The Gamechangers, a British docudrama based on the creation of Grand Theft Auto, takes a harsh welcome from the American creators of the game. Tweets flew back and forth during the one-off 90-minute show which aired on BBC 2 on Sept. 15.
Software producer Rockstar, the owner of GTA, complained over the show's quality and historical accuracy slamming it as "random, made up bollocks." In the tweets, it compared the production with an 80s show targeted at children and went further with the ironies by asking "Was Basil Brush busy?"
The show features actor Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter, Horns) as Sam Houser - one of the two brothers who created Rockstar Games and developed the worldwide acclaimed Grand Theft Auto series. The timeline focuses in the year 2002, when the software team was departing from GTA: Vice City and evolving towards GTA: San Andreas. At the same time, the story follows the lawsuit intended by American, former-lawyer Jack Thompson (played by Bill Paxton) against Rockstar.
Divergences between the gaming studio and the British television began in April 2015, when the first official information about the show was made public. Rockstar had an attempt to bring BBC to trial, accusing the television of "trademark infringement," and pointing out that it was not involved in the show's creation.
"It is our obligation to protect our intellectual property, and unfortunately in this case litigation was necessary," an official statement from the software developer reads.
Others added their voices to the storm of disappointed tweets.
"One day, the media will talk about a game, and not try and make out only one person was responsible...one day," Mike Dailly, the mind behind the first GTA game, tweeted.
Even if the show gets disputed, it does bring to light issues surrounding gun control and the influences of media on the youth. The storyline follows Thompson's legal proceedings against Rockstar, where he assisted a suit accusing GTA of influencing an 18-year-old to kill three persons in Fayette, Alabama. The trial ended in 2008, with a death sentence for the perpetrator and a permanent disbarring of Thompson, who was found guilty of no less than 27 charges of misconduct.
During the next couple of weeks, The Gamechangers will be aired on BBC iPlayer. The network did not say if it will make the production available for the U.S. as well.
