The Hollywood Byte #6: Peter Jackson Talks Games

Oscar-winning writer, director, and producer Peter Jackson has already left an indelible mark on Hollywood with his epic Lord of the Rings trilogy, which stands out as one of the best marriages between cutting-edge special effects and J.R.R. Tolkien's rich narrative. Jackson's most recent project, the big screen re-make of King Kong, resulted in another successful melding of entertainment -- this time between the linear film and the video game that bears Jackson's name in the title.

Not since Enter the Matrix has there been such collaboration between a Hollywood director and a video game based on his creation. Like the Wachowskis, Jackson has been a gamer all of his life, so he brings gaming sensibilities to the table in his interactive collaborations. Jackson hand-picked Rayman creator Michel Ancel to spearhead the King Kong game because he had been impressed with his critically acclaimed, but commercially unrecognized adventure game, Beyond Good and Evil, several years ago.

"It was a great experience, and working with such a talented developer, Michel and his Montpellier team, made it a great learning experience and a great game," said Jackson. "I feel that our collaboration worked; I was really busy working on the film, and they were equally as busy working on the game, so I didn't need to provide too much day-to-day input. I just oversaw from a creative perspective and made sure they captured our core values for what we wanted to accomplish in the game."

It was Jackson's idea to split Ubisoft's video game into two parts: a third-person perspective fighting game featuring Kong and a first-person perspective adventure game starring Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody from the film). He also recommended Philippa Boyens, co-writer of King Kong, contribute to the game's script and supervise and direct the voice acting sessions with the cast from the film. The actors recorded dialogue in New Zealand sound stages while they were filming, as well as in Los Angeles.

"This model of development worked, so if I have a similar project, I'd have to evaluate and see if this same process would be applicable," said Jackson, when asked if he'd use this model for future film projects.

Jackson believes that video games will allow directors to possibly add alternate endings to their stories, like he did with the King Kong game, which allows players to see Kong back at home, safe and sound, on Skull Island in an unlockable closing scene.

Ubisoft President Yves Guillemot told me last year in Paris that the publisher has the rights to do additional Kong games. When asked about a potential video game sequel and the direction the story might go, Jackson replied, "I have been in discussions with Michel Ancel and the Montpellier team, but there is nothing to share at this point in time."

In addition to alternate endings, Jackson said video games can allow the player to live a movie experience as a protagonist, which may not work for a movie. "I also see the role of video games as one that will continue to command respect and attention due to the improved graphics, forms of narrative, interactive capabilities, and ways of storytelling/immersion," added Jackson.