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Eurogamer meets Gemma and Tim Interview

Interview by Ellie Gibson

6 November, 2008

Page 1 of 2. Page 2 ->

Imagine being so rich you could pay Gemma Atkinson to wear outfits of your choosing and stand in Trafalgar Square on a rainy October night, shouting things you'd told her to shout. Well, that's what life is like for lucky old Electronic Arts. They hired the former Hollyoaks star to appear in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, and to promote the game at their recent Be the One event.

Naturally, Eurogamer went along to have a chat with Gemma about her role in Red Alert 3, her personal gaming preferences and, well, what it's like to know half the world's population would like to have sex with you. Watch the video below to check out what she had to say, and what she was wearing.

Don't worry ladies, there's a treat in store for you too! Red Alert 3 also features Tim Curry, star of cult musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show and object of my own personal affections since 1992. He lives in America so our interview had to be done over the phone, unfortunately for me but not for him. Read on after the Gemma video to find out whether he thinks games are art, why the baddies in Hollywood movies are always English and more.

(And do be sure to check out our Command & Conquer 3: Red Alert PC review, where it turns out manic dolphin-ramming cut-scene clutching chaos really works, especially if you make sure the entire campaign mode is playable with a friend. Look out for the Xbox 360 version on 14th November, and EA confirmed yesterday that a PS3 version is also in development, although you will have to wait until some time next year to get your thumbs on it. But we digress. In order to stop the text wrapping over the video.)

Eurogamer TV would like to thank guest cameraman and Ellie's best mate Jake Yapp for his assistance in the above monumental piece of video journalism. Now, settle down again and let's talk to Tim Curry.

Eurogamer: Hello, Tim Curry. I have been in love with you for over a decade.

Tim Curry: Hahahahaha! How very nice. That's made my morning, thank you.

Eurogamer: Don't worry, I'm not a mad stalker. Anyway, I suppose we should talk about Red Alert 3.

Tim Curry: Yes, I guess we should.

Eurogamer: Can you tell us about your character in the game?

Tim Curry: He's called Premier Cherdenko and he's a big cheese in Soviet Russia, though not quite as big as he wants to be. There's a huge war going on and it looks like the Soviet Union is going to lose. He's been working on a time travel project which he puts into action, and he eliminates Albert Einstein so the allies will not have nuclear capability.

When he comes back to real time he discovers he's now the Premier, but a new enemy has arisen - the Empire of the Rising Sun. While there aren't any nuclear weapons technology has gone in a new direction, and these amazing sci-fi weapons have been created, like armoured bears and hyper-intelligent dolphins.

So the game is really the story of the power struggle between the Allies, the Soviets and the Empire of the Rising Sun. And I behave very badly.

Eurogamer: How did you prepare for the role? Did you use method techniques, you know, going to Russia, travelling back in time, hanging out with hyper-intelligent dolphins...

Tim Curry: I did all of that, yes. I dove with dolphins in the Caspian Sea... No, I showed up, put on the uniform and had a great time. It's so much fun to do this stuff. There was also this army of amazing geeks with computers doing extraordinary things while we were doing our stuff. So it was like a trip into the 21st century, it was very exciting.

Eurogamer: Are you much of a gamer yourself?

Tim Curry: Oh, I'm useless. I've only just got email together, I'm a Luddite of the first order. But now I've gotten into email and I can actually find websites, I'm hooked. It's taken a long time, though.

To Page 2 ->

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Comments: 1-50 of 69 in total | next 50 »

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layleeloo
06/11/08 @ 11:44
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Gemmmmmmmmmmmma! Nuff said
Edited 1 times, most recently on 06/11/08 @ 11:51
Nick [staff]
06/11/08 @ 11:47
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Great opening question!
hiddenranbir
06/11/08 @ 11:47
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Tim Curry is pwnz.
craigy [staff]
06/11/08 @ 11:47
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No mention of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York? :(
kangarootoo
06/11/08 @ 11:48
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Good interview.

I think one of Gemma's other requirements for a game playing boyfriend would be hygeine. The unspoken rule, yet so often broken.
kangarootoo
06/11/08 @ 11:48
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@craigy

Yeah there was. Pay attention man.
dan13l
06/11/08 @ 11:50
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Haven't watched the Gemma vid, but the Tim Curry interview is great. Thanks Ellie. No mention of Gabriel Knight though...sniff...
craigy [staff]
06/11/08 @ 11:51
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Nah, I mean in the Tim Curry interview! "Cedrick? Don't count your tips in public."
nickthegun
06/11/08 @ 11:54
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"Eurogamer: Again, a lot of method research involved there, I'd imagine...

Tim Curry: A lot of method research. I did a lot of terrifying children."

Lolz.

Although, you joke about it, it still creeps me out 15 odd years later....
viper_h
06/11/08 @ 12:03
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Wow Gemma is hot, especially with that northern accent.

I like how she described the Mega Drive 2 as if it was a separate new console :P
mkreku
06/11/08 @ 12:04
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"I'm a video games journalist, so I'm adored by millions of teenage boys"

Hahaha! I adore you, Ellie! COPE WITH IT :D
MrChuckles
06/11/08 @ 12:05
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Tim Curry is awesome...

On my next game I'm pushing for him and Brian Blessed to be voice actors on it...
FWB
06/11/08 @ 12:07
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Both amusing interviews. Nice questions. Gemma comes across pretty well.
rodpad
06/11/08 @ 12:07
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What wacky and controversial questions Ellie. Pop World beckons you!
TheDifficult3rdAlbum
06/11/08 @ 12:11
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Gemma + Ellie + deadpan gags + video = EPIC WIN
nickthegun
06/11/08 @ 12:12
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Oooh! Legend! You should have asked him if they were really his abs.
miiiguel
06/11/08 @ 12:13
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Northern accent is hot. Good stuff.

What was the game?
Xerx3s
06/11/08 @ 12:16
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Hasselhoff = win. Selling your game on the basis of sex symbolism = fail.
mingster
06/11/08 @ 12:16
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Im sure there was a rocky horror videogame on the spectrum ...

yep there was.. i didn't imagine it
Edited 1 times, most recently on 06/11/08 @ 12:17
LOLLERS
06/11/08 @ 12:25
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The fact that 'Tronguy' is in the advert just above the video is putting me off.
squarejawhero
06/11/08 @ 12:30
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Wait, wat? His last word was "pause" or he "paused"? In which case it's probably best to describe his laughter as suddenly stopping...

;)
Psiloc
06/11/08 @ 12:34
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HAWT!

Gemma's alright, too.
JeroenZM
06/11/08 @ 12:37
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Voting for a "Elliegamer" name change.
Les
06/11/08 @ 12:40
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Haven't been buying PC games for quite some time (and certainly not full priced ones) but I walked into a store the other day and saw the game on the shelves for 60 euro! Apparently gone are the good old times in which PC games were at least not as madly expensive as console games...
Evolution
06/11/08 @ 12:43
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Tim Curry, what a guy.
mkreku
06/11/08 @ 12:52
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By the way, they should get Ellie to interview Jade Raymond also. Jade seems so prudish, I think it could be hilarious to pair her up with Ellie.
butler`
06/11/08 @ 12:57
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i love tim curry
flyingsupernerds
06/11/08 @ 13:16
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I love Tim Curry more.
knightmt
06/11/08 @ 13:16
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Cool interviews, both had a sense of humour which is a bonus.
Not all Ellie's admirers are teenagers? I am 84.
Gemma can definately go first.
faux_carnation
06/11/08 @ 13:29
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Jake Yapp off of the Shaun Keaveny show?
MilkYMoO
06/11/08 @ 13:41
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I can't stand Tim curry. Ever since watching congo.
Sir_TimAlot
06/11/08 @ 14:15
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Surely his career defining role was alongside Emilo Estavez, Samuel L Jackson, Jon Lovitz, William Shatner and Whoopi Goldberg in Loaded Weapon 1!!!!
Edited 1 times, most recently on 06/11/08 @ 14:16
Byzanite
06/11/08 @ 14:20
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Ooo Gemma is dull lol
SEVQA
06/11/08 @ 14:27
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Tim Curry rocks - Demon in Legend, Clown monster in IT and well I dont know what he was in the Rocky Horror Picture Show! But he rocks!
SEVQA
06/11/08 @ 14:29
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Gemma - on the other hand can get down and suck my...
Ace Grace
06/11/08 @ 14:31
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"I filmed my bit separate".

Great grasp of the english language.
Pirotic
06/11/08 @ 14:46
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So when do we get a Hands On report Ellie?
Pulsar_t
06/11/08 @ 14:51
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This interview is more entertaining than the piece of tosh that is Red Alert 3.. 8/10 eh Eurogamer? It's even less fun than Generals, a 5-year old game.
WillyWanka
06/11/08 @ 14:55
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"Comes out on Xbox"

This is one of those stupid little things that annoys me; it sounds far less clumsy to say "the xbox" or "the ps3"! Offtopic and pointless i know, but it really grates on me for some reason.
ChrisS
06/11/08 @ 14:58
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Fair play to Atkinso, she was a good sport.
oef!
06/11/08 @ 15:04
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Tim Curry > PS3

(i'm sorry, couldn't resist)
stepneg
06/11/08 @ 15:05
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Not enough of Gemma in that Red Alert outfit for my liking.
viper_h
06/11/08 @ 15:08
#43
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Pity you didn't get any footage of the plaster application.
dudefella
06/11/08 @ 15:47
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Absolutely ace interviews the both of them, I cracked up a good many times during the Gemma Atkinson one especially. You're the best, Ellie.
Gnort
06/11/08 @ 15:51
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Tim Curry is a legend.

And I thought Gemma Atkinson came across quite well, she didn't seem at all full of herself.
mechamonkey
06/11/08 @ 15:56
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Ellie, that was awsome :)
Krelle
06/11/08 @ 15:57
#47
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lol, so weird to hear a good looking girl speaking english with a brittish accent.
avoozl
06/11/08 @ 16:05
#48
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Someone that hot acting all down to earth? Whaaat?. Awesome interviews.

Edit: Who owns those legs behind Gemma? My goodness.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 06/11/08 @ 16:12
DanWhitehead
06/11/08 @ 16:30
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Im sure there was a rocky horror videogame on the spectrum ...

yep there was.. i didn't imagine it


Indeed. Along with Frankie Goes To Hollywood: The Game, it's one of the weirdest moments of 8-bit gaming.

Here it is, in all its "glory"...

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zb-nSUyYIqA

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HrZDfTI53UE
farticusmaximus
06/11/08 @ 16:53
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Just for the record, I am fucking positive that thing Ellie is holding is not a microphone. The way she's holding it and pointing it toward Gemma makes me all warm in the pants.

Comments: 1-50 of 69 in total | next 50 »

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