DA VINCI’S DEMONS WRAP, THE BLACK OPS II GLOBAL LAUNCH (LONDON), AND FLAT WHITES
On Friday, we wrapped production on Season 1 of Da Vinci’s Demons — a long, glorious slog. (More on that, later.) Since then, I’ve been in London, working on the grade of the first few episodes with our DOPs. I had time to sneak in a dinner with Black Ops game director Dave Anthony and Michael Rooker…
…but last night I attended Treyarch’s launch for Black Ops II.
Things kicked off at the Bloomsbury Ballroom, where fans had been previewing the game all week. There was a pop-up zombie diner with some seriously good burgers provided by MEATliquor (who says the Brits can’t do burgers?) They had a war room set up for competitive gaming. (Maybe it was just the frigid London weather — but, in stark contrast to Comicon, there was a surprising lack of b.o. at the venue.)
Amusingly, the bathroom signs were emblazoned with these his/her shooter placards (apologies for the lo-grade pics!)
Did a few interviews — one with David Jenkins, who asked some remarkably incisive questions, which you can read here…
Afterwards, we headed over to HMV, where a few hundred fans had been waiting in line for hours. One guy, Taylor, had been camping out for 6 days. (That’s him poking out to the left, in the plaid short-sleeved shirt, with the black knit cap). I remember waiting in line 12 hours for the opening day of Empire Strikes Back — the world has changed.
More live game-playing occurred and then was interrupted by a zombie attack. After that, it was a couple of hours of signings, including quite a few on zombie flesh. Taylor was suitably first in line and a lovely chap. From my informal poll, lots of people were planning on calling in sick this morning in order to play the game.
I staggered back to the hotel around 2 AM, hands cramped from endlessly clutching silver Sharpies, conveyed in a Black Ops people-mover…
This morning, more color-timing on Da Vinci, nursing a hang-over from last night’s zombie-themed drinks. I think a flat white from the eponymous cafe in Soho is just what the doctored ordered. Somebody in the US should start importing these New Zealand-originated drinks. If you like coffee and haven’t had a flattie, you are seriously missing out. Cappuccinos kind of suck in comparison…
