The Coke Vs. Pepsi saga has landed at Sony. According to Deadline, Sony has acquired Cola Wars, a movie about the rivalry between Pepsi and Coca-Cola in the mid-1980s, for $1 million. The script for the film will be written by Jason Shuman and Ben Queen. Shuman, who is the co-creator and writer of Apple’s Acapulco and was previously the executive producer for HBO’s Winning Time, has an existing relationship with Sony. Queen was the writer for the two sequels to Pixar’s Cars.
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Cola Wars will follow in the footsteps of films telling the behind-the-scenes stories of products with significant pop cultural impact, such as Amazon’s Ben Affleck starring which told the story of Nike’s efforts to bring on Michael Jordan, and Apple’s The Beanie Bubble. Later this year, Netflix will also be getting in on the trend with Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story.
What Were The Cola Wars?
The so-called Cola Wars were a long-standing rivalry between The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo. While the two brands have been at odds since 1902 — when Caleb Bradham formed the Pepsi-Cola Company just six years after Asa Griggs Candler founded The Coca-Cola Company — things largely intensified in the mid-1970s when Pepsi and Coke began to fight for popular culture dominance. Pepsi rolled out their “Pepsi challenge” which saw consumers drink both Pepsi and Coke in a blind taste test and find Pepsi to be the winner. In 1985, Coca-Cola rolled out “New Coke”. There were also numerous ad campaigns, marketing strategies, and more.
There’s Also Going to Be a Pop-Tarts Movie
The Cola Wars aren’t the only food item getting a movie. Netflix is releasing Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story on May 3rd. The comedy, which is directed by and stars Jerry Seinfeld, will tell the story of how the popular Pop-Tart breakfast item came to be. The film will be fiction, but Seinfeld has previously indicated that aspects of the movie are not made up and are indeed based on actual events. Seinfeld cowrote the script of Unfrosted with Seinfeld alumnus Spike Feresten, Andy Robin, and Barry Marder. Seinfeld and Feresten are listed as producers on the project as well. The film will also star Melissa McCarthy, Jim Gaffigan, Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer, James Marsden, and more.
What do you think? Are you interested in a movie about the Cola Wars? What is your favorite cola, Pepsi or Coke? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
