We write about “anticipation” all the time here on TG, and when it comes to a hot movie or video game, geek anticipation can certainly get pretty intense.
There’s also bound to be a lot of anticipation, or more like anxiety, in Hollywood and the gaming industry, because the ups and downs are both are so intense. This is especially true in the gaming world, where a company can have its best year ever and then go right into the red.
So the Hollywood Reporter recently ran a story headlined, “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, the Avatar of Video Games,” which tells us that anticipation for this title when it comes out on November 13 is of course huge, and could end up being the biggest game of all time. And as the Reporter also tells us, it’s getting help from David Goyer, the screenwriter who brought Batman back from the dead.
In addition to his work on the Dark Knight films, Goyer is probably best known for the Blade movies with Wesley Snipes, as well as writing Dark City, the upcoming Superman reboot Man of Steel, and he also did some work on an in development Godzilla remake. (His Internet Movie Database page also has a listing for an “Untitled Batman Reboot” which is “announced” for 2015).
As the Reporter notes, the plot for Black Ops 2 “sounds like the premise of a Hollywood blockbuster,” thanks to Goyer’s help. Goyer set up the game in L.A. in the year 2025, and he said developers Treyarch “were interested in pushing the conventional boundaries of what a gaming experience could be. Not just in the gameplay but in the storytelling, the performances – everything.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time a big time screenwriter’s worked on a game. John Milius (Apocalypse Now) wrote Medal of Honor: European Assault and Homefront, Hal Barwood (Close Encounters, Dragonslayer) has been creating games for Lucas for years, and American History X screenwriter also penned the Scarface game, The World is Yours.
As the Reporter also points out, Black Ops 2 “is seen as one key to rescuing an ailing game industry,” and like Hollywood, a big hit like Star Wars and The Avengers can not only “save” the industry, but also keep a company cruising along, shielding it from the money losing bombs for just a little while longer.
