A company called YooStar (subtle, right?) is set to release a game that allows movie fans to “act” “alongside” stars in classic movie scenes, an idea the company calls “like Guitar Hero for movies.” Above is an artist’s conception of what the game might look like, created using a space-age technology known as “Photoshop.”
The YooStar retail package, which hits stores in mid-August, includes a greenscreen, a high-resolution webcam (which includes dual microphones and remote control), stand and software.
Once fans have inserted themselves into a scene, they can share the clip on their own computer or upload free to a YouTubelike site hosted by YooStar, where anyone can view it. The package will ship with 14 clips (11 from films, one from “Sesame Street” and two “moving backgrounds,” which allow users to improvise a scene).
Included are single scenes from pics as old as “Double Indemnity” (1944) and “Sunset Boulevard” (1950) and as recent as 2006’s “Rocky Balboa” and “Employee of the Month.” [imagine YOU, onscreen with DANE COOK!] The original “Terminator” and “Beverly Hills Cop 2″ are also in the starter pack. [Variety]
They already have this technology down at my local karaoke bar. It’s amazing, I’ll be rockin’ out to “Radar Love” up on stage, but on the big screen it looks like I’m cruisin down the highway in a convertible. I’m pretty sure this whole thing was dreamed up by my dad’s friends who constantly forward me pictures like this. Old people are mystified by Photoshop.
[and I swear I hadn't heard of this when I used the phrase cinematic karaoke this morning...]
Remember that “Bike Hero” video from the other day? Well, as a few commenters initially speculated, it was not shot by a guy named Kevin in Ft. Wayne, Indiana as the YouTube profile page indicated.
“Bike Hero” was shot in North Hollywood by a production team called Droga 5. That team has pulled off other viral stunts like the apparent graffiti-tagging of Air Force Once for Marc Ecko’s clothing company. This time, Activision was working with them.
“We shot all through the night,” Brad Jakeman, Activision’s newly appointed chief creative officer. “We wanted it to feel gritty and of the medium.” The shoot took place about four weeks ago, and while it did involve a real bicyclist, those lights on the handlebars are the product of “some filmic magic.”
“This was always created and put out there to engage the creativity of our gamers. It didn’t take people very long, as we expected it to, for them to unlock the first of the codes, if you like,” Jakeman said. “We wanted people to first figure out that it was something in the marketing realm and then dig in and have more of the conversation that we’re having about how it was done, have people figure out where all the cutting points were, where there was potentially CGI, and engage with that. It’s not meant to be deceptive. It’s meant to be fun.” [via MTV Multiplayer]
It’s a little bit deceptive, but who cares? It doesn’t really matter if it’s a kid in Indiana or a production team in L.A. that made it, the point is that it was a clever idea. And if you have a production team that can make something this cool, why is the ad where Brett Ratner tries to turn pro athletes into his gay fantasy getting all the press? Hmm, let’s see, what’s gonna make me wanna play the game, a guy going over sweet jumps on his bike, or Michael Phelps writhing around on a couch?
I saw this latest commercial for Guitar Hero over on WithLeather and realized I’ve been meaning to cover this. The ad above was directed by Brett Ratner as part of his Brett Ratner Brands deal in which companies actually pay Brett Ratner to tell them what’s cool.
Ratner says the ad shows how the game brings people together. “This is a situation where you’d never (normally) see these four guys in a room together,” says Ratner, who also directed an earlier Risky Business-themed Guitar Hero TV commercial, as well more famous fare, such as X Men: The Last Stand and TV’s Prison Break. “Once you get a guitar and your favorite song on that game, it breaks down all barriers.” His on-set direction to each athlete: “Rock out.” [USA Today]
It’s not a bad commercial, but what I love is how he talks about it as if it took 15 years to develop.
Turns out Brett Ratner won’t get to make that Guitar Hero movie he wanted after all. It’s so sad when no one’s interested in a free whore.
Activision, the company that owns the franchise, isn’t going for it. “I’d really like to do it, but they’re not letting me,” Ratner tells EW.com. “I expressed my interest, but because it’s such a success, it’s like now there’s no reason to make a movie about it.”
Weird, it’s almost as if… making a film out of it would be really f-cking stupid idea or something.
Ratner is a big fan of the game, incorporating it into videos he’s directed for Miley Cyrus and Mariah Carey, and he envisioned a story about a small-town kid who dreams of fame and wins a Guitar Hero competition. “The game is wish-fulfilling, everyone can be a rock star.” But despite the setback, Ratner is not giving up hope. “I might prevail,” he says. “I usually do.” [EW]
Brett Ratner is what happens when you give fat average idiots responsibility. They let him direct a music video, and he put Guitar Hero in it because he likes video games. If he directed Sportscenter half of it would be about Madden ‘08. “Trust me, dude, it’s an awesome game. It’s all I f*ckin’ do all day.”
Brett Ratner recently spoke with MTV, who were interviewing him in conjunction with his nomination for a “Best Director” Video Music Award for Miley Cyrus’ “7 Things”. Now, before I get into the Guitar Hero story, please watch the video and tell me I’m not crazy. I’m not missing anything, right? It’s really just a bunch of people in a white room singing along to the song? I think she could’ve saved a lot of money by making this in one of those booths at the mall. Get it? She sang about text messaging and a girl held up her cell phone! Oh my God, you’re a f-cking genius, Brett Ratner! Anyway, here’s the stupid thing he said today:
“I love ‘Guitar Hero’ and I think it’s a part of pop culture. I would love to do a ‘Guitar Hero’ movie, if Activision would ever let me. I’m trying to convince them, but why would you have a movie screw up such a huge franchise? Not that I would make a bad movie. So that would be cool, to do a ‘Guitar Hero’ movie. ”
What, you mean like that South Park episode?
“It could be about a kid from a small town who dreams of being a rock star and he wins the ‘Guitar Hero’ competition. One of these dreams-[come-true] kind of concepts.”
Could it be a Chinese kid who gets paired up with Chris Tucker? You know, it sounds suspiciously like he’s just talking out of his ass to promote Guitar Hero as part of his marketing deal. C’mon, give it to us straight, oh soulless whore of Hollywood.
“I have a deal with Activision for their branding,” he said. “For instance, naming ‘Guitar Hero: World Tour,’ coming up with the new ‘Guitar Hero game name. It’s sort of like [MTV's] ‘Rock Band.’ So they said: ‘Come up with a name.’ And I did, and it became ‘Guitar Hero: World Tour.’” [Source]
That’s right, Brett Ratner got paid (probably millions) for coming up with the words “World Tour”. Think about that next time you’re making 12 bucks an hour to edit a Power Point slide about “Teamwork!” or getting drooled on by the retards you teach. He should change the name of Brett Ratner Brands to Proof That There is No God.
