Electronic Arts' ongoing cutbacks are hitting L.A. hard, as the struggling video game publisher has decided to shutter its Westwood-based developer, Pandemic Studios.
An EA spokesperson said that a "core team" from Pandemic will be integrated into the publisher's other Los Angeles studio, located in Playa Vista, and will continue working under the Pandemic brand name.
EA acquired Pandemic, along with sibling development studio Bioware, in 2007 for a then-record-setting $860 million. Its decision to close Pandemic just two years later is a stark demonstration of the publisher's financial difficulties, which led it last week to announce a cut of 1,500 jobs, 16% of its workforce, after reporting a net loss of $391 million last quarter and a 13.5% drop in revenue.
Pandemic employed approximately 200 people in Westwood, the majority of whom will lose their jobs. In an internal memo posted on the news blog Kotaku, Nick Earl, senior vice president of the EA Games label, said Pandemic is being shuttered to "improve our cost structure, ensure quality and build schedule integrity for this studio."
Pandemic's co-founders and top executives Andrew Goldman and Josh Resnick are leaving as part of the shift.
Next month, EA will release the last game developed by Pandemic in Westwood, a World War II action thriller called "The Saboteur." Other games it has made that may be see sequels made by the team moving to Playa Vista include the over-the-top action series "Mercenaries" and "Destroy All Humans," a comedy about an alien visitor to Earth.
-- Ben Fritz
Photo: A scene from Pandemic's upcoming game "The Saboteur." Credit: Electronic Arts and Pandemic Studios.
Convention-al wisdom? Talking to Misha Collins, Jim Beaver and 'Supernatural' fans
A few of my thoughts on the "Supernatural" fan convention that took place Nov. 13-15 in the Chicago area are below; those are followed by Q&As with "Supernatural" actors Misha Collins (Castiel) and Jim Beaver (Bobby), both of whom I interviewed between their appearances at the convention. Neither interview contains spoilers; we talked in general terms about what has transpired thus far in Season 5, how it compares to Season 4 and I also spoke to Misha a bit about his approach to conventions and to his Twitter feed.
To see video clips and an episode summary from Thursday's episode of the CW show, look here. All of my previous "Supernatural" stories and reviews are here. On Nov. 12, "Supernatural" aired "The Real Ghostbusters," an episode in which the Winchester brothers visited a convention of fans devoted to a series of novels about two brothers who roam the country killing demons and other spooky critters.
For those unfamiliar with the show, in Season 4, it was revealed that a guy named Chuck has been writing down the adventures of the Winchesters and publishing them as cheap novels. And even though Chuck thinks the books aren't very good, they have a devoted, if not obsessive following. One fan, Becky, has read Chuck's books even more closely than he has and she has also been let in on the secret that the Winchesters are real, not just fictional characters.
Did I mention that Chuck is a prophet of the Lord, and that he saw the Winchesters' adventures as part of a series of revelations that he did not realize were, in fact, divine? 

That's "Supernatural" for you -- on this show, God's prophet is a broke hack in a dirty bathrobe.
There are some larger mythology threads in the story of Chuck (who's played with a perfect mixture of confusion, embarrassment and sweetness by Rob Benedict), but that part of the "Supernatural" universe largely exists so the show can explore and have fun with the fandom that it has spawned.It's a fandom that I'm still getting to know, and what better place to become more acquainted than at a "Supernatural" convention that began the day after "The Real Ghostbusters" aired?
It was about as meta as things could possibly get.
It's a good thing I usually enjoy it when shows go meta (for my take on the episode, look here). And those I spoke to at the convention generally thought "The Real Ghostbusters" was an enjoyable look at the show's most devoted viewers.
Stephanie Guyton, the first fan I talked to, said she thought the episode was "hilarious." "You could tell they were spoofing us and embracing us at the same time," Guyton said. Another attendee, Katie Tuskey, said it was a little "awkward" to see that episode just before an actual convention. "It felt a little weird," she said, though I didn't get the sense that Katie disliked the episode per se.
Karen McCullough -- whom I'd "known" through Twitter before the convention -- liked the episode as well. (As we stood at the side of the main ballroom chatting, however, we got into a a brief discussion about where the show would go after the Apocalypse. "How are they going to go bigger than that?" she asked. I wonder that too.)Katie and Karen had just met in person for the first time that day, and Karen said she also met a fan from Chile that day. "That's really the coolest thing -- meeting people," said Karen, who was attending her first convention of any kind.
Due to other weekend commitments, I only got to see the Q&A sessions with Jim Beaver (who plays Bobby Singer) and Misha Collins (Castiel), but they were both entertaining in different ways. Jim was affable and direct and obviously experienced at the whole convention thing, in which actors generally answer questions and tell funny stories from the set.
Misha revealed a whole set of improv comedy skills that are only partly apparent in interviews and on his Twitter feed. He was quite genial about it, but he had a long, deadpan dialogue with one fan about how much he disliked Australia, her native country (the reasons: He can't keep up with Australians when it comes to drinking, and on a recent visit there for a convention, he didn't see one kangaroo. "The whole country is built on lies!" he exclaimed.)
Later, he had another extended back-and-forth with a fan whom he'd previously met at a photo opportunity. He tried to remember her name, and then said he thought he could recall her online handle. "Why would you know that?" the fan countered, and it got more awkward and strange (but still funny) from there. Clearly Collins is someone who enjoys strangeness and the idea of goofing on the conventions of celebrity. As he said later in an interview, "If you're properly irreverent toward the process, it can be quite rewarding."
At one point, I had a long chat with Beth Pavelka -- another first-time convention-goer -- about various things, including the less-than-fun aspects of fandom. Talking to Beth was not just enjoyable -- we discussed "Mad Men" for a long time too -- it was confirmation of my long-held beliefs about online commenting, which I have summed up as the Lurkers Rule.
"I'm way more of a lurker than a commenter," Beth said. "I don't tend to be overly critical. Sometimes you read things and you're like, 'Some of these people need a reality check.'"
And once she likes a show, she "tend[s] to be very loyal," Beth added.
It's that kind of loyalty that Lynn Zubernis and Katherine Larsen, academics from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and George Washington University, respectively, are studying for two upcoming books. One will be an academic study of the "Supernatural" fandom and one will be called "Fangasm." The latter book will be aimed at the general public and it'll be a history of their two-year trek through the "Supernatural" fandom -- they've attended various conventions, talked to dozens fans, monitored many online forums and interviewed the show's creative team as well.
I asked Zubernis if she thinks "Supernatural" has an unusual relationship with its fandom.
"Yes," she answered. "I think they've taken what they call the reciprocal relationship between fans and the creative side to a whole different level. I think they've done it with awareness and sensitivity and affection."
I'd have to agree.
For more reports on what transpired at the convention, check out the links collected at the SuperWiki and there are also accounts of the panels at Winchester Family Business.
Below are my interviews with Jim Beaver and Misha Collins. Before we get to that, remember those rules I was talking about? If you're new to my "Supernatural" posts, please review them before you comment.On this site, as I've noted, we observer the Lurkers Rule: The environment here should be so accepting, so calm and so non-screechy that most timid lurker should feel it's safe to comment. I simply won't let angry, vicious, annoying or repetitive people hijack the comment areas. If you can't follow the common-sense guidelines that follow, I'll ban you from commenting on this site without warning.
So, be nice. To further quote from Alan Sepinwall's Rules for Commenting: "This is an opinion blog, and a place where people can and should argue passionately for their point of view. But there's a difference between arguing with passion and arguing with hostility. If you can't find a way to express your viewpoint without insulting other commenters, or getting strident and self-righteous -- say, equating your opinion with fact, and deriding other people for not seeing the truth of your words -- then either tone down your words until they're more respectful to other people, or don't comment." Absolutely no Samgirl-Deangirl fangirl nonsense. It's possible to critique individual episodes or indeed the creative direction of the show in an intelligent fashion without becoming hysterical about how the writers have ruined Sam, Dean, the show and/or Western Civilization. Alice Jester's post on Sam and Dean, their Infamous Apologies and the nature of family squabbling says it all. As a fan, if you're not coming from the place that Alice is, or someplace in that neighborhood, go elsewhere to rant.No comments over 500 words.Please, please don't mention any spoilers of any kind. Don't talk about what's in the previews or clips for upcoming episodes. Speculation is fine, actual spoilers are not.No profanity.
OK, here's the interview with Misha Collins. This interview has been edited and slightly condensed.
I started out by asking him if he'd visited University of Chicago, his alma mater, while he was in town. He said he had and we discussed the fact that it was unseasonably warm for a November weekend. Misha then recalled a day about a dozen years ago when he was an undergrad at U. of C and he and his roommates called news camera crews to record then running around… not wearing much.
MC: It was the coldest day on records we decided it'd be a good idea to call camera crews. We ran around the campus naked and a lot of camera crews showed up.
MR: So if I hunted around for that footage, it exists?
MC: It does exist. So if you hunted around maybe somewhere there's footage of me running around in my underwear on the coldest day on record.
MR: So how much would you pay me not to post this footage, if I find it?
MC: Oh, I just gave you blackmail material. Not thinking on my feet here!
I asked if he'd seen "The Real Ghostbusters" and he said some time ago, he read the script -- and he's not sure if it was the final version of the script. MC: Honestly, I read it quickly a long time ago. And I'm not sure which version of the script I read. So I'm not going to weigh in too heavily on it but I wish I had seen it.
MR: So what do you think of conventions -- you've been to a few now. Is it interesting or fodder for your Twitter feed or whatever?
MC: Oddly and possibly unfortunately it isn't fodder for my Twitter feed because for some reason, my Twitter persona doesn't acknowledge the "Supernatural" universe. I'm not sure how or why I sort of developed, without even being conscious of it, a set of parameters [for the persona on Twitter]. I seem to have these guideposts that I'm operating by. And now I feel like I can't violate them -- they seem to be rules! One of which is, I can't talk about "Supernatural." So it's not fodder for Twitter.
But [conventions] are fun. It's a strange new playground. If you're properly irreverent toward the process, it can be quite rewarding, I think.
MR: The questions that you're asked, what are they like? I've seen all kinds, really insightful ones and some softballs too. But once in a while at Comic-Con I've seen questions asked that are, like, scarily hard-hitting.
MC: And I manage to deflect those kinds of questions quite nicely and not really talk about anything of substance. [laughter] MR: I've been thinking a lot about Season 4 versus Season 5, and I've been thinking that, just from a structural standpoint, there was more mystery to Season 4 -- we didn't know what your character was really about, we didn't know Dean's purpose, we didn't know if all the seals would be broken. There was a lot of mystery to uncover, bit by bit. Whereas this season more things are known. The Apocalypse is happening -- that's not in doubt. Castiel's mission is to look for God -- we know that's happening. The brothers as potential vessels -- we know about that.
Sorry for the long prelude, but what I'm asking is -- is there a different vibe this season versus last season? Is it a different experience?
MC: Yeah, it has felt a little different. I don't know why I would speculate about this, but I have a feeling that Castiel's arc is going to play out more in the second half of the season. The search for God, for instance -- I'm speculating wildly here -- but that seems to be something that ["Supernatural" creator] Eric [Kripke] wants to flesh out but it hasn't been done yet. And it's kind of a daunting task, too. Finding God is not a chore that is often tackled in episodic television, partly because it's pretty onerous.
We're in the Apocalypse. It would be really easy to blow your wad and not have anywhere to go. So I think the show is carefully pacing itself while moving forward and I think, while taking a welcome respite from the heartache of the apocalypse to do some fun, creative romps and even genre-bending stuff. There is a fourth wall that Eric is not afraid to break.
MR: That's true. Though I did see a comment the other day, "I would like the fourth wall to go back up now." [laughter]
MC: But you know, I really respect that -- that he takes these risks. It's not like, "Oh yeah, we know exactly how every episode works. We throw the red herring in 10 minutes in, one of you will resist going on the mission, then the other one convinces you," [etc.] They've moved past that really basic boilerplate to doing stuff that I don't see on other shows. I think that's great.
MR: This is a question I keep getting -- people keep asking me to ask you -- so, do you know if the Winchesters will ever find out that Castiel let Sam out of the locked room at the end of Season 4?
MC: I don't know. Sorry!
MR: Moving on to Castiel and comedy -- I think it's so funny on occasion when he's the straight man and sort of befuddled by the world. This season it seems like it's been a testing process to see how far they can take that comedy, and maybe once or twice they've gone up to the line of what's effective and what's not, maybe. I don't think they've crossed it yet. But I'd imagine you don't want to make Cas "the funny guy." Not that that's what the show is necessarily doing, but what's your take on that?
MC: I've resisted it a little bit as the actor. I think you're exactly right, there's a sort of finding the line. My feeling is we've found the line and we've pulled back from it a little bit. The stuff in the most recent episodes has been more subtle and to me, a little more believable. There were a couple of moments [earlier in the season] where I thought, "How is this going to work?" And actually, everything that I saw in the final product worked.
MR: Right.
MC: But there were moments when I was reading [the scripts] where I thought, "OK, I've got to figure out how to dial this down, or not hit this too hard." I think that it's been done with tonal consistency and it's consistent with the story and it makes sense.
Obviously the big joke is that he doesn't understand human beings and how they behave. And there is something inherently funny in that, especially if he's the straight man. If you push the line and suddenly he doesn't know something that he really should know, then it can seem like it's forcing it a little bit. But for the most part, as long as it's consistent, then -- look, you have Dean engaging in silly antics one week and then the next week he's crying and it's sincere and heartfelt. I think it's one of the liberties the show takes, and can take, because they have these bigger arcs. It's a tricky thing, too, fitting my character into these one-off episodes where it's not all about the mythology and the God talk. It's like, plugging in this entity that has been searching for God, and now he's in the game show, and how do we reconcile those things?
MR: Yeah, that was a great example of a good use of Cas, I thought …
MC: You like it when he's on screen for 30 seconds? [laughter]
MR: I think 20 would be better. 20 seconds would be the max. But no, overall, I really love him as the straight man. When he and Dean were on a case and Cas was holding his badge upside down and was very serious -- to me he's funniest when he doesn't know he's being funny.
MC: Yeah. So I was going to ask…wait, I'm forgetting my role here.
MR: No, go for it. This interview is really about me and what I think.
MC: I was going to ask you want you thought of Season 4 versus Season 5. MR: Glad you asked. I think the season has had a little trouble finding itself. There have been some very good episodes. But I don't know if the through-line is as tight and as strong as it was in Season 4. I think, as I was saying, that some of that is due to the fact that, as we were talking about earlier, it's the difference between things that are known versus things that are not known. I think it's harder to wrestle with, or derive suspense from, something that is known, as opposed to a mystery that is unfolding.
We know it's the Apocalypse, we know Lucifer is around. I've been thinking lately, I think Season 4 was so great because we didn't know a lot of stuff. We didn't know what Castiel's purpose or motivation or loyalties were. We didn't know how Sam's choices were going to turn out. We didn't really know what the angels wanted with Dean. At times this season, I'm saying to myself, "Hey, it's the Apocalypse, can the haunted museum wait?" I know the show can't do that every week -- zombie Apocalypses cost a lot of money. It's been different. I still like quite a few of the episodes individually, don't get me wrong. But the progression and structure of Season 4 was almost flawless, in terms of how the overall story unfolded.
MC: Yeah, I agree. It's kind of a high bar they set there and everything did fit together kind of perfectly.
MR: For me, Season 3 had a lot of good individual episodes, but the overall structure or through-line of it wasn't that tight, thematically or structurally. So I guess I'm at a place of wondering -- will this be more like Season 3 or more like Season 4?
MC: Although I think [the story] definitely accelerated in the second half [of Season 4]. There were still a lot of one-offs in Season 4.
MR: And I get that what they are attempting is an incredible challenge.
MC: Yeah, a huge challenge. To do the Apocalypse, that's huge. I loved Episode 4, "The End." I thought they did an awesome job with that. And [what's going on] is sort of a known entity, but the thing that we know is also kind of terrifying -- Sam and Dean as vessels of Lucifer and Michael.
MR: Yeah, and my whole attitude is -- the season isn't even half over yet. I'm still sort of waiting to see how it all plays out. And I'm interested to see where it goes.
MC: Yeah.
And here's the interview with Jim Beaver. This interview has been edited and slightly condensed.MR: So Bobby's in "Abandon All Hope…"
JB: Yeah, I'm in that one.
MR: I've been looking forward to a mythology-heavy episode, and it looks as though the episode will have a lot of that.
JB: Yeah. There's a certain amount of frustration on Bobby's part that everybody else is going out to do stuff that he can't do anymore. But yeah, it's a mythology [episode]. It's not a monster-of-the-week by any means.
MR: I asked Misha about this too, the whole idea of Season 4 versus Season 5. I wondered if I could get your take on it and ask you if they seem sort of different so far. I mean, this season we've got the Apocalypse from the word go… JB: Yeah, there's not a lot to find out. Season 4 was full of big reveals. There were a lot of episodes in Season 4 that were like season finales, where you go, "Oh my gosh, I can't believe that's what it meant." Now we kind of got most of the big "That's what it meant." Now it's more about -- OK, how are they going to do this? It's almost shifted from "What's going on here?" in a "Sixth Sense" sort of way, to more of a "Guns of Navarone" [situation] -- "OK, now we have this big mission we have to tackle, and how are we going to do it?"
MR: Yeah, it seems as though pieces are being put in place for later in the season.
JB: That's what I'm thinking. It's always hard. If you're writing a play, the third act is always the hardest act. If you're writing a book, the final chapters are the hardest, because you've got to draw everything together. I'm not saying this is the final chapter, but it was originally conceived as the final [season]. Anything that happens after this season is going to be a new idea, in some sense. So we've got this big -- we've got the Apocalypse! The only real mysteries left are how to approach what's happening and the decisions that have to be made.
It's like when you see a film and the idea is that the [main] character is a brilliant painter or poet or musician. And then in the movie you see the person's paintings and poetry or hear the music and you think, "Eh, we get that he's supposed to be brilliant, but that -- not so much." It's because sometimes you set yourself up to do something that's really, really hard to do.
I have never set foot in the writers' room, but my guess is, they're working harder this season than ever before, because they've built an obstacle that they have to resolve -- and resolve well. You can't pussyfoot around the Apocalypse. This can't be Bobby stepping out of the shower in "Dallas."
MR: It's only, "Depict or head off the Apocalypse. And find God."
JB: Yeah.
MR: And most shows -- they've all done that season, right?
JB: Yeah, I remember when "Cheers" did that. [laughter]MR: Yeah, that was great. But yeah, what "Supernatural" is attempting -- it's ambitious.
JB: There's the word. It's ambitious in the extreme. There are a lot of shows that deal with maybe heavier ideas in a heavier way -- there are more serious dramas. But this is about as ambitious a prospect as I've ever seen a show [attempt]. The end of the world -- how do you do it on a CW budget, on television, where everybody will go, "Wow!" I have no doubt that they'll do it, but I'm glad I'm not the guy who has to figure it out.
MR: Right. And the way into that, as Eric [Kripke] was saying in an interview this summer, is through the people and the relationships.
JB: And that's the essence of drama. It's never about the asteroid hitting the Earth, it's about the people. The essence of drama is really to focus on the human beings that are [there], not on the events. We all deal with the same emotions, the same questions, the same decisions [in various circumstances]. The questions we ask ourselves aren't all that different if it is an asteroid hitting the Earth. "Who am I? What do I do about the people I care about? How does that define me?" With this show, that's what it's really about. I was really affected when I started talking to fans about why they watch the show, and overwhelmingly they told me it was because of the relationships. And the supernatural/spooky stuff is gravy. MR: Yeah, the relationships are what hooked me. One thing I'm wondering about this season, though, is the brothers' relationship. It seemed like we had a buildup of an entire season -- or four seasons, if you look at it one way -- of their various conflicts and problems. And of course there's love and loyalty too, but they built up that eventual split between them really well. And now it's just like, "Everything's good now." Or it seems that way to some extent, you know -- "Mistakes were made. Everything's OK now."
JB: Having written once upon a long time ago for [TV] shows, and I was more closely attuned with what was going on with the writers on "Deadwood" -- they were on the same lot and we saw them all the time and we talked a lot. Especially when you get into something so big, there are so many things to deal with that inevitably that some things that are important are not going to get all of the focus you would like to give them because you've got 46 minutes to do it in. Especially toward the end of "Deadwood," there were a lot of things that were built up that just couldn't be resolved because there was just too much to resolve.
I remember our first draft of the final episode of "Deadwood" was about 89 pages long. And it was obvious that a whole bunch of stuff that they wanted to get into in the final episode was going to get chopped out. I think that probably is coming into play here somewhat. It's, "OK, are we going to do Armageddon or are we going to continue to explore the relationship." And I don't think it's a choice that anybody wants to make. I haven't had any conversations [with the writers] about this, but my sense is, just with this dramatic culmination -- it's such a huge bite that not all of it is going to get chewed as well some of the other parts. [Pause.] Eric's probably going to kill me. [Hypothetical Kripke voice:] "What are you talking about? I have a whole relationship thread coming up!"
MR: But like you say, it's a big chunk to bite off. And my feelings are based on having seen only nine episodes. It's kind of too early for me to make any big pronouncements.
JB: It's all a mystery to me, but my sense is -- Eric hasn't flopped yet.
NOTE: NO SCRING ALLOWED. If you take the entire contents of this article and post the whole thing on your site, I'll be very mad. And you wouldn't like me when I'm mad.(This warning is not directed at "Supernatural" bloggers, by the way. The sites this warning is directed to -- you know who you are. Don't tempt me to get Apocalyptic.
Gryphon Stringed Instruments: A throwback
Palo Alto's Gryphon Stringed Instruments is the guitar store for the infamous and for those who just love guitars.
Marketers Sink Teeth Into 'New Moon'
New Moon, the latest movie in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight vampire saga, is sucking in marketers, who are using the franchise's characters to sell everything from bottled water to late-model luxury cars.
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