"Hollywood Goes Gaming"
A Starz Originals’ look at the relationship between video games and movies
Hollywood Goes Gaming follows the meteoric rise in the popularity of video games transformed into films for the big screen and vice-versa.
Premieres Monday, November 26 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).
Part of Starz Inside, a new monthly series of original specials from Starz Entertainment hosted by film critic Richard Roeper.
Fierce energy, intense action and compelling characters: Videogames such as Lara Croft and Mortal Kombat turned into films. ET and The Godfather, movies turned into videogames. It’s a wildly successful multi-billion dollar concept that shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
In this Starz Originals special, Hollywood Goes Gaming examines the synergistic relationship between Hollywood and the videogame industry which has been evolving over the last three decades.
The film follows the rise of cutting-edge videogames borne from blockbuster movies and cult-classic games adapted for the big screen. As with novels and comic books, videogames are increasingly becoming great source material for theatrical films and conversely, videogames are also having their own influence on movies such as this year’s 300.
More than just a marketing tool, each entity complements, influences and inspires the other: Hollywood adds a touch of showbiz and cinematic flare to the gaming industry and the gaming industry engages legions of fans with interactive storytelling.
Films and games explored include 300, Tron, Surf’s Up, “Pong,” Mortal Kombat, Super Mario Bros., “Spy Hunter,” Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, “E.T,” Resident Evil and many others.
Featured in the special are Director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil); Producer Adrian Askarieh (Hitman); Chris Baker, videogame editor for Wired magazine; Clive Barker (Hellraiser); Stuart Beattie, writer for Gears of War; Animator Don Bluth (“Dragon’s Lair”); Keith Boesky, former VP of Eidos Entertainment; Filmmaker Uwe Boll (BloodRayne); Nolan Bushnell, Atari founder; Heather Chaplin, author of “Smartbomb: The Quest for Art, Entertainment, and Big Bucks in the Videogame Revolution”; Jessica Chobot, writer for IGN; Don Daglow, video game designer; John Gaudiosi, video game columnist for The Hollywood Reporter.
Also featured are Jason Hall, president of HD Films; Richard Hare, chief creative officer for Foundation 9 Entertainment; Electronic Arts Founder Trip Hawkins; Actress Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica); Director Annabel Jankel, (Super Mario Bros.); Actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Spy Hunter videogame); Michael Persson, studio head of Shiny Studios; Actor Shia LaBeouf (Surf’s Up); Lorne Lanning, game designer for Oddworld Inhabitants; Coz Lazouras, product development executive for Tiger Studios.
Other featured celebrities include actress Kristanna Loken (BloodRayne); Jordan Mechner, writer for “Prince of Persia”; Shigeru Miyamoto, general manager for Nintendo; Writer/Director Stephen Lisberger (Tron); Jamil Moledina, Game Developers Conference; Kim Morgan, film writer for LA Weekly and MSN Entertainment; Director Rocky Morton (Super Mario Bros.); Actress Michelle Rodriguez (BloodRayne); Stephen Totilo, writer for mtvnews.com; Filmmaker John Woo (Stranglehold); and Neil Young, general manager for Electronic Arts.
Credits
Executive Producers
Gregg Backer
Michael Ruggiero
Christopher Black
Producers
Joseph Gomes
Evan Kanew
Supervising Producer
Christine P. Flynn
Editor
Cedar Daniels
Consulting Producer
John Gaudiosi
Director of Photography
Ed Garcia
Associate Producer
Jarret Matlock
Rights & Clearances
Ashley Benedict
Music
Bo Boddie
A Starz Originals production in association with Foglight Entertainment.
Photo and content: "Hollywood Goes Gaming"
© Starz Entertainment, LLC
