And it’s “Neill.”

This guy is coming from Epic, creators of the really great game Gears of War. Essentially this game guides you through a story using cinematics to highlight important points, and then voice over and art direction during the sequences you control, to provide character development and mood. Technically you could boil it down to a movie where you control the action scenes.

You are constantly being given story elements throughout the whole game, and I think the story is told really well. This guy could be very successful in creating a movie because high quality games like Gears of War require using things like pacing, visual effects, plot development, and great performances from actors (and I’m not just talking about voice overs, they also use motion capture technology to create characters just like a movie would).

You asked:

“Why would Warner Bros take a risk that big if they didn’t have reasons to think he could pull it off?”

I don’t know… why would Warner Bros risk that big if they didn’t think Pitof could pull off Catwoman? Look how that turned out.

As far as this entry goes, I think you are being way too harsh, John. You can’t compare Jerry O’Flaherty to Neil Blomkamp. Jerry was an art director at Epic Games and has a background in film and performance art. Have you seen the cinematics from Gears of War? That game is so beautiful and Jerry can take credit for that.

As far as pulling inspired performances out of actors and story arcs are concerned, so many “real” directors with experience suck at this. Animated movies are a completely different beast. Why would Warner Bros take a risk that big if they didn’t have reasons to think he could pull it off?

“It totally amazes me how some people just don’t see the difference between crafting a 90 minute narrative, bringing performances out of actors and guiding pace and story telling… and creating a video game cut sequence. To some people, it’s all just the same thing.”

The story telling, in many videogames will often play out over the actual gameplay itself, not just through cutscenes, which are often only used to highlight certain plotpoints. As far as the narrative is concerned, games such as God of War, Prince of Persia, and Pyschonauts easily surpass many movies, including Transformers.

After seeing TMNT directed by Kevin Monroe, another guy who comes from the world of videogames, I’m personally more at ease at the prospect of Jerry O’Flaherty directing the Thundercats movie, as opposed to some directors who mechanically churn out paint-by-number movies and got their start directing music videos and tv commercials.

Not sure how the Neil Blomkamp videos are “generic” (I’d argue that’s kind of the idea but…) I’m sure you wouldn’t mind elaborating?

I was wholly unimpressed with the first- nothing more than snippets using iconic Halo imagery. The second two, however, did carry a narrative (despite their short length) for those paying attention. However, just as you might not be able to pick up on characters and motivation, etc. jumping into Return of the King unversed, the same applies to backstory in the Halo universe for these shorts.

I could probably concede the character angle- not tough to scream and yell- the latter two were action sequences after all. But pace? I’d say it was pretty deliberate– balls out to the end.

As for proving he’s a good effects guy, he didn’t do the effects- digital effects were outsourced, while a division of the Weta team worked the tactile props and costumes. As far as directorial, the shots, blocking, camera use (degraded, etc.) you could certainly credit to him- and I don’t see any problems there.

Either way, Blomkamp is a moot point. As far as he and Halo are concerned, that door is shut. I just think some of your criticisms were a little unfair.

You said:

“if he doesn’t have any past mistakes and has a clean slate then why not let him have a go at a movie.”

Because him “getting this chance” means that someone else, who actually TRAINED to direct film or has experience as an assistant director on film ISN’T getting this chance, and thus a beloved property like Thundercats is going to suffer for it.

I’d much rather see that Chance given to someone who is an actual director by training and experience.