Original Atari founder Nolan Bushnell says he's "thrilled" to be played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the film about his life.

The news of DiCaprio's signing came earlier this week, when it was revealed that Paramount Pictures had picked up the project.

"I'm very, very thrilled and honored that would be the case," Bushnell told MTV Multiplayer.

"There's been a lot of books [about Atari]," he said. "Some correct, some incorrect. I've kind of gotten used to being portrayed by others. I kind of thought that this [a movie] might happen. I kind of thought that it wouldn't happen until maybe after I was in the ground for a little while."

The movie is currently without a director, but it will be written by Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman. "I felt that these guy got it in a very, very real way and [knew] what Atari stood for," said the Atari man.

"To me, one of the things that happened with Atari was that it was really almost against all odds," he said. "Nobody thought that video games represented a business. That's the part that I think a lot of people don't understand; if you really work it, you can turn your dream into a reality."

Courtesy of CVG.

Jun 11, 2008