In an interview now published on Edge Online, Lev Chapelsky, explains that Hollywood is increasingly looking towards videogames as a source of work as recession bites in the movie industry.

“In Hollywood there are a lot of advertising-supported sectors that get just walloped,” Chapelsky, general manager of Blindlight, a Hollywood-based production company that sources such talent as voice actors, composers and scriptwriters for videogames, tells us. “Film is surviving a little bit better, but everyone here really does think that the videogame industry is the 800-pound gorilla for the recession, even within the entertainment sector.

“None of those reports in the media is lost on the talent community or the production community here. They eye videogames and say, ‘Hmm, this is an area where we should be able to continue to get work in tough times’.”

In the interview, he also explains how he tries to discourage videogame makers from using celebrities in their productions: “Generally, the price you pay is inversely proportional to the creative quality that you get in return.”

He goes on to reveal how he approached Bill Clinton to appear as the president in Fallout 3, but succeeded in signing Mickey Rourke to appear in Bethesda’s upcoming Rogue Warrior.