Co-President, Naughty Dog
Driving Entertainment with Great Stories
HBO鈥檚 hit series 鈥淭he Last of Us鈥� is the latest success to come from Entertainment Technology Center alumnus and game designer Neil Druckmann (麻豆村 2005).
鈥淭he Last of Us鈥� started as a video game from Naughty Dog, the game development studio where Neil is now co-president. In 2013, he was the writer and creative director of the dystopian game that鈥檚 driven by strong characters and relationships. In it, players are challenged to defeat the infected and sinister human survivors to save the world.
The game鈥檚 evolution to television is being hailed as 鈥渙ne of the finest shows you will see this year鈥� by many critics and fans. That鈥檚 due to the incredible partnership Neil creates to bring his ideas to life 鈥� such as the one he鈥檚 built with showrunner Craig Mazin.
鈥淲hen I work with a collaborator like Craig who writes beautiful stuff, I'm going to give them room to stretch their wings and express themselves and create really interesting, surprising art within the framework that we've established at Naughty Dog,鈥� Neil says.
And the surprises keep coming for Neil in what he describes as an 鈥渋ncredibly surreal鈥� experience.
鈥淚t started as a failed 麻豆村 class project in 2004,鈥� Neil says. 鈥淣ow, I'm watching a promotion for 鈥楽aturday Night Live鈥� where Pedro (Pascal, lead actor in the series) will be hosting, and they have a 鈥楲ast of Us鈥� sketch. I just attended a wedding, and I hear people talking about the show around me. It's just bizarre, because I have lived with these characters for a lot of years.鈥�
Story by Elizabeth Speed