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Video Game Adaptation

#39 – “I Still Don’t Feel the Code Has Been Cracked on How to Adapt These Things”: Screenwriter Dave Callaham on DOOM

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Today’s guest is screenwriter Dave Callaham, and our conversation revolves around one of his early screenwriting assignments: the adaptation of the influential video game DOOM by id Software, turned into an action movie starring The Rock in 2005. Dave quickly became an in-demand writer in Hollywood, and his credits include a ton of high-profile action movies and blockbusters – he wrote the initial script of what would then became Sylvester Stallone’s THE EXPENDABLES, he worked on films like GODZILLA and ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP, he was a screenwriter on big comic book movies like WONDER WOMAN 1984, SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS and SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, and apart from that, he was the creator of the Amazon series JEAN-CLAUDE VAN JOHNSON and the writer and producer of a satirical animation film, AMERICA: THE MOVIE.

Our interview, however, focuses on DOOM. Dave talks about the aspects of the game which he wanted to bring to the screen and about some of the changes that were made, He also discusses the film’s legacy and his collaboration with original director Enda McCallion – who was replaced by Andrzej Bartkowiak during pre-production – and he talks about his work on another video game adaptation, the 2021 action film MORTAL KOMBAT. Please note that the connection during our interview was a bit shaky, so the sound quality may be a bit wobbly at some points during the interview – but you won’t have any problems following our conversation.

My interview with Dave Callaham was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please visit lichtspielplatz.at and check out episode #71, which features an in-depth discussion of the two DOOM movies. Also, make sure to listen to my conversation with original DOOM director Enda McCallion and my interview with Tony Giglio, the writer/director of the second DOOM movie DOOM: ANNIHILATION.

If you enjoy my interviews, please consider heading over to Patreon and supporting the production of new episodes.

So without any further ado, here’s screenwriter Dave Callaham!

 

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photo courtesy of Dave Callaham
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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#38 – “I Started Becoming Very Irresponsible”: Director Enda McCallion Explains How He Got Fired from DOOM (and What He’s Up to Now)

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Today’s guest is Irish filmmaker Enda McCallion, and our interview was prompted by his involvement in the 2005 horror film DOOM starring The Rock, an adaptation of the influential video game by id Software. Enda was attached to the project in its initial stages and during pre-production, but was then fired and replaced by Andzrej Bartkowiak as the new director. Here, for maybe for the first time, Enda talks about his experience developing DOOM and explains what happened during pre-production, and he also gives us a glimpse of what his version of DOOM would have looked like and what remains in the finished film.

Enda McCallion originally garnered attention as a director of very unusual, daring, funny and often subversive commercials. His best-known work is the Judderman commercial for the Metz alcopop drink, shot in a silent movie-inspired fashion and featuring a strange creature, the Judderman, luring a hapless wanderer deep into the woods with the Metz drink. Other notable commercials include two edgy spots for Gervais, featuring a lesbian couple with one girl torturing her lover by denying her access to the Gervais ice cream, or a McDonald’s spot depicting a group of aliens ready to attack humans coming out of a McDonald’s restaurant because, as they say, “they taste better afterwards”. Enda also made spots for companies like Nestea, Fanta, Citroen, Renault, Opel, Samsung, and he directed one of the most lavish commercials ever made, the “Ryder Cup 2006” for Allied Irish Bank, which was shot on over 20 locations with hundreds of extras. Enda also created a music video for Nine Inch Nails, “Deep”, and a few years after his DOOM experience, he directed a horror film called HIT AND RUN, an intense low-budget film which displays the same dark sense of humor and visual pizzaz that could be seen in his commercials. In our interview, Enda moves beyond DOOM to discuss his style and his approach to storytelling and directing, he shares anecdotes about several of his projects, and he talks in-depth about several projects which never came to be, and some which are currently in development.

My interview with Enda McCallion was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please visit lichtspielplatz.at and check out episode #71, which features an in-depth discussion of the two DOOM movies. Also, make sure to listen to my conversation with DOOM screenwriter Dave Callaham, and my interview with Tony Giglio, the writer/director of the second DOOM movie DOOM: ANNIHILATION, here on Talking Pictures.

If you enjoy my interviews, please consider heading over to Patreon and supporting the production of new episodes.

So without any further ado, here’s director Enda McCallion!

 

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photos courtesy of Enda McCallion
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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#37 – “You’re Never Going to Meet Up with Expectations”: Director/Writer Tony Giglio on His Video Game Adaptation DOOM: ANNIHILATION

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Today’s guest is filmmaker Tony Giglio, and our conversation revolves around his 2019 film DOOM: ANNIHILATION which he wrote and directed. Unlike the 2005 DOOM movie starring The Rock, this newer adaptation of the infamous and influential ego shooter video game by id Software was made on a very small budget, and it’s not a sequel or remake, but basically a new take on the story of a marines team fighting a horde of demons which infiltrated a space station on Phobos, one of the moons of Mars. DOOM: ANNIHILATION is a well-made, fun action film which finds a good balance between thrills, carnage, horror and excitement – and it has a lot of details capturing the spirit of the game. In our interview, Tony talks about the development of the film, the adaptation process, the budgetary restraints of the production and the appeal of the game. He also discusses why id Software weren’t involved and how a miscommunication caused premature negative reactions, and for the first time, he talks about the sequel he wanted to do, which was essentially greenlit, then postponed during the pandemic and eventually and unfortunately cancelled.

Tony Giglio started out in Hollywood as an assistant on several cult classics, including Michael Mann’s HEAT, Sam Raimi’s THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, and John Carpenter’s ESCAPE FROM L.A. As a writer and director, Tony’s made several other cool low-budget movies, some of which he also discusses during our conversation – most notably his 2005 action thriller CHAOS starring Jason Statham, Ryan Philippe and Wesley Snipes. He also directed movies like the tense submarine thriller IN ENEMY HANDS starring William H. Macy and Til Schweiger or the dark backwoods horror film TIMBER FALLS, and as a screenwriter, he worked on the DEATH RACE sequels for Paul Anderson.

My interview with Tony Giglio was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please visit lichtspielplatz.at and check out episode #71, which features an in-depth discussion of the two DOOM movies. Also, make sure to listen to our interviews with the original director of the 2005 DOOM movie, Enda McCallion, and my conversation with DOOM screenwriter Dave Callaham here on Talking Pictures.

If you enjoy my interviews, please consider heading over to Patreon and supporting the production of new episodes.

So without any further ado, here’s director Tony Giglio!

The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.

Photos courtesy of Tony Giglio
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent

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