Neil LaBute Talks To Famous Directors To Promote Sony’s Latest PS3 Game
Just about the last person I’d expect to see making a short film to promote a video game isNeil LaBute, the theater director who has made films likeIn the Company of Men,Your Friends and Neighborsand the remake ofThe Wicker Man. But the team behind Sony’s gameHeavy Rainhired LaBute to make a film that explores one of the themes of the game, which is ‘how far would you go to save someone you love?’
So here isHow Far Would You Go?, in which we see LaBute and directors likePeter Bogdanovich,Stephen Frears,Nicolas RoegandChris Weitztalk about the lengths to which they’d go for someone they love, and about the nature of love and creativity in general. Actors likeSamuel L. Jackson,Nicholas HoultandBen Chaplinchime in as well. It’s an odd collection of talent, and an unusual piece of film.
IGNhas the clip, which is barely recognizable as a promo piece for a video game. I don’t remember Peter Bogdanovich singing a little verse to sellDante’s InfernoorSuper Smash Brothers. But then,Heavy Rainis an unusual game which is based on exploration and emotion more than action and adventure. I’ve just started to play it myself, so I can’t comment on the value of the game and the story it tells. But I do like hearing these brief comments about love, hate and sacrifice from the ‘witnesses’ assembled by LaBute. And I love the idea that a gamer who doesn’t know anything about Bodganovich or Roeg might discover their movies through this piece. (Doubtful, maybe, but possible.)
There’s also a conversation with LaBute aboutHow Far Would You Go?posted atDirector’s Notes. The recording might be interesting to LaBute fans, as it recaps his directorial career in film and discusses his approach to making movies before getting into the background of his work with Sony. TheHeavy Rain’documentary' is only discussed towards the end of the sixteen-minute conversation.
Of theHeavy Rainpiece, LaBute says
You can always view this as it’s own separate little entity, ‘cause it really isn’t trying to hock the game. But I think for the people who wrestle with games, like ‘how violent is this or that?’, it will ground those questions in the reality of working artists…[it’s not] on the website touting the game. This is only saying ‘this is some material that you might find interesting, if in fact you find the game interesting.’
