to-TV magic will strike twice with Twisted Metal.

Describing the Anthony Mackie-led series, about a smart-ass amnesiac milkman who hits the throttle as he faces an onslaught of savage vehicular combat, as a “high octane thrill ride,” Le Goy reveals: “We are hearing a lot of buzz around Twisted Metal.

“We’ve seen a real uptick in the quality of video game adaptations in recent years on the big and small screen – look at the huge success of feature film Uncharted and drama series The Last Of Us for example, which we made with HBO.”

And from the sounds of things, this won’t be the last video game adaptation coming out of Sony: “We’re in a privileged position to work with the team at PlayStation to explore a treasure trove of IP,” adds Le Goy.

All rights – linear and on-demand – to these four titles are available to buyers outside of their commissioning countries – excluding those recent deals, of course.

“For Twisted Metal that’s the US, The Winter King is US and UK, Ten Pound Poms is UK and Australia, The Killing Kind is UK. We look forward to working with our partners to find the optimal combination of rights for their audiences,” he says.

The Winter King

The name of the game

The distribution landscape is, of course, transforming into a different beast to what it was even just five years ago, with new platforms launching and, as Le Goy notes “existing partners are diversifying their services with AVOD streamers and FAST channels.”

However, the exec tells TBI that at the end of the day, what buyers are looking for is still the same, and he is confident that Sony can give it to them.

“In a time of rapid change within our industry, the demand for great content will continue. The name of the game is – and always has been – hits. Hits that break through and create cultural impact. Hits that can transform the networks, platforms and services that have them. That’s why buyers are coming here, to find that next hit.”