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Top Gun Director Was Attached To Canned Midway Title
Posted by Luke Plunkett at 12:20 PM on August 19, 2008
When Midway scrubbed their Austin studio and binned a game nobody had ever heard about - Career Criminal - many people were left, well, nonplussed. After all, it's a bit hard to get worked up over a game that you've never heard of. But a few retrospective tears may be in order today, as Variety brings word that Hollywood director Tony Scott was attached to the project. Don't know Tony Scott? Dude directed Top Gun. And the last of the great corny action movies, True Romance. He was working as a kinda creative consultant, continuing a recent trend/fascination Midway have had with getting Hollywood types working on their games (John Woo/Stranglehold, for example). So while we may never see Career Criminal, we can at least rest assured that if we had, guitar solos, sexually-charged one-liners and dimly-lit sex scenes would have featured prominently.
Tony Scott was attached to Midway's canceled Career Criminal game [Variety] [Pic]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
lighten up, morrissey
Posted 12:52 PM 19/8/08
I cannot say I get the sense in poaching Tony Scott for a video game; there is no substantial creative or financial advantage that he brings to a project. His output is occasionally taut, but wholly pedestrian. He has not much of a fan base; the success of his films are not have little to do with his involvement. Midway should have nipped this in the bud or gone after Ridley, instead of throwing millions away.
lighten up, morrissey
BtownDesignGuy
Posted 12:48 PM 19/8/08
Go watch Spy Game or Domino and keep making fun of Tony Scott. The dude's a badass. He's decades older than me but his creative work is so much edgier. That undeniably deserves props. Top Gun was just the prototype. His more recent films are Top Gun on steriods, crack and LSD, all at the same time.
BtownDesignGuy
endaround
Posted 12:35 PM 19/8/08
So video games get Paul W.S. Anderson instead of Paul Anderson and Tony Scott instead of Ridley Scott. Can Clint Howard be very far behind?
endaround
Ad-hominem
Posted 12:31 PM 19/8/08
And now we know why it was canceled.
And, while I'm not opposed to homosexuality, I would prefer not to play a blatantly homoerotic game.
It's just something I have no interest in, and that's the sort of thing he's devoted to making.
Ad-hominem
EmeraldCockroach
Posted 12:28 PM 19/8/08
Maybe his ego was writing checks Midway couldn't cash :(
EmeraldCockroach
frostcircus
Posted 12:27 PM 19/8/08
Tony Scott has become a terrible, incomprehensible director. He is very much Ridley's opposite in terms of style.
frostcircus
vid3oman64
Posted 12:26 PM 19/8/08
And there was much rejoicing.
vid3oman64
NPlace
Posted 1:13 PM 19/8/08
I don't know, I'm kind of a Tony Scott fan. Didn't see Domino, but both Man on Fire and the terribly underrated Spy Game were great flicks.
"I wish...I wish you had...more time."
NPlace
Awoken
Posted 1:57 PM 19/8/08
I think bringing in creative directors can do nothing but make games more entertaining from a cinematic standpoint. truly epic games are all about that - MGS4, GTA IV, Uncharted, Resistance, Halo series, and even the later Final Fantasy series. There is something infinitely more gratifying about a game with SOUL. I encourage more gaming companies to continue that trend. It makes it more than just button mashing, it's an adventure! That's why I game.
Awoken
Spartan1308™
Posted 2:32 PM 19/8/08
This is the guy that's about to screw up The Warriors.
Spartan1308™
justhesh
Posted 3:06 PM 19/8/08
I guess the game was on the...
HIIIGHWAAAY TOOO THEEE CANCELED ZONE!
justhesh
Blah8
Posted 3:26 PM 19/8/08
I haven't seen too much of Tony Scott's work, but I sure as hell loved Man on Fire and his BMW film Ticker. Both were so stylish and unique while still easily followable.
Blah8
denki
Posted 6:16 PM 19/8/08
Should I blame Tony Scott for Tom Cruise being stereotyped after Top Gun as being a cocky asshole who always gets what he wants and always wins? Or is that Tom Cruises' fault? I'll be seeing Man on Fire later tonight for the first time, but there are only 2 films by Tony that were any good that I've seen- Enemy of State and Crimson Tide. Domino was horrible- it was trying to be so extreme and edgy that it just came across as a really poor MTV video. "My name is Domino..domino...domino..." (flashy cut) "I'm a bounty hunter..bounty hunter..bounty hunter.." (flashy cut).
I don't see what is with video game companies getting directors to direct their games- if movie directors were good at video game direction, and wanted to make a videogame, they wouldn't be movie directors. I'll concede that cutscenes often could use better direction, but aside from that, game design should be handled by game designers.
denki
stoneagedan
Posted 6:35 PM 19/8/08
Man on Fire was pretty damned good, if you ask me. He did a TV series called "The Hunger" as well - sort of like the Outer Limits or Twilight Zone. A bit hit and miss, but there were some highlights. A polar opposite of Top Gun, for certain.
stoneagedan
robinhood_0
Posted 6:33 PM 19/8/08
For future reference Luke:
Nonplussed means disappointed or let down
robinhood_0
dtm3
Posted 11:28 PM 19/8/08
Tony Scott has a far edgier eye for action than his brother, Ridley. I think he is by far the better action director. I love his work.
dtm3
Penchinon
Posted 11:25 PM 19/8/08
Top Gun is the greatest movie in existence. How about some more of that.
Penchinon
The_Foo
Posted 3:09 AM 20/8/08
@Ad-hominem:
I hate being forced to play games that are about stuff that I don't like, either!
The_Foo
baxterpunch
Posted 3:41 AM 20/8/08
True Romance was a corny action movie? I had no idea. Did you mean Last Boy Scout?
baxterpunch
josh.com
Posted 10:14 AM 20/8/08
You don't see many film directors nowadays trying to do what Tony Scott does. His movies raise the bar in the action and style department that most directors don't even come close to . Yeah Domino might have been a little too off the edge but it was damn sexy! GO KEIRA!!!
josh.com
justhesh
Posted 12:37 PM 20/8/08
@robinhood_0: No, it doesn't.
[dictionary.reference.com]
justhesh