What Is The Movies?
The Movies is a PC simulation game created by Lionhead Studios for Microsoft Windows and subsequently ported to Apple Mac OS X by Feral Interactive. It was released on November 8, 2005 in the United States of America, and November 11, 2005 in Europe after reaching gold status on October 8, 2005. In The Movies, players take the role of a Hollywood film mogul, running a studio and creating films. Much has been made about the film-making aspect of the game, as it allows players to easily create viewable works or machinima. The game is similar to the early 1990s film production game Stunt Island; the game is also similar to the 1988 game Charlie Chaplin, the 1996 game Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair and, to a lesser extent, the 1996 game 3D Movie Maker.
In October 2006, the Macintosh version by Feral Interactive won a Bafta for the best simulation game of 2006 at the Bafta games awards. The Macintosh version added a number of additional features which aren't available in the original PC release. The game was also nominated in the soundtrack category although it did not win.
What Is The Point of This Thread?
The Movies, a game that captivates, thrills, and has made it possible for many amateur movie makers to realise their dreams and endulge their fantasies is likely not to be developed further.
Lionhead and Activision seem to have no interest in developing a Movies II or another Addon. This is mainly because the Movies was not the financial success as was first hoped. This is of course a shame, as the Movies is more than just a financial simulation game. It's far more than just slapstick and stunts. It is a Machinima-Tool that has proved itself amongst stiff competition. It is the first Machinima-Tool that includes a filmeditor with a syncronisation function.
Many The Movies films were nominated at Machinima Festivals in the last year. The German film "Am Ende der Distanz" won the "Real Time Award 2006" at the FMX/06 festival against a very strong field of nominees with extensive manpower. At the Bitfilm Festival 2006 there were two The Movies nominees and five runners-up. The film "The French Democracy" gained unrivalled world wide admiration. The Movies films are now a mainstay in the Machinima Film scene. Many of the films were nominated at the Machinima Festival 2006. The film "Addiction" recently won the Machinima award at the Holland Animation Festival 2006. Well thought out, intelligent, sociocritical films are no longer a rarity.
We must show Lionhead that there are those of us who aren't just interested in Shoot-em-ups and want a serious development in this revolutionary game concept!
Please sign this petition to show that you are a The Movies fan, and also give your support for the development of a new and faultless The Movies that will allow you to further develop all your ideas!
Please Note: Do not sign this petition here. The Link to the actual Petition can be found by clicking on the Image above.