Budweiser, Paramount Sign Movie Deal

ST. LOUIS - Anheuser-Busch and Paramount Pictures have agreed to work together to produce films based on AB's popular Budweiser and Bud Light advertisements. Anhueser- Busch, maker of Budweiser and Bud Light beers, will bring its characters and scenarios to Paramount, the country's oldest running studio.

Paramount representative Kevin Mayernick states "Bud is almost as well known for its iconic advertisements as it is for its beer. We love adapting existing media properties to the cinema because the pre-existing fan base provides a ready audience. I have noticed how revelers at my Super Bowl parties talk during the game but hush each other during the breaks to catch all the details of the Budweiser ads."

"We have a slew of ads in our portfolio that will make great sources for movies: the swamp frogs and their friends, the Wazzzzup guys, Real Men of Genius and, of course, the Clydesdale horses," states AB CEO August Busch IV. "The first film will be based on the Real Men of Genius ads. We do not have any plots, but we have great characters like Mister Jeans Shorts Inventor, Mister SUV Super Stretch Limo Maker and Mister Over Zealous Foul Ball Catcher. Throw these guys together and a fun movie will result."

Not all are pleased by this agreement. Noted film and culture critic Matthias Shapiro said "These productions should continue the downhill cultural slide. At one time, novels and stage plays were adapted for film. Then, we went to adaptations of television serials and comic books to adaptations of three minute Saturday Night Live skits, and now, to adaptations of 30 second TV ads."