Filmmakers Break Taboo By Giving Voice To 'Half-life's' Gordon Freeman

Web sensation, live-action short, Enter the Freeman:Half-Life Film. End Quote

Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) October 03, 2012 - Valve Corporation's cult classic video game, 'Half-Life', creates a total immersion experience by featuring a first-person protagonist, Gordon Freeman, who never says a word. A bunch of young Hollywood filmmakers may have done the unthinkable though. They unleashed Gordon Freeman's voice on the world.

In the live-action short, 'Enter the Freeman', they pack in much that gamers hold sacred in the original series. There's alien headcrabs, Black Mesa lab accidents, military betrayals, firepower, heroics, blood, and, of course, Gordon's famous crowbar doing a whole lot of damage.
But it's Gordon himself who is still the center of attention and who has set the web abuzz.

With over ten million 'Half-Life' games sold, over 50 'Game of the Year' awards won, and a Metacritic score of 96 out of 100, making a film that dramatically alters the titular character was asking for trouble from a fanbase best described as 'rabid.'

"We knew giving Gordon lines was going to be controversial," said director, Ian James Duncan "But it's a chance we had to take. We wanted to make a fan film that paid homage to the game we all love, while still pushing the envelope."

Judging from the overwhelmingly encouraging feedback and the calls for a follow-up web series, Gordon may have a lot more to say. The short is quickly going viral, garnering more than 2000 comments, 99% positive 'Likes', and 150,000 views on youtube in the first 24 hours of release, through media streaming portal, Machinima.

According to Duncan, the film was made for under $3000 and shot in less than 48 hours. The cast and crew worked for free but the project was compelling enough to bring in some big name talent. Special effects guru, Steve Wang, ('Predator', 'Underworld') personally oversaw the headcrab design.

Fans, who have long been clamoring for a big Hollywood studio version, may have just whetted their appetite with the 11-minute web sensation, "Enter the Freeman."

Bernhard Forcher, who plays Gordon in the film, admitted he was a bit nervous playing such an iconic figure. "It's a huge responsibility to get it right for the fans. But at the end of the day, our Gordon is still the strong, silent type who lets his crowbar do most of the talking. He's just a little less silent now."

Link to 'Enter the Freeman': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvgEx1g9dW4

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