Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling Get 8-Bit Makeovers in Funny – If Still Star-Crossed – 'La La Land' Video Game Spoof

Action and horror movies lend themselves quite nicely to video game adaptations, but musicals? Not so much. Nonetheless, ahead of what’s destined to be its big night at this Sunday’s Academy Awards, Damien Chazelle’s La La Land is now getting the interactive treatment — or, at least, a lighthearted video (watch it above) from Cinefix that reimagines the song-and-dance hit as an old-school console title, and it’s a surprisingly funny fit.

‘La La Land’ 8-bit spoof title screen (Cinefix)
‘La La Land’ 8-bit spoof title screen (Cinefix)

In 8-Bit La La Land, each of the four seasons that make up the movie demarcates a new “level.” CineFix’s jokey adaptation stages this imaginary tie-in game as a point-and-click adventure in which you guide both Emma Stone’s Mia and Ryan Gosling’s Seb along their amorous journey through a glamorous city of stars. To do so, one must avoid selecting the options that would make either of these star-crossed lovers give up on their artistic dreams — and it also involves a few film-specific sequences, including playing the piano, dancing, racing a car from Colorado to L.A., and of course, making sure that Seb sells out (“Congratulations! You Swallowed Your Pride!”).

8-bit Emma Stone faces a ‘La La Land’ decision (Cinefix)
8-bit Emma Stone faces a ‘La La Land’ decision (Cinefix)

Staying faithful to its source material, this non-existent game culminates with a binary choice between love or career — albeit in a considerably jokier manner than in Chazelle’s movie, which is expected by many to be a big winner at Sunday’s Oscars, following through on its record-tying 14 nominations. Before its potentially historic Academy Award haul, however, the 8-bit version already looks like a winner.

How Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling Got Into Song-and-Dance Shape for ‘La La Land’:

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