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Gamespotting: Paranormal Activity
If you've lucky enough to have seen the limited release of Paranormal Activity -- or unlucky enough, when you consider those moments late at night when it's dark, you can't fall asleep, and you're freaking out a little -- you might not have realized the movie has a couple of videogame connections.
Firstly, did you realize there was a connection between Paranormal Activity, Mortal Kombat 3, NFL Xtreme, and the MLB baseball games? The movie's director, Oren Peli, worked as a programmer on those titles.
But more to the point, Peli's next project is Area 51. Yeah, that Area 51. The videogame. The director of Paranormal Activity is following up on the success of his virally promoted and shrewdly directed movie by doing a videogame adaptation. Shooting is starting right about now. And in case you're worried it's going to be some dippy action movie about a super soldier fighting aliens in a government lab, check out this bit from Variety:[The Area 51 adaptation] will employ the "found footage" narrative structure of his last film and tell the story of three teens whose curiosity leads them to the notorious "Area 51" part of Nellis Air Force Base in the Nevada desert.
Oh dear.
EDIT: Fangoria says there are two separate Area 51 projects.
AREA 51 (no relation to Paramount's in-development adaptation of Midway's same-titled video game) will apparently be a "claustrophobic terror" exercise similar to ACTIVITY.Since Peli's "found footage" concept has no bearing on the videogame, I'm guessing this is correct. Paramount distributed Paranormal Activity and owns the rights to Midway's Area 51 games, but it looks like Peli's next movie isn't necessarily part of a deal with Paramount. So much for Peli revisting his videogaming roots.
Still, he was a programmer, so it technically qualifies as a gamespotting!
By Marty B. at 11:25 AM ON 10/19/09
Tom, are you sure the movie titled "Area 51" is in fact an adaptation of the video game, or simply another use of the Area 51 conspiracy theory? Area 51 has been a part of the fringe imagination since at least a decade before the coin op game (dunno if it's related to the PC) came out. Why no one has made a video game of the other secret e.t. related facility, Hanger 18, is beyond me.
I think this may be more inspired by the famous Art Bell phone calls claiming to come out of the Area 51 than the game.
By Sean J. at 11:49 AM ON 10/19/09
This movie was pretty cool but not scary at all.
Maybe if i was 5 and slightly retarded i might of gotten scared.
By Tom Chick at 3:15 PM ON 10/19/09
Yep, you called it, Marty. My bad for not checking more closely. The sites where I read that Peli was doing the videogame adaptation seem to have been confused that Paramount distributed Paranormal Activity and owns the rights to the videogame. I fixed the story.
By Marty B. at 3:31 PM ON 10/19/09
That's a relief, Tom. Really not much to do with that game other than remake Doom the way it should've been made in the first place.
Still interesting the Paranormal director's got a game background.
Marty B.:
That's a relief, Tom. Really not much to do with that game other than remake Doom the way it should've been made i...More »