WTF? Francis Ford Coppola crowdsources Apocalypse Now game It has been 38 years since Apocalypse Now burst onto the cinema screen, and now Francis Ford Coppola says he wants to revisit the classic in computer game form – and wants you to pay for it. The renowned auteur, estimated to be worth several hundred million, is trying to raise $900,000 to build the game himself after the game …
a modest home in the suburbs will set you back the better part of a million dollars becoming a multi-millionaire doesn't make you a fat cat - it just means you were moderately successful and invested wisely (or were raking it in and blew most of it on cocaine, booze and hookers).
So what if they do, if they get what they want from it why is that a problem?
Almost every creative project is a some sort of pet-project of someone. Why is funding a project started by a millionaire any different from funding one by someone with a couple of quid? So long as you get to enjoy the result at a price you're prepared to pay. It's a problem when you pump money in some vanity project that promises you get something and then you find yourself screwed over..
WTF? Francis Ford Coppola crowdsources Apocalypse Now game
Crowdsourcing would be if he asked the internet to write the game for him. There's no hint of that in the article.
This is crowdfunding, but so what? The record of Kickstarter projects run by people who know what they're doing is pretty good. I guess you're suggesting that he can afford to finance it himself but the advantage of Kickstarter is that it identifies and locks in demand for the product before you start. Because, as any fule kno, stated preference surveys and observed preference surveys give very different answers to the same question.
I'll probably wait for the Humble Store sale though.
the team thinks they can have the game finished by October 2020 – although given the original movie was over a year behind schedule due to difficult on-set conditions (a hurricane and Martin Sheen's mid-filming heart attack) and extensive reediting, that date might slip.
...huh?
"The record of Kickstarter projects run by people who know what they're doing is pretty good."
Agreed. Francis Ford Coppola is a film writer and director who has never, as far as I am aware, made a video game or even been involved with one in any way, or been involved with crowdfunded projects either. And who hasn't been particularly successful at making films for the last decade or two for that matter. That doesn't mean things are bound to go badly; he should at least have a decent idea of financial management due to his previous work, but when it comes to crowdfunding video games he really wouldn't seem to count as someone who knows what he's doing. There are all too many people who still consider games something of a joke and assume that just because they've been successful in films or similar that it will be a doddle to jump into gaming and show all the idiots how it's supposed to be done, and who invariably fail horribly. Maybe Coppola isn't one of those, but I wouldn't bet money on it just because he made a few good films 20+ years ago.
"The player will take on the role of Captain Willard and will have to pass through the jungle to find the elusive Kurtz, but the idea is not to kill everyone and let god sort 'em out, but to stay alive and undiscovered."
Isn't this the idea behind the XBox Tom Clancy stealth games?
Aye, saw that article the other day. Death Stranding is looking mighty fine, judging by the trailers so far. Guillermo del Toro, Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen. It could be the perfect comeback after the cancellation of Silent Hills (I didn't get to play P.T. as I didn't get a PS4 until after it had been removed from the Playstation Store, and I was not prepared to pay up to £1000 for a PS4).
I don't go in for the whole pre-orders thing, but I may end up doing that and booking a few days off work for it.
Del Toro was working with Kojima on game that Konami cancelled, which is why he tweeted "Fuck Konami" as a Christmas message. Seems Kojima might have some sympathy for Coppola's attitude towards big film studios.
There is spoof photo of a Powerpoint slide doing the rounds on the internet, purported to have been revealed by the infamous Sony leak:
KONAMI - INTERNAL USE ONLY
2015 STRATEGY AND PLANNING
- Fuck Hideo Kojima
- Fuck Metal Gear
- Fuck Silent Hill
- Fuck It
- Fuck You
The decision to crowbar films into games to create a parallel income stream has ruined many movie franchises. It is a relief that Apocalypse Now came out several decades ago. If it had been made today with an eye on the gaming market it would have been one of the worst movies ever made instead of one of the best.
A new game based on the film, though - I am intrigued.
I am similarly intrigued at the thought that models of Kurtz, military choppers playing Wagner and other items (such as Frederic Forrest's severed head) could end up in toy shops.
Not sure whether a game would be allowed if it included a trip to an opium den (Apolocalypse Now Redux) but either way I'd buy it - if only to ensure that the surfer (Sam Bottoms) has his head blown off at the first opportunity.
"The decision to crowbar films into games to create a parallel income stream has ruined many movie franchises. It is a relief that Apocalypse Now came out several decades ago. If it had been made today with an eye on the gaming market it would have been one of the worst movies ever made instead of one of the best."
Not too sure it would have been one of the worst movies ever made, but I can see them adding the Ride of the Valkyries scene into the game, possible as a sort of helicopter chase.
I can see what you mean though. In Star Wars: EP1, the pod racing scene was arguably one of the most exciting scenes. It also felt like it was bolted on so they could get at least one game out of it.
Damn, I might have just given the developers an idea.
> the helicopter tune
You now picture airborne assault on pajama-clad peasants to the sound of Nyancat.
Meanwhile: How I Tried to Transplant the Musical Heart of Apocalypse Now: Oscar-winning editor Walter Murch describes the surprising idiosyncrasies of film scoring.
Practically no fuss and, most importantly, NO RISK of sinking your own money. Fools will sink THEIR money for you. Not like those pesky banks that not only charge high interest, but even want to grab a large share of your hard-won profit afterwards.
Keep diggin!
In Vietnam everyone gets everything he wants. I wanted a mission... and for my sins they gave me one. Brought it up to me like room service. It was a real choice mission, and when it was over... I would never want another.
The horror... the horror.
Something about snails and razor blades.
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