Gaming & Hollywood: An Evolving Relationship

Hollywood isn’t afraid to borrow from other industries. In fact, to continue evolving, writers working in Hollywood must constantly search for new ideas. The next story is perpetually waiting just over the next horizon—and who knows which industry will help inspire the next blockbuster? 

One source of unending inspiration comes from the gaming industry. Though a well-known staple in entertainment, writers and producers are able to draw from dozens of gaming fields. For example, one Hollywood classic revolves around casino gaming (more on this below). Audiences are accustomed to seeing Vegas lobbies in films—and they know it signals intrigue.

But gaming can also include tabletop RPGs, classic console games like Halo, and even mobile video games. Hollywood’s relationship to the industry is seemingly unending and highly diverse. But it all started with the City of Lights…

225 Miles East of LA…

Anyone who has traveled to Las Vegas may wonder how such an improbable city came to be—after all, the no-holds-barred entertainment capital of the US is placed square in one of its most intense deserts. So, how did this happen? 

Let’s imagine playing a game of roulette back in the day. While today the game is largely the subject of virtual platforms due to the added convenience and variety on offer, Las Vegas remains one of the most popular destinations for anyone looking to spin the wheel and bet on red in person. But back in the 1950s and 60s, gamers had to travel great distances to find a croupier. 

This led businessmen like Kirk Kerkorian to invest their Hollywood-made filmmaking wealth into some of Vegas’s first casino resorts in the 1970s and 80s. The city was directly funded by many Hollywood elites who wanted games like roulette within reaching distance—which explains why it remains such a popular stopover for celebrities of all stripes today. 

So, how did the casino and games like roulette become such a hot topic in Hollywood? Maybe because they were so close by.

Rise of the Remake

Casinos and Hollywood have an established relationship. However, video gaming and filmmaking have one of the latest relationships to start flourishing. As Hollywood writers search for new content, video games have become a popular source material. That’s because most major video games, from RPGs to first-person shooters, include highly developed storylines. 

Let’s take a look at an example. Recently, actor Henry Cavill helped turn his love of The Witcher franchise into a highly acclaimed Netflix series. The series was originally penned as fantasy books that were then were turned into PC games in the early 2000s—at which time gamers like Cavill fell in love with the plot and the action.

The fad has since taken off. Cavill’s original involvement in The Witcher Netflix series will soon come to an end after the third season is released, after which point he will be replaced by another actor. While many are sad to see him hang up his hat as Geralt of Rivia, Cavill is redirecting his attention to another major project. 

This one is Warhammer 40k, the world’s most popular war strategy tabletop game. So, not only does Hollywood continue to use gaming as an inspiration, but it’s not afraid to move from virtual to tabletop games in search of new content.

Lost in Cyberspace…

Gaming isn’t an entirely new concept for Hollywood. While the casino has been around for ages, stretching back to the earliest James Bond flicks, some filmmakers have taken inspiration from more abstract types of gaming. This includes titles like The Matrix, which revolves around a simulated reality (literally known as The Matrix).

The same goes for more recent releases, like the rehashed Space Jam: A New Legacy. Rather than be trapped in a cartoon world, the main characters must battle against an evil algorithm in a fully simulated world. To escape, they must defeat their enemy in a basketball game. Though not quite as mind-bending as The Matrix, it highlights just how close to the forefront of gaming Hollywood likes to stay.