Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, today announced the release of a new behind-the-scenes video featuring leading Hollywood actor Ray Winstone and his involvement in Beowulf, an action combat video game based on Paramount Pictures’ and Shangri-La Entertainment’s Beowulf, the upcoming feature film from Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis. The Beowulf video game is being developed by the award-winning team that created the original Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter in Ubisoft’s Tiwak studio and is scheduled for worldwide release in conjunction with the movie’s opening in November 2007.

This new behind-the-scenes video offers a window into the process of bringing Ray Winstone from the upcoming Beowulf feature film into the interactive world of the Beowulf video game. This exclusive video interview details the first time Ray Winstone has worked between the mediums of movie and game. We go in to the studio to watch as voice over sessions capture the spirit and drama of Ray Winstone’s transformation from leading Hollywood actor in to the legendary hero Beowulf.

“This is the first time I’ve worked on a video game, and I must say it was one of the hardest working days of my career,” confessed Ray Winstone after the intense recording sessions for the Ubisoft production. “But it was vital to capturing the power of the film and translating that into a great gaming experience. Beowulf is a brutal character, a Dark Age-gangster with both hero and monster in him… as a player, I can identify with the monster slayer.”

The Beowulf video game is an interactive experience that captures the spirit and artistic beauty of the film while offering an even deeper look into the epic tale of Beowulf. The video game features exclusive content that is unexplored by the film and even the classic tale, extending the adventure through 30 years of the Beowulf story. The roles of King Hrothgar, played by Anthony Hopkins, Beowulf, played by Ray Winstone, Wiglaf, played by Brendan Gleeson, and Wulfgar, played by Sebastien Roche, have been greatly expanded and adapted to the interactive realm to deliver amazing performances that can only be found in the game.

About the Movie Groundbreaking director Robert Zemeckis offers a vision of the Beowulf saga that has never been told before. In a time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf slays the demon Grendel and incurs the wrath of its monstrous, yet seductive, mother in a conflict that transforms a king into a legend. Beowulf stars Ray Winstone in the title role and Anthony Hopkins as the corrupt King Hrothgar, as well as John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn, Brendan Gleeson, Crispin Glover, Alison Lohman and Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother. Paramount Pictures, in association with Shangri-La Entertainment, Presents an ImageMovers Production of a Robert Zemeckis film, Beowulf. Neil Gaiman & Roger Avary adapted the legend for the screen. The film is produced by Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke. The executive producers are Martin Shafer, Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman.

More information on the Beowulf video game here.

[tags]beowulf, ray winstone[/tags]