New York Post: Can’t Steal ‘Theft’

Gaming analyst Mike Hickey, after reviewing pre-sales of the game, anticipated shipments and other data, predicted “GTA4″ would sell 5.8 million units in the first seven days after its April 29 release - which would nearly double the current record set by “Halo 3″ last year.

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EA Looking To Rev Engine

With sales of its flagship Madden football video flattening out, Electronic Arts is looking to open up its offense. CEO John Riccitiello, who rejoined the company last spring, has extended EA’s pricey, exclusive NFL license, negotiated a new, exclusive in-game ad deal with Microsoft’s Massive Inc., jumped into iPhone game development and, in perhaps his boldest gambit, kicked off a hostile takeover attempt of Take-Two Interactive, the maker of the lucrative “Grand Theft Auto” series.

Rated “X” for XBox

Released last month, the sci-fi adventure “Mass Effect” (Microsoft for the XBox 360) hasn’t created as much of a stir as, say, the pornographic minigame Hot Coffee in “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” but it still has authorities buzzing.

The Boxer
Talk of the Town, The New Yorker
August 2006

German director Uwe Boll’s name is pronounced u-vee bowl. This doesn’t matter, since he prefers to be called Dr. Boll, though no one seems to know what his doctorate is in. Dr. Boll specializes in turning video games into movies. His body of work is laden with expensive-looking computer-generated visuals, young breasts, copious amounts of blood and C-level actors such as Michael Pare (best known for the ‘80s cult classic “Eddie and the Cruisers”) and Meat Loaf Aday (best known for his gynecomastia in “Fight Club”). Dr. Boll has made a small fortune from films such as “House of the Dead,” “BloodRayne” and “Alone in the Dark,” starring Tara Reid as a bespecled archeological scientist. Ms. Reid and Dr. Boll were nominated for the 2005 Golden Raspberry awards for Worst Actress and Worst Director, respectively.

Video game fans, horror film fans and, seemingly, movie fans have mounted online campaigns to stop Dr. Boll from making films. Websites such as Boll Bashing and Uwe Boll Is The Antichrist have been erected in his honor. An online petition, simply named “Stop Dr. Uwe Boll,” has garnered more than 14,000 signatures, and he has received several death threats and warnings of physical violence. Dr. Boll does not have to listen to feedback: he writes, directs and produces his own movies. He lives well. But he is also a sensitive artist and still craves acceptance from critics. Tired of ridicule, the director decided it would be best to knock the praise out of his unappreciative audience.

In a June 12 press release, Dr. Boll invited his “five most outspoken critics” to Vancouver, where he is filming another game-based film, “Postal” starring Gary Coleman. The selected critics would be flown in and put up in a hotel. Dr. Boll said he would then beat on each of them during three-round boxing matches. “I’m fed up with people slamming my films on the Internet without see [sic] them,” he said in a statement. “Uwe is now challenging the critics that [sic] failed to watch his films prior to reviewing or commenting [sic], ‘TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP!’” Eligible victims are healthy males between 140 and 190 lbs. They must provide proof of two extremely negative articles published in 2005. (This writer is ineligible, as extremely negative articles published in 2006 do not count. Perhaps next year.)

Relaxing between takes, Dr. Boll was friendly on the movie set when we spoke. He was excited about the upcoming fights. “I’m training hard right now,” he said with a hearty laugh. His accent is more Schwartzenegger than Cologne, reflective of his Austrian schooling. “I’ve been sparring every day. I have a good stunt coordinator – a professional kickboxer – and every lunch break during the shoot we have six or seven rounds of sparring. We’re sweating like pigs.”

Dr. Boll said four, not five fights would now be planned. They would be on the evening of September 16. He elaborated on why he was doing the duels. “You have to show that you are not pussying out of life. Because I do video-game based movies, I’m very confronted by people who live in cyberworld. They create their own world. I disturb these people because they’ve been playing these games for years and have their own movie in their head and, with ‘Alone in the Dark’ or ‘House of the Dead,’ that’s why they hate me. That’s the only way I could explain it! There are so many shitty movies made and they aren’t critical about them. Maybe this is a wakeup call, this boxing event.”

Dr. Boll said that 15 to 20 people are up for fighting next month. He initially reached out to several major critics, including an unresponsive Quentin Tarantino. The more modest queue now includes an editor from Entertainment Weekly, a contributor to the horror publication Fangoria and the webmaster of the satire site Something Awful. In an email correspondence, Something Awful’s Rich “Lowtax” Kyanka said he currently has a “busy schedule of working out, running laps, weightlifting, and putting slabs of meat on my eyes (I forget, am I supposed to do that before or after I get punched?).” While Dr. Boll would be happy to hurt the current contenders, he is most angry with the 800 or so reviewers on the Internet Movie Database who gave the 2005 movie “Bloodrayne” a bad rating before it was even released. “And the people we sought from IMDB? They’re all pussying it out. We’re doing one last request, and if it’s not the IMDB assholes, we will pick from the current list.” He added, “We will definitely break some bones and noses that evening.”

“Uwe’s a very accomplished boxer. I think he might have been training for the Olympics at one point. I wouldn’t recommend someone who wasn’t Rocky Balboa stepping in there with him,” says Mark Altman, who collaborated with Dr. Boll on “House of the Dead,” generally considered his worst movie. When I asked Mr. Altman what was his favorite Uwe Boll movie, he sighed. “Oh God.”

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A ‘Grand’ Chance For Vid Makers
There’s an extra $420 million up for grabs in the video game sector this holiday season and game producers Activision and Electronic Arts could grab a large chunk of the cash. The huge cash cache is an estimate of sales that Take-Two Games’ ill-fated “Grand Theft Auto IV” could have racked up - seven million units at $60 a pop

Wii Woe: Holiday Shortages Seen

Nintendo will be offering up nothing but disappointment to tens of thousands of kids this holiday season.

The red-hot video game company, whose stock has more than doubled this year on the runaway strength of the Wii game console, said it cannot keep up with demand and that U.S. consumers should expect shortages this holiday season.

NBC Slept On Video’s Digital Rights

THE latest skit-turned-video-cult-classic from “Saturday Night Live” is Andy Samberg’s “I Ran So Far,” and it’s burning up the Internet, bringing well-earned attention to the comedic talent - but it is also leaving NBC’s legal eagles a bit red-faced.

No free samples

Sampling has always been the de facto beat-creation process for hip-hop producers, but as the music has exploded in popularity, copyright laws have been enforced more regularly and the stakes—and money—involved in the sampling business have risen accordingly.

No Free Sample Credits (New York Post)

Kanye West may seem like the big winner in this week’s hip-hop battle royal with 50 Cent - but the real victor is likely ’70s group Steely Dan.