Judd Apatow to direct movie exploring rivalry between Coca-Cola and Pepsi
In an update to the upcoming Cola Wars movie, Sony Pictures has confirmed that Judd Apatow will be directing the project with Steven Spielberg in a producer role, although the film is said to still be in the first stages of its development.
Sony bought the rights to the film earlier this year, and it focuses on the commercial battle that took place between two monolith companies of the fizzy pop world, Pepsi and Coca-Cola. The war took place in the 1980s and saw the two companies going head-to-head in a tussle for dominance.
In terms of the script, Jason Shuman, known for co-creating the Apple TV+ series Acapulco and working on HBO’s Winning Time, and Ben Queen, who has previously helped create The Addams Family 2 and two of the Cars movies, are both on writing duties.
Meanwhile, Spielberg will be helping with production via his Amblin Entertainment company. Apatow is one of the most famous figures in the realm of modern comedy, having directed several beloved movies, including Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Trainwreck and producing The Cable Guy, Anchorman, Superbad and Pineapple Express.
With Cola Wars on the horizon, the film seems to be continuing the trend of movies focusing on facets of corporate America. Last year, Air, which starred Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, focused on two employees of Nike who helped sign up Michael Jordan to his famous basketball shoe deal.
Although Cola Wars is still in its early stages of development, with the kind of personnel attached, it might not be too long before we see it completed and arrive on screen.
In other recent Apatow news, the director and producer recently spoke critically of the business model that streaming services seem to be taking on, pointing out the fact that companies like Netflix and Disney+ seem to prioritise buying old shows for streaming rather than creating new ones.
Speaking with Vulture, Apatow noted, “I understand why people like the comfort food of television. But it’s a scary thing as a creator of television because of all the streamers going, ‘Wait a second. We don’t need to spend $200 million on a new show. We can just bring back Barnaby Jones.'”
“They realize, ‘Oh wait, Netflix can just buy shows from HBO,’ and I would assume they’re cheaper than making new ones,” Apatow added. “And it’ll just be passing around all the episodes of Ballers for the rest of our lives.”
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