It's like when small movies come out that don't have a massive budget, but something about them hits people, and it just sort of takes off. What David has done is really interesting.
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I'm sure a lot of movie producers look at what Call of Duty makes in a week and, let's get real, they're all like, "Dammmmn." But artistically? I don't know. You can't get more basic acting than being in a space by yourself with nothing but what you're imagining and the words you're supposed to say.ĮSQ: Does Ellen Page performing in this game lend legitimacy to the industry?ĮP: It's funny to wonder about the legitimacy of video games, because the industry is huge. But that starts to disappear, and the challenge of being in a space like that where it's just absolute, pure imagination reminds me of when I played a lot by myself when I was a kid, and made a lot of forts by myself. Like doing an emotional scene on a phone when you're holding a piece of cardboard. And sometimes things are funny and it throws you out. Page earning money as a busker on the virtual streets.ĮSQ: Do you see video games growing as an actor's medium?ĮP: Strangely, yeah. As an actor, it was like getting to go all over the place emotionally every day. I'm interested in that, and a lot of the other elements of the game are really subversive and heartbreaking. We just watched a scene in a video game where a homeless woman gave birth in an abandoned building. The choices are very real.ĮP: That's what's amazing. We shot moments where I wondered, "Who would make this choice?" But knowing that people will, I'm interested in seeing what happens.ĮSQ: It's not your standard action game either, where you have to shoot your way out of every situation. With something like this, I hope that people get as emotionally invested and make certain choices for her and her story accordingly.ĮSQ: And each choice offers completely different paths in this game.ĮP: And leads to very significant moments where you'll go one way or the other, and involves people in a way that to me is very psychologically interesting. There are certain things that really fascinate me about it, like when you watch a film it really enters you, brings you in, and takes you on some form of a ride.
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It was just a matter of going there, preparing, and doing it.ĮSQ: Do you see video games competing with film as a storytelling medium?ĮP: It's hard to even know how to think about it right now. But we rehearsed and started going through the 2,000-page script, and the story, and I thought, "Is this possible?" It's so much. I played his last game, Heavy Rain, and to be honest, I felt a little like a fish out of water. I was just completely in.ĮSQ: You said you didn't initially understand what it was like to be in a video game, so what was the process you went through to figure that out?ĮP: Talking to David was helpful, because he's been a pioneer in creating this sort of cinematic scope of narrative with emotional, storytelling-driven games. And, like, let's get real: Great roles for young women aren't always that readily available. But I was so interested.ĮSQ: What finally convinced you to play Jodie Holmes?ĮP: Well, whenever there's a female protagonist that's strong and multi-faceted and goes through the extent of experiences that she goes through in this, that's a gift. So at first I had no means of wrapping my head around it, because the thought was so foreign to me and so profoundly unexpected. At first your response is like, "What? A video game?" I didn't understand David Cage's work and what he really wanted to do. When I was younger, I played a lot of FIFA, because I was a big soccer player, and Crash Bandicoot, and some Medal of Honor: Underground.ĮP: When the opportunity came across, I was just a little bit baffled by it. But it's the first game I've played in about ten years.
We talked to Page after the Tribeca screening about what it was like to don a motion-capture suit and emote holding a cardboard phone, and about what her performance in Beyond means for the future of gaming.ĮSQUIRE.COM: When was the last time you played video games?ĮLLEN PAGE: I just got the new Tomb Raider, actually. And more than a game, Beyond promises an immersive choose-your-own-adventure experience in which the options take you on an exponential number of emotional journeys. In the game, you not only play Page as Jodie Holmes, but also Aiden, a paranormal entity that's been tethered to Jodie since she was young. What's weirder: piloting a virutal Ellen Page or haunting her through a video-game world? Both happen to be options in Beyond: Two Souls for Playstation 3, an upcoming release by Quantic Dream, which recently debuted 35 minutes of gameplay at the Tribeca Film Festival, in an unprecedented showcase.