The Movies
November 13,2005 - We're not quite sure how Lionhead keeps churning 'em out, but they must be doing something right, since the quality of their titles goes unaffected. If you're guessing that the newest Molyneux-produced effort The Movies is yet another great title, you'd be correct. There's a lot of fun to be had in this box, both in the Sims-y economic and personal management, and in the film production element itself. In fact, the scope of this project is enormous, from the sheer number of character animations to the ease of use in such a complex game. Some interface niggles and other odds and ends roughen a few edges, but that's not enough to keep The Movies from being enjoyable, addicting, and highly recommendable.

The main campaign starts off with plenty of guidance, thanks to the helpful—but not overbearing—tutorial, which guides you through the initial process of placing and using buildings, as well as recruiting staff. You are a studio mogul starting with a solid budget in the 1920's, when filmmaking was in its infancy. It is your duty to build and strengthen the status of your studio by setting up your lot and all necessary accoutrement; hiring staff and maintaining their happiness; and, of course, raking in the dough by producing high quality motion pictures. It may sound daunting, and in full swing, The Movies' emphasis on balancing character needs rivals The Sims in pure intensity and focus. However, Lionhead makes it easy with a familiar interface and a few other elements borrowed from its other titles.

To get started, you place the appropriate edifices on your lot: a stage school, crew facility, casting office, and more are required right off the bat. Once the buildings are placed, find a few applicants ready to take on the Hollywood machine. Recruiting them is as simple as picking them up and dropping them into the appropriate room. Where lot maintenance is concerned, you only need to concern yourself with builders and janitors, and once chosen, they're mostly self-sufficient. When anything is falling into a state of disrepair, the game is quick to let you know with voice overs, at which point you should look to hire new staff, or at least pick one up from the current roster and drop him at the point of greatest need. Finding the problematic construct can be a pain, though, since there is no quick-jump option, so you have to scroll across your lot looking for the identifying red exclamation.

Janitors keep your paths free of litter and your flowers prettied up, and you'll want plenty on hand, since an attractive lot makes for happier stars—and consequently, better movies. There are many ways to keep your lot in tip-top shape, from furniture items like yard umbrellas and park benches to all sorts of decorations and flora. Some of these items simply add to the aesthetic beauty of the work environments, but others, like weight benches and flagpoles, have direct consequences on your celebs. Even superficial items like statues have impact: your stars need a place to lean, after all.

Prospective stars will show up outside your stage school, patiently waiting for you to pick them up and drop them on their job of choice. You can hire both directors and on-screen personalities, although there is plenty of leeway, since just like in Hollywood, directors embrace a certain amount of celebrity themselves. Each actor comes with his own unique flavor, whether that be a propensity to alcohol or food to a look that suits one type of role or another. These aspects then control what types of films you cast them in, how embarrassing they will be on the set, and how they interact with their fellow stars. For example, a star that's constantly getting drunk will wander off for a drink at the worst possible moments, bringing his current shoot to a halt—which then may throw your stars into turmoil. Of course, a drunk alcoholic is a happy one, so unless you throw him into the excruciatingly long rehab program, which takes him out of commission, you'll have to babysit him. Just like real celebs, these folks are needy. They want to look good and have current wardrobes; they want a nice trailer; they want an entourage; they want to eat and pee; in short, they expect everything to be handed to them, or they will throw a tantrum until they get what they want. The best way to make them happy is to keep them busy, and the easiest way to do that? Send them to work.

There are a few ways to get the filmmaking process started, and the most simple is to hire a scriptwriter or three and dust off their Remington typewriters. Choose a genre, and the writer gets busy whipping up a script; when the script is complete, you send it off for casting and production. Drop in the director and stars most qualified, and the crew and extras will automatically assemble from those available. After a short rehearsal period, they'll trudge off to the sets to start shooting. Granted, the only sets available are the ones you've purchased, and while there is plenty of space at the outset, eventually you will have a huge number of stages at your disposal, and they can't all fit. Your first efforts, like the tiny black-and-white comedy routine from your first actor, will take place on tiny stages, but as you progress to forest scenes and sci-fi extravaganzas, the sets get larger and more complex. The more scenes in your movie, the longer it takes to shoot, and the greater the possibility you'll have a start acting like Russell Crowe on a binge, or Suzanne Somers having a fit on the set of Three's Company. For a real treat, throw in your precious starlet, a drunkard director, and a low-paid actor past his prime, and watch the fireworks ensue.

Happy stars also look good, so you can drop them in the makeover tank from time to time to keep their fashions current. The Star Maker tool is a great utility that doesn't just let you customize your actors' general appearance, but gussies them up in costume in the film production process as well. As the game progresses and decades move by, the public does not want to see their 60's bombshell dressed like a 40's housefrau. The Star Maker lets you play paper doll until your star emits the right image, although you can be downright crazy too. An actress with a moustache or an actor with an alien head doesn't do much for the studio, but in the right film, you could have a potential masterpiece. Sadly, not all divas age gracefully, so you might want to send them off to plastic surgery, where they can come back looking like the newest Grace Kelly—or Joan Rivers, if you aren't careful. It's disappointing, however, that the physical appearance of your star doesn't change drastically during the aging process, or after the nip and tuck is complete.

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