David McKenna interview - Scarface scriptwriter
posted 13/11/06
David McKenna is no stranger to a decent story. After all, he's the screenwriter behind the movies American History X, Body Shots, Blow and even the recent remake of S.W.A.T.
With Hollywood and the Gaming industry becoming seemingly close and closer every month, what with movies based on games, games based on movies, the need for quality writing grows and grows. As gamers have aged, the need for fancier graphics is being overshadowed by the need for quality narrative.
With this in mind is it any wonder why someone like David McKenna has made the jump from Hollywood blockbusters to games? With the imminent release of Scarface : The world is yours, Vivendi games have sent over an interview that sure makes for interesting reading...
What was it like to write this new Scarface game?
First of all, the people who built the game at Radical. I actually wrote 80 pages of script and lots of dialogue and dozens of dozens of auxiliary scenes. But those guys took what I wrote and made it on their own.
Why did you decide to enter the videogame space with Scarface?
Scarface is just one of the great movies of all time. When I had the opportunity and they threw my name into the hat, I kind of jumped on it. It had a big influence on the movies I’d done like Blow and American History X and the strong violent characters that went along with that, which at the same time were sympathetic. That’s how I got involved in the game.
Were the game makers receptive to all of your ideas?
Originally, I came in and I wanted the opening to be all of the executives sitting around in chairs as Tony’s sitting in his hot tub and he’s chewing their asses out asking them why does the bad guy always have to die at the end. And they he goes, “Fuck you, you all die!” and he blows them all away. And then Sosa’s men come and he escapes the mansion. Obviously, everybody had that idea in the back of their heads that he gets away at the end. I wanted to get a little jab at the studio executives with this scene, but they weren’t going for it.
How do you go about writing a sequel to such a well-respected film?
I tried to be as original as possible. I knew I had to create a lot of scenes and I knew I had restrictions on what they could build within the game and what they couldn’t build. I knew that there was going to be a story line that has Tony screwed over and when he leaves that mansion he has nothing because everyone has screwed him over. So the rest of that game is his building his empire so he can go back and kill Sosa.
Along the way we thought of a bunch of different scenes, a bunch of different islands, a bunch of different ways…him getting on a boat, him driving all of these awesome cars…the rage factor that goes along with the game. Just writing scene after scene with all of the types of characters that you’d think would be in this type of world.
Was there anything in particular the game makers were looking for?
Lots of sex, violence and funny dialogue. That was a big thing they needed. Every time Tony walks up to a character and the player chooses that character you have to come up with a funny line of dialogue. That was the one thing that was binding for me to do this game was that it had to be funny. If you do watch the movie, a lot of it is funny…talking to the naker, when Montana and Manny are talking about girls. There’s a lot of humor in it that was overshadowed because the violence was so strong. When you’re playing a game, you’re playing a game. You want to laugh. That was the goal.
How did the collaborative process with Radical work?
As far as writing individual scenes, I would take them and write them, but the developer would make them their own. The graphics on this game are great for current generation. I was like their assistant in many ways. The game makers were the writers in many ways and I was assisting them.
What were you shown of the game when you were first brought in for the job?
All they had when I was brought in was Tony in a Hawaiian shirt killing people and saying Fuck You afterwards. They showed me that and from there we worked together and built the game. I wrote the script and they took it. I was writing for them. What can I do to help you guys get the game in on budget? If you don’t do that, the writer is going to go off on some tangent and give them everything that they can’t build.
I kept in touch with those guys because I don’t know anything about games, but I do love the movie Scarface. I love the story and the characters and the dialogue associated with it.
How did writing for Scarface compare to the film work you’ve done?
When you’re making a movie you can make one in three or four months if you’re rushed. Building a game takes several years and a lot of attention to detail. What they’ve done in this game is amazing. There are certain things you can buy in this game, including Manny’s and Tina’s ashes. That’s the type of details these guys have come up with. Being a writer, they played the game for me for about an hour and a half before they had completed the game. I loved the rage factor and how the sex looked.
The dialogue between the characters and all of those ancillary scenes are great. It’s almost like the player is writing his own script in many ways. The game makers are giving him guidance. That was amazing to see the attention to detail. These videogame guys are amazing. They’re incredible to work with. The difference between videogame guys and Hollywood guys is that videogame guys go to Happy Hour and eat the cauliflower.
Did you have any parameters to work within when writing Scarface?
All I did was take the movie and I couldn’t use Manny or Tina because they were dead, but just to make it as realistic as possible and help to make all of these new types of characters. There are hundreds of characters in this game. I created scenario in a videogame sense of what Tony would be going through and make it funny, dramatic and violent. It’s not by any means a sequel. It’s a videogame. I would never treat the two the same. One has nothing to do with the other.
What are your thoughts on the extensive line-up of Hollywood actors that provided voices for Scarface?
I wish I had a cut of the game. I think it’s going to help sell the game. I think it’s cool to recognize a voice here and there. It’s a fun thing to have the actors involved because this movie has affected a lot of actors lives. It’s why many people got into the business. It’s one of the most underrated movies of all time, I think. I just jumped at the chance to be part of this. It’s something special.
Why do you think Scarface continues to resonate with new audiences today?
I read one time that Scarface was a cultural phenomenon when young black men and young latino men who had a real rough life and had nothing and came from dirt, that they could relate to the character of Tony, who came from nothing and ruled the world. But I also think this applies to everybody. Everybody, even me, we come up, we grow up, there’s a lot of pressure now to succeed and provide. The way we’re raised, we look at Tony Montana, and yes, he was violent, but his ambition was just unparalleled. The competition between everybody nowadays, that’s our society. Tony Montana is like the extreme version of it. That’s why I think it strikes its chord, especially with the American audience.
What do you think about the recent trend by videogame companies to raid the Hollywood archives for classic films like Jaws, The Godfather and Scarface?
I have mixed feelings about the whole deal. When you think about Jaws and The Godfather, although they were great movies, I don’t see them in the same vain as something you’re doing with Scarface. It’s just bastardized. It’s getting to the point where you’re just bastardizing the whole business just to make a buck. That’s fine, but I think the American public is a little too smart for that. I think the Scarface film was made to be a videogame because of the character.
You’re following that one point of view throughout the whole movie and he’s very violent and he’s very funny. And it takes place during the whole Miami Beach cheesy music. It was just made to be a videogame. What these guys have done with the Rage factor, it’s just brilliant. I don’t think every movie makes a good videogame, just like not every story makes a good movie.
Would you write a Scarface videogame sequel, if there is one?
What are they going to do? Is he going to move to LA and try to take over Hollywood? You could do whatever you want, really. But what will the videogame person put up with. How far will they go? But for me, I’m not a big sequel guy. I just do it and that’s it. If they want to keep doing it and make more games, that’s fine for them.
Now that you’ve completed your first game script, is this something you’d try again on another game?
It really is a lot of work and the pay isn’t that great. I think they would have to give me a bit more of an incentive to do another videogame project. I know they’re on really tight budgets for videogames. I think that if they come to the realization that they can hire good writers to create videogames, I think in the long run it will help sell more copies. You get what you pay for, unless writers and actors make sacrifices like we did on this game. But they’re not going to be making sacrifices too many times, trust me.
What are your thoughts on videogame publishers using Hollywood writers for games?
Videogames are getting to the point where they’re going to need to start hiring more Hollywood writers. Pretty soon players are going to get tired of the same old routine and they’re going to want story, character, dialogue-driven games. Right now, the industry has been in denial over that fact and hopefully they’ll be able to improve the games and the gamers will start to get what they deserve, which is a great story and a great videogame.
Interview by John Gaudiosi. Provided by Vivendi Games.
