Let the games begin!
0 Comments Published by Steven Friedman on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 at 3:17 PM.
What do videogames and filmed entertainment have in common? Well, not much, judging from the seemingly endless mudstream of shitty game-to-movie-adaptations that come out every year. But when I was asked to write a comedy-series about the (fictional) editorial department of a games magazine, called Game+31, I knew there were possibilities to create something special.While this 'something special' had to be created in about two weeks, I'm still pretty proud of the scripts I wrote for the first six episodes - which will serve as a pilot for a potentially longer running series, all made exclusively for the Microsoft Xbox 360 Marketplace (and also broadcast on the official Game+31-website).
Game+31 follows the zany escapades of a group of editors, working for a popular games magazine (who actually wouldn't want to make a living playing Gears of War and Wii-sports all friggin' day?). The office is shaken up by the arrival of Hellen, a workaholic career-hunter determined to bring 'order' to the editorial department (oh yes, there are plenty of Star Wars references).
The first series of Game+31 will be broadcast weekly from december 4th on the Xbox 360 Marketplace and the Game+31-website. It's all in Dutch for the moment, but if the pilot turns out to be a success, an international version of Game+31 could be in the works.
Intense. That's probably the word I'd choose to describe the Robert McKee Story Seminar I attented last friday, saturday and sunday in London (Regent's College). Exhausting would be another accurate description.I arrived a bit late (which I later learned is never ever a good thing to do when McKee's lecturing), but I was just in time to hear the Story-guru utter the words I remembered so vividly from Brian Cox's performance as McKee in Spike Jonze & Charlie Kaufman's brilliant ADAPTATION: "Years from now, you'll be at a cocktail party congratulating yourself on how you spent three days with an asshole from Hollywood for your 'art'".
Well, I'm very much looking forward to that particular cocktail party, but an asshole Mckee surely is not. He has a certain demanding presence, sure - and he'll take ten pounds from you if you're stupid enough to leave your mobile phone on during the lecture - but this guy knows he has 'only' (mind that word) 30 or so hours to teach us screenwriters, novelists, directors and other creative folk the principles of story. And that's no easy feat.
The weekend, exhausting as it was, provided me with countless insights into the world of creative writing. I think Marije will probably hit me in the face one of these days for ranting on and on about the things I learned.
Got my suitcase packed, Great British Pounds in my wallet (why didn't they just switch to the damn euro like every-friggin'-body else?) and a hunger for fish & chips. In other words: I'm ready to head off to merry ol' England to attend Robert McKee's Story Seminar.Those friendly folks over at the Dutch Film Fund were kind enough to pick up the registration fee-tab for me, so I'm kind of feeling like an ambassador as well. You know, I'm not one to waste anybody else's money. Who knows, if the seminar's as good as the official Mckee site makes it out to be (gotta have them testimonials), I'll even try to fly Mckee to Holland one day.
Anyway, as I'm writing this, it's close to eleven o'clock. Gotta get up at five, so that will be all for now. More on my London adventure later. The hotel I'm staying at advertises free wireless internet access throughout the hotel, so updating the site shouldn't pose much of a problem.
