NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Film productions often wrestle with shifts in the weather, the threat of the crew going into overtime or the fading of a day鈥檚 light. Less common are concerns over the cast slipping off the top of a blimp.
But that was one of the quirks of making 鈥淕rand Theft Hamlet,鈥� a about a pair of British actors, Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen, who, while idled by the pandemic, decided to stage 鈥淗amlet鈥� within the violent virtual world of 鈥淕rand Theft Auto.鈥� When Shakespeare wrote of the 鈥渟lings and arrows of outrageous fortune,鈥� he may not have imagined the threat of a python loose in a bar or Hamlet wrestling with whether 鈥渢o be鈥� on a helipad. Yet 鈥淕rand Theft Auto鈥� might be an oddly appropriate venue for a play where nearly everyone dies.
鈥淭he first time Sam did a bit of Shakespeare in that space, he said, 鈥業 imagine this is what it was like in Shakespeare鈥檚 time at the Globe when people would throw apples at you if you were rubbish,鈥欌�� says Pinny Grylls, who wrote and directed the film with Crane, her husband. 鈥淣o one鈥檚 really watching you but they're occasionally looking around and listening to the poetry.鈥�
which Mubi will release in theaters in January, opens with Crane and Oosterveen鈥檚 avatars, fleeing police and careening into an outdoor amphitheater. One says loud, 鈥淚 wonder if you could stage something here?鈥�
They aren鈥檛 the only ones who have drifted into virtual spaces and wondered if it might be a rich landscape for a movie. In the which debuted Friday on Netflix, director Benjamin Ree plunges into 鈥淲orld of Warcraft鈥� to tell both the life and virtual life story of Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer who died from Duchenne muscular dystrophy at age 25.
streaming on Metrograph at Home, takes place almost entirely within the survivalist role playing game DayZ. The filmmakers went in with 鈥淧RESS鈥� badges across the chests of their avatars and seeking interviews with high-kill-count players. 鈥淒on鈥檛 shoot!" one yells during one approach. 鈥淚鈥檓 a documentarist!鈥�
All three documentaries enter video game realms with curiosity at what might be discovered within. For them, the surreal life inside these virtual spaces, and the possibilities there for real human connection, are just as worthy as anywhere else.
鈥淔ilmmakers want to make films about the world we live in. And more and more people are living in these virtual gaming spaces online,鈥� says Grylls. 鈥淎s filmmakers we鈥檙e just putting a mirror to the world and saying, 鈥楲ook what鈥檚 happening here.鈥欌��
As the gaming industry has emerged as the dominant entertainment medium (by some estimates it dwarfs film, television and music combined), the lines between movies and video games have increasingly blurred. That鈥檚 not just in big box-office but in the smaller films known as machinima (a combination of 鈥渕achine鈥� and 鈥渃inema鈥�) that use gaming engines to make narratives of their own.
But 鈥淭he Remarkable Life of Ibelin,鈥� 鈥淕rand Theft Hamlet鈥� and 鈥淜nit鈥檚 Island鈥� are first-of-their-kind feature forays in bridging the gap between virtual and cinema.
鈥淭his is only the beginning," says Grylls. "We鈥檙e right at the foothills of it. It鈥檚 nice to think we鈥檙e part of that evolution of cinema.鈥�
Reconstructing Mats Steen's life
When Ree first read about Steen鈥檚 story, he was tremendously moved. When Steen died in 2014, his parents, Robert and Trude, had the impression that their son had missed out on most of life. As Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare disease without a cure, progressed, Steen鈥檚 life was increasingly relegated to playing video games from a wheelchair in their basement.
But after Steen鈥檚 parents posted news of their son鈥檚 death on his blog, they were stunned by the response. Messages poured in, eulogizing Steen, known to most as the strapping Ibelin Redmoore of 鈥淲orld of Warcraft.鈥� Ree rewinds his film to start over, retelling Steen鈥檚 story using thousands of pages of archived texts to animate Ibelin/Steen鈥檚 vibrant life within the game. In the game, Steen, as Ibelin, experienced his first kiss.
鈥淚 thought: Is it possible to translate that enormous archive and reconstruct actual events with real dialogue and real characters, but also invite everyone in?鈥� says Ree. 鈥淗e actually came of age inside of a game. And I was so curious: What was that like? He experienced friendships, love 鈥� all the things I can recognize in my own life growing up.鈥�
Ree knew that to make a film about Steen鈥檚 life, he needed to illustrate it through 鈥淲orld of Warcraft.鈥� Though he, himself, wasn鈥檛 a player, Ree sought out gamers on who posted fan videos on YouTube. Rasmus Tukia, a 28-year-old, self-taught 3-D animator, led two other animators in rendering the game environment with the same models used for gameplay videos.
鈥淭hey were all YouTubers and this was their first job,鈥� Ree says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing something totally new here. If this works, it鈥檚 a lot of credit to these YouTubers.鈥�
Ree鈥檚 goal wasn鈥檛 to exactly mimic the game 鈥� that can come off as clunky or too herky-jerky. So for three years, without permission from the game鈥檚 maker, Blizzard Entertainment, they animated Steen鈥檚/Ibelin鈥檚 experiences in 鈥淲orld of Warcraft,鈥� but with a slightly more cinematic touch. Along the way, they showed drafts to Steen鈥檚 online friends for feedback.
鈥淲hen I showed them the film after working on it for three and a half years, the response after the screening was: 鈥楾his is exactly how we remember Ibelin,鈥欌�� Ree says. 鈥淭hen they said, 鈥楤ut you鈥檝e made one mistake. Ibelin liked women with more leathery clothes.鈥欌��
Only after the film 鈥� a small, independent Norwegian production before Netflix acquired it 鈥� was nearing completion did Ree reach out to Blizzard. He traveled to their offices in California to screen it for executives.
鈥淚 was so nervous. I hadn鈥檛 slept for days. We didn鈥檛 have a plan B. I had to take some extra doses of asthma medication in order to breathe before the meeting,鈥� Ree says. 鈥淲e showed them the film and right after we saw they were crying. The boss turned around and said, 鈥楾his film is fantastic. You will get the rights.鈥欌��
Shakespeare with a cargo plane in 鈥楪rand Theft Hamlet鈥�
Crane, an experienced stage and screen actor, had initially started what became 鈥淕rand Theft Hamlet鈥� as more of a lark, a way to keep busy while theaters were shuttered during the pandemic. As he posted videos, though, people responded enthusiastically, as did the game's maker, Rockstar Games.
鈥淭hey spoke to us about how they designed the game to be used like this, as a sandbox, as a creative space," Crane says.
But little about how to make 鈥淕rand Theft Hamlet,鈥� which won best documentary at SXSW in March, was established. For starters, nearly every audition or rehearsal in the game ended in bloodshed. Someone with a gun typically turned up and chaos ensued.
The filmmakers had a few touchstones, like Joe Hunting鈥檚 2022 documentary 鈥淲e Met in Virtual Reality鈥� and the work of the artist Jacky Connolly, who used 鈥淕rand Theft Auto鈥� to make the nightmarish, existential short film But little about how to make a movie set entirely within a game world was prescribed.
鈥淲e were kind of working out every aspect of it 鈥� putting on a play inside this world, learning how to capture the images in this world, then how do we edit all this footage,鈥� Crane says. 鈥淲e were learning as we went.鈥�
That also meant freedom. At one point, they realized they could essentially perform Shakespeare 鈥渙n a billion dollar budget.鈥� Theirs is the first 鈥淗amlet鈥� to feature the car from 鈥淏ack to the Future鈥� or a cargo plane. Meanwhile, Grylls, an experienced filmmaker, experimented with how to position the camera.
鈥淚 realized: OK, let鈥檚 try to make things a bit stiller and more cinematic," she says. "When I discovered there was a phone inside the game with a camera on it, I was able to make close-ups and wide shots and a cinematic language of sorts.鈥�
Game not over
As 鈥淕rand Theft Hamlet鈥� has screened at various film festivals, Crane and Grylls find themselves in the surprising position of being celebrated for a movie they made mostly in their bedroom on a PlayStation. Like their virtual-world forays, something done in physical isolation has found an ever-growing community.
Ree, who spoke from a festival stop in San Francisco, has been traveling with 鈥淚belin鈥� with Streen's parents. A life that had once seemed quiet and lonely has reached around the world.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e watched the film every screening," he says. "In a way for them, the film is a part of their healing but also their grieving process. They鈥檝e seen it now over 150 times.鈥�
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
