Sony Pictures recently unveiled “Until Dawn,” a movie loosely inspired by the Supermassive Games horror adventure. The film is currently under fire for not acknowledging the writers of the 2015 video game.
Sony chose not to credit the writers of the original Until Dawn game in their new film, as reported by Eurogamer. The movie merely states that it’s “based on the Sony game.” This has led to former PlayStation Narrative Director Kim MacAskill expressing her disappointment and launching a petition to ensure proper recognition for the game’s creators. The petition has gathered 243 signatures so far.
“As someone who previously worked with Sony Interactive Entertainment and served as a PlayStation Narrative Director, I was told that the intellectual property I developed would never carry my name because I was salaried. That meant no royalties, no control, no ownership, and no acknowledgment,” MacAskill shares. “This contrasts sharply with how Neil Druckmann is treated within the company.”
She continues, “I just departed from Until Dawn, where the director and writers received full credit, yet the pioneering game developers behind this iconic game were merely referenced as ‘based on the Sony game.'”
“Why should creators of intellectual property continue to work for you? Even in film and TV, where things can get pretty cutthroat, there’s still a basic respect for giving credit where it’s due.”
In a recent chat with the Hollywood Reporter, Larry Fessenden and Graham Reznick, the writers of the Until Dawn video game, shared their reactions to being uncredited.
“I didn’t have any expectations, but I thought someone might mention us, at least in the end credits,” Fessenden told the Hollywood Reporter. “But it seems courtesy is rare in show business.”
