If for nothing but the pure nostalgia of it, I’ve been looking forward to the upcoming animated Thundercats Movie. Thundercats actually comes pre-packaged with a good set of individual character, a nice little premies, and a boat load of history and respectable fan base. Early word was that Thundercats was going to be developed into a live action film, but in retrospect the animated road is probably the wiser one to take.
Having said all that, it looks like they’ve got themselves a “director” for the movie. I put “director” in quotes because up till now, his day job has been as a video game creator, Jerry O’Flaherty. The folks at moviehole give us tis:
The game creator says that video games are increasingly incorporating lavish animated sequences that mimic pics, making a toon a much easier transition. “It feels like a natural thing for me to step into,” he said. “Games have come so far now. The last four years of my life have been about bringing the energy of filmmaking into the videogame experience.”
Wow, ummm… ok.
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.
Take the generic Niel Blomkamp Halo videos that have been surfacing recently. They’re cute… for commercials. But that’s all they are. And yet, lots of fanboys all around the web jump up and down with puppy dog wagging tails proclaiming “SEEEE!!! He’s the perfect guy to direct Halo! He’s so awesome”. Sorry, they were commercials that showed nothing of his ability to create narrative, sculpt story, bring performances out of actors, set pace… you know, real directing stuff…. all those videos showed is that he’s a good visual effects guy… which we all already knew.
Anyway, back to Thundercats. It troubles me that a guy who makes video games seems to also hold the belief that they’re practically the same thing. They’re not, and I think Thundercats will suffer for it. I’ll be there to see the stupid thing opening day cause I’m a loser… but my expectations for it just went into the toilet.
