Pixels is a 2015 science fiction comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written by Tim Herlihy and Timothy Dowling, based on a story penned by Herlihy. Loosely adapted from the 2010 short film of the same name by Patrick Jean, the film stars Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad and Brian Cox. Combining animated video game characters and visual effects, the film involves an alien race misinterpreting video feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war, to which they respond by attacking Earth with technological replicas of characters from the games. The President of the United States assembles a team of former arcade champions to lead the planet's defense.

Chris Joseph Columbus is an American filmmaker. Born in Spangler, Pennsylvania, Columbus studied film at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. After writing screenplays for several teen comedies in the mid-1980s, he made his directorial debut with a teen adventure, Adventures in Babysitting (1987). Columbus gained recognition soon after with the highly successful Christmas comedy Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).