"In Hollywood, you go to a movie because you like the artists. We think multimedia ought to be the same way. You're only starting to see the beginning of cults of personality for the artists."

Natalie Fay, Synergy's International Vice President Press Release | Nikkei article

About Project The CD-rom game was "blocked from the get-go" in November 1999, because it would have been "completely boring to game buffs". David Lynch wanted a "conundrum thing... a beautiful kind of place to put yourself. You try to make a little bit of mystery and a bit of a story, but you want it to be able to bend back upon itself and get lost."

"It was called... Woodcutters from Fiery Ships... Ceratin events have happened in a bungalow which is behind another in Los Angeles. And then suddenly the woodcutters arrive and they take the man who we think has witnessed these events, and their ship is... uh, silver, like a 30`s kind of ship, and the fuel is logs. And they smoke pipes." (David Lynch, in The Guardian, November 1999) Press Release

S U B S T

A T I O N

logo designed

by David Lynch David Lynch Teams Up With Synergy On Upcoming Game "Woodcutters From Fiery Ships" Lynch set to Create Content for Game Tokyo, Japan and Hollywood, CA - March 5, 1998 Today it was announced that Japanese multimedia title developer, publisher and distributor, Synergy Inc. Has entered into an agreement with David lynch and his Hollywood-based interactive company SubStation, for Mr. Lynch to create content for an interactive title which Synergy will develop in cooperation with Lynch. The two-time Oscar nominated director, producer, and writer of such critically acclaimed works as Blue Velvet and The Elephant Man and pop-phenomena Eraserhead and Twin Peaks will weave an entirely new tale for this interactive production. Synergy is a Tokyo-based multimedia firm, well-known for such highly-acclaimed interactive titles as GADGET and Iron Angel of the Apocalypse. Synergy attributes the success of its titles to the commitment they make to promote the artist and his vision, giving full creative reign to the developer. David Lynch says, "I saw the work that Synergy did on GADGET  the way that the game delivered an immersive experience to the user. By collaborating with Synergy, I look forward to Woodcutters From Fiery Ships expanding existing forms in terms of story, characters and environment. I hope we will give people totally unexpected experiences." Neal Edelstein, SubStation partner and producer for Woodcutters, who was instrumental in putting David together with this multimedia project says, "David's involvement in this project will create an entirely new audience for his work, who, together with those that already know and love David's craft, will experience his storytelling in a whole new way." Masanori Awata, CEO of Synergy, who will also be acting as executive producer alongside David Lynch for this project says, "When obtaining financing for this project, there was a lot of excitement and positive reaction about working with Mr. Lynch from the investment community. The works he's done have withstood the test of time and I think that this title, too, will become an instant classic that exceeds all expectations." Synergy will develop the game with additional funding from Japanese telecom firm KDD, and the Multimedia Finance Corporation. Natalie Fay, President of Synergy's US operations, responsible in large part for the partnership, and who will also produce the title says, "David Lynch is not just a filmmaker, but an artist who works with photography, paint, music, sculpture, and now interactive entertainment. His willingness to lend his talents to every phase of this project will lead it to a higher level than ever attained before in gaming. He's so cool because he wants create a game that even hard-care gamers will enjoy. He's not interested in just putting together a string of video clips for your PC." A multinational team of developers will work on the game, both in the US and Japan. The development team and platform are yet to be announced, but the game is tentatively scheduled for release in the Fall of 1999. Synergy, responsible for the Japanese publishing and distribution of games by Electronic Arts, Interplay, Hasbro Interactive, Ubi Soft, and Ravensburger, to name a few, will publish the title in Japan. Synergy is currently seeking partners for US and Europe publishing for the title. Other Works page | David Lynch main page © Mike Hartmann

thecityofabsurdity@yahoo.com