Filmmaker Albert Hughes Reveals Why He's Exploring the Video Game World of 'Crysis 3' (Q&A)

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Filmmaker Albert Hughes Reveals Why He's Exploring the Video Game World of 'Crysis 3' (Q&A) 11:00 AM PST 12/5/2012 by John Gaudiosi

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When "Motor City" stalled, the director turned to Electronic Arts and game developer Crytek to helm an original web series.

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Albert Hughes was all set to f ilm his dream movie, Motor City, when the plug was pulled. So the director decided to explore the video game world f or the f irst time. Hughes has been working with Electronic Arts and developer Crytek, helming a new short video series, The 7 Wonders o f Crysis 3.

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The director has utilized CryEngine 3 technology to essentially create seven cinematic shorts that explore the upcoming shooter’s seven interactive worlds. The February 2013 release f or P C, Xbox 360 and P layStation 3 is set in a f uture New York City, which has a giant nanodome covering it. Gone are the streets o f Gotham and in

(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/producer-­ its place is a veritable urban rain f orest complete with swamps, glen-­mazzara-­explains-­walking-­dead-­video-­games-­ fields and canyons. Hughes talks about how he approached this 397102)

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project and o ffers his thoughts o n how f ar gaming technology has come in this exclusive interview.

(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/producer-­PHOTOS: Fall Movie Preview 2012 glen-­mazzara-­explains-­walking-­dead-­video-­games-­(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/gallery/fall-­movie-­preview-­master-­hobbit-­ 397102)

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The Hollywood Reporter: Can you talk about The 7 Wonders of Crysis 3 and what gamers will be experiencing with this web series? (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/berkelee-­ study-­music-­industry-­careers-­394607) Albert Hughes: I hate to use this analogy, but it’s like when you

Music Careers in 2012: Video Game Audio, Scoring, Conducting Pays;; see good 3D. When it’s really done well, you’re immersed in the Teaching? Not So Much (Study)

world. That’s what I took f rom Crysis 3 when I saw what they were

(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/berkelee-­ study-­music-­industry-­careers-­394607)

doing o ver there. You just f eel like you’re in there and it’s a real world and you’ll able to move everywhere. There are no limitations to your point-­of-­view, and that’s mostly what amazed me because I’ve seen f irst-­person shooter games all my life, just

like everybody else. I’ve seen amazing graphics f rom the past, but (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/directors-­ albert-­hughes-­roger-­donaldson-­260145)

nothing o n this level. Also, these environments are so rich and lush

Directors Albert Hughes, Roger Donaldson and Joel Schumacher Amongst Jurors for Plus

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with this o vergrown rain f orest inside o f a f uture New York. The

Amongst Jurors for Plus Camerimage Festival

challenge was to do this series o f shorts and let the audience know

(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/directors-­ albert-­hughes-­roger-­donaldson-­260145)

what the f irst-­person view looks like in reality. We’re not doctoring anything up. It’s like what you see in the f irst-­person can actually happen in the game. The third-­person is more cinematic, so that was the real challenge o f melding those two styles together.

But when I saw the world, I realized there was an abundance o f

(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/analysts-­ riches here to use. predict-­reversal-­us-­video-­393732)

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THR: What are your thoughts as a filmmaker on the

(http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/analysts-­ potential for a Crysis Hollywood movie? predict-­reversal-­us-­video-­393732)

Hughes: It’s like any kind o f translation -­-­ sometimes the movie inspires a video game and most likely it’s vice versa. To me, it doesn’t matter what the source is as long as the scripts are good and it’s a great story, it’s going to work.

If it’s not handled well, whether it’s Super Mario Bros. o r Crysis 3, it’s not going to work well. They have a very complex storyline in this game. The script was the f irst thing they sent me. I had to read it three o r four times, and some o f this I didn’t pick up o n because you have to know the jargon o f the game and the world. The developers are so close to the game that they know it inside and o ut. I think even f ans, when they come into it, there’s a learning curve that takes place. It takes a while to get what’s going o n with technology and the terminology and things like that because it’s so dense. In the end if I were to make a Crysis 3 movie, I think it’s great material to start f rom. Basically, it’s all about the writer, but that’s the next page.

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THR: Electronic Arts has been busy with video game movies like Need for Speed and Dead Space. Why do you think so many past video game movies haven’t translated well?

Hughes: You’ve also seen comic book movies not translate well, like Green Lantern. And you’ve seen Battleship, which was a board game, not translate so well. If it’s done really well, it doesn’t matter the source. Of course, Hollywood is going to clamor to the video games because games now are grossing more than movies. They think, "Hey, we have a built-­in audience here, and everybody already knows the title. It’s a brand, let’s exploit it." There’s nothing wrong with that. What gets to be wrong with it is that they rush it, thinking that if they spend $ 150 o r $ 200 million o n something, they’re going to make $ 500 million o r a billion back worldwide. And that’s not really the way to go. I don’t know how I f eel about it because everything is changing so much in Hollywood. It’s like everything is a tentpole, so it’s a very weird time right now, and they’re clamoring f or anything f amiliar. They’re not about what they used to be about, which was trying to get o riginal material. That bodes well f or the people o ut there that do want to make movies o ut o f video games.

THR: We’re starting to see more video game web series, with Mortal Kombat and Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. What are your thoughts about web series as a new form of creative entertainment?

Hughes: Any kind o f entertainment is a good thing, if it’s done well. It doesn’t matter the medium to me. I’m at a f ilm f estival right now, and this woman was having this big debate with me about kids watching movies o n iPhones and iPads instead o f in a theater. I said, "We have no control o ver that.

That’s that generation." It’s just like the generation that’s watching web episodes o n the computers. You have to now design f or the audience. If it’s a good story, it’s always going to show through. I’m at a cinematography f estival, and cinematographers don’t want to hear that. I’m sure that the people who do all the great work o ver at Crytek that put all that effort into the detail o f a game like Crysis 3 want it seen in a proper f ormat o n a big HD screen at home. These web series are great, and these computers are amazing nowadays. You can get HD quality o n your computer screen, but it’s not like a f ull-­blown cinema screen. In the end it doesn’t matter the f ormat, whether it’s short-­form o r long-­form o r web-­ based o r iPhone o r iPad. If it’s a good story, that’s all that matters.