Uncharted Movie Director Responds to Fan Criticism

Logan Westbrook

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Feb 21, 2008
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Uncharted Movie Director Responds to Fan Criticism

Director David O. Russell says that fans of the Uncharted games are just going to have to trust him.

Russell, the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker who is attached to write and direct the Uncharted movie, has responded to fans' comments about changes to the game's story as it makes its way onto the big screen.

Russell has said in previous interviews [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/105791-Uncharted-Director-Changing-Drakes-Back-Story] that he planned to have lead character Nathan Drake be part of a shadowy family that policed the trade of antiquities. Leading man Mark Wahlberg also revealed [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/105618-Mark-Wahlberg-Confirmed-For-Lead-Role-in-Uncharted-Movie] that Drake's father and uncle - characters that have never appeared in the games - would feature in the movie, and that he and Russell were hoping to secure Robert de Niro and Joe Pesci for the parts.

He said that that concept had been inspired by his experience playing the games, as well as the material he'd read about them and his meetings with Amy Hennig, the creative director at Naughty Dog. He acknowledged that fans of the game had their concerns about these ideas, and had even gone so far as to make unsolicited overtures about his casting decisions. He said that he knew what he was doing, however, and that the fans would just have to trust him.

Russell stated that he was going to stay true to the core content and spirit of the games, but that ultimately his job was to make a great movie. He said that converting a game into a film was an interesting proposition, because the experience of playing a game was so different from that of watching a movie. He thought that games were all about the gameplay, and didn't really require the player to engage emotionally with the narrative. He also pointed out that there weren't a lot of videogame movies that really held up as good films, or solid franchises.

Russell isn't wrong when he says that most videogame movies aren't all that great; what is arguably the most successful franchise, the Resident Evil series, is fun, but it's not what you'd call a triumph of cinema. What's more, movies like Super Mario Bros., Alone in the Dark and Bloodrayne are positively dire. That said, to imply that the blame for these less-than-amazing movies lies solely with the games is unfair. No one's going to say that videogame stories are the best in the world, not unless they're wearing some incredibly thick rose-tinted glasses, but by the same token, they're not the worst either. They also don't need quite as much tweaking as screenwriters and directors seem to think they do.

Of course, Russell hasn't even finished the script for the movie yet, so any comments about its quality or content is just supposition. What seems to be worrying most fans of Uncharted most though, is that it sounds less like he's making a movie based on the game and more like a movie inspired by it. While the film will almost certainly be of a very high quality - as almost all of Russell's films are - it does raise the question of what role the source material really plays, other than lending the film a little brand recognition.

Source: Slashfilm [http://www.slashfilm.com/david-russell-responds-internets-response-fact-making-uncharted/]



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Celtic_Kerr

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May 21, 2010
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Wait? Wahlberg is Irish isn't he? I think at least. And the rest of his family is ITALIAN? I mean the actors can pull it off, and I'm not trying to get racist or anything, but Joe Pesci and De Niro don't look like they are related to Wahlberg at all. Doesn't look like a believable family to me at all...

On a secondary note: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA antique trade police? Part of the wonder of Unchartered is that for an entire game Nathan is going "MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!" and in the end he realizes the treasure is better left if it isn't found and kept for himself...
 

Truly-A-Lie

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Nov 14, 2009
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"You guys are playing the game, and it's about playing the game. It's not about a narrative embracing you emotionally." - Quote from the director himself. I'm not saying Uncharted had me flooded with tears, but to say that there is no emotional engagement is absolute crap. The ending to Among Thieves had me smiling like a lunatic, it's such a great moment that would have meant nothing if I didn't care for Nate and Elena in the first place.

Also, the secret Drake family art police? All Drake does is steal things! And not even long lost treasures either, you break into a museum in Uncharted 2.

I'm sure the movie will be quite enjoyable, in that National Treasure meets big budget self importance kind of way, but there's no point calling it Uncharted.
 

Jonny49

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Mar 31, 2009
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So..."fuck your story"? That's kinda what it sounds like to me.

I'm sure it'll be alright either way, he's a good director.
 

RoBi3.0

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Mar 29, 2009
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I am glad to hear that it wont be the storyline of the first game condensed into a 2 hour movie. Uncharted was so polished that it might as well been a movie you could play. Why would I want to see something that was so good ruined by stuff 9 hours of "story" into 2 hours.

That being said I am not entirely sure I like where the story seems to be going.
 

DJDarque

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Aug 24, 2009
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I don't mind a tweak here and there, but completely changing Nathan Drake into an antique trade policeman seems like a bit of a stretch.

Seeing as how I've never seen any of Russell's other movies, I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see.
 

Paularius

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May 25, 2010
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So pretty much he knows we dont like his idea but he dosnt give a crap either way.
Way to go to flunk your movie mate.
 

sunburst

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Mar 19, 2010
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This story doesn't even feel like it's "inspired by" Uncharted. Feels more like it's inspired by the thing Uncharted is inspired by: Indiana Jones. Uncharted took that inspiration and asked, "What if Indy was a thief?" This proposed story is dropping that and ripping Dr. Jones off wholesale. So no; I will not trust you Mr. Russell. I will never trust you until you prove your movie has more to do with Uncharted than the character names.
 

GeorgW

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Aug 27, 2010
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Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather have a movie inspired by a game than one based on one, at least considering the track record. And even if it's just for brand recognition, that's just great! Cuz it'll increase the sales of an amazing game series and bring new people into the industry. So let's just hope it's good. So far, it sounds meh.
 

MattAn24

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Jul 16, 2009
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tghm1801 said:
Well, I can already tell this movie is going to suck, because there is something dreadfully wrong when Mark Wahlberg is going to be playing Nathan Drake, and not Nathan Fillion.
This. So very much this.

Sorry, but Nathan Drake IS Nathan Fillion. There's just no substitute. I could see him channeling his inner Malcolm Reynolds for the role too!

Fuck you, Wahlberg.. WAHLGARBL.
 

jaing1138

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May 25, 2010
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"What's more, movies like Super Mario Bros., Alone in the Dark and Bloodrayne are positively dire."
You know who directed two of those... Uwe Boll. Here's a few things that sum up just how bad this he is:
http://spoonyexperiment.com/alone-in-the-dark/
http://spoonyexperiment.com/2009/09/08/alone-in-the-dark-review-2/
Ever since I heard what the changes to the plot were I thought imediately of alone in the dark, I predict this will be on the same scale as alone in the dark, Russels even beginning to sound like uwe boll to me.
 

blobin

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Dec 24, 2008
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WanderFreak said:
I'm quite looking forward to this.

I'm probably one of the few people who like videogame movies BECAUSE they don't just adapt the game to the screen. I don't want to watch the game, I play the game. Why would I just want to sit and watch the game condensed into a couple of hours? People complain about the cut scenes in Metal Gear Solid, but God help you if you change a single detail of it when you make the movie. So, what, you can complain about the same things?

It's like how people complained that 300 and Watchmen were basically just film adaptations of the graphic novel, so what was the point. And yet anything that was different was torn apart as not being part of the original.

Use the game as a jumping off point. If it sucks, it doesn't mean Uncharted suddenly sucks. I still play Mortal Kombat, even though "Too bad YOU... will DIE." exists. If a single bad movie suddenly means you can't enjoy anything about an entire series, then I pity you. And also shut up, all you do is ruin things for the rest of us.
woh man, I think we're mostly irritated cos it's not really like he's inspired even, It just sounds like he's read the blurb and is trying to make a movie "inspired" by that. The thing that really gets me though is how he dismisses storytelling in games. I'm not complaining about him ruining the series, i'm just annoyed that he seems to be wasting the oppertunity to make a great movie from a game, something really enjoyable rather than pretentious.
 

Vanaron

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Apr 8, 2010
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The thing is the movie will most likely have nothing to do with Uncharted... Hollywood does this all the time, taking a stand-alone idea and turning it into an "adaptation" or a sequel to completely unrelated movies.

Change a few names, throw in some "wink wink" dialog and bang, you've turned a movie about super international art cop family into Uncharted!
 

dropZero

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Feb 10, 2011
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I don't trust him at all. His casting decision is terrible for the film. Sure, they're all big name, talented actors, but they don't fit for an Uncharted film. Well, I'll take a step back there. I can see de Niro as Sully. Marky Mark, however, is not the right actor to play Nathan Drake. That role belongs to Nathan Fillion. I'm beginning to think this guy hasn't even played an Uncharted game for more than five minutes.