Watch it when? Tuesday 15 September, 9.00pm-10.30pm, BBC TWO then in iPlayer.
DYK? James Wood, BAFTA-winning screenwriter of The Gamechangers, will be at LondonSWF 2015! The Gamechangers is yet another TV jewel from Woods, who is also behind Rev, Freezing and Ambassadors (all BB2).
Going behind the scenes of the creation of perhaps one of the most well-loved, yet controversial video game franchises EVER, The Gamechangers stars Mr. Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe, as well as Bill (“Game over, man! GAME OVER!”) Paxton.
Love it or loathe it, top video game franchise Grand Theft Auto has sold 195 million copies to date and currently ranks as the third most expensive video game ever produced, sitting behind Destiny ($500 million) and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ($275 million)!
In 2015 money, GTA V cost a whopping $268 million, which is a good $55 million above the fourth entry, Final Fantasy VII. This is a price tag even Hollywood struggles to match … The ONLY two movies to date to cost more than GTA V are the third and fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movies, At World’s End ($300 million) and On Stranger Tides ($378.5 million).
It’s said that The GTA Franchise was actually a total accident – originally a chase game, it was designed with the idea in mind that Gamers played as either a cop or a criminal. But when the original version of the game went out to testers, it was discovered the cars were more aggressive than the designers intended, often ramming one another off the road. This proved so popular with testers that the designers decided to scrap the cop element of the game and Grand Theft Auto was born!
Grand Theft Auto has courted controversy since the franchise’s release. GTA V features a crazy amount of swearing, including 1000 uses of the F-Word **and** C-Word (see a swear montage HERE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFWIFN7XI7I).
What’s more, parents, politicians and even celebrities have spoken out against the game for its use of violence and criminal activity. It’s also been condemned by various pressure groups for portrayals of sexism and racism. It’s been revealed since the advent of the game that Rockstar, its designers, actually paid public relations guru Max Clifford to help them gather this negative publicity to HELP SELL the game!!
This session promises to be a real humdinger, so make sure you get up to speed (arf!!!) and watch The Gamechangers beforehand, which receives its UK premiere on BBC2 in September 2015. In the meantime, read more amazing facts about Grand Theft Auto, HERE (http://whatculture.com/gaming/20-mind-blowing-facts-you-never-knew-about-gta.php/2)
Lucy V Hay
www.Bang2Write.com
Lucy V. Hay is a script editor, author and blogger who helps writers. She’s been the script editor and advisor on numerous UK features and shorts & has also been a script reader for 20 years, providing coverage for indie prodcos, investors, screen agencies, producers, directors and individual writers. Lucy is also an author, publishing as both LV Hay and Lizzie Fry.
