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Neil Druckmann: The Man Who Wears Many Hats | Sacred Symbols+, Episode 457

Please welcome legendary writer, designer, director, and executive Neil Druckmann to Sacred Symbols+. Here in the games space, Neil is already one of the best-known names in the development scene, a man who began at Naughty Dog as a programmer on the latter Jak titles, only to climb the ranks to lead the entire studio, full stop. Today, we focus our conversation primarily around his work on HBO's rendition of The Last of Us, an adaptation which he co-wrote, co-produced, and even helped direct, tasks which -- when combined with all he does at Naughty Dog itself, including writing and directing the upcoming Intergalactic for PS5 -- has forced him into a number of roles in multiple industries. How does he keep it all straight? Does he ever sleep? What are his priorities, both professionally and personally? And how does he feel about the reaction to HBO's The Last of Us, from casting to story changes and more? While we wait for Intergalactic as patiently as we can, let's instead delve into the life and times of one of the few people who has successfully crossed between gaming to film and back again. Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/LastStandMedia

Comments

Marvinarviin

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! It’s happening!

rdj

Wow

Frito

HOLYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Josh W

I knew this was coming. You caught yourself in the episode 2 recap (I think it was that episode) of the last of us and I’ve been waiting patiently

Fray Dizzle

Holy shit, LSM on fire recently 🔥🔥

KB

Oh damn this is great! Go LSM!

Armando

Dude, really?? Amazing!! Cant wait!

Matt Millard

This just made my day! Awesome surprise!

Beef Burka

When Colin said he had a surprise interview coming, I figured it would be Neil. He has kind of been hinting at it for a while.

Sam

Don’t doubt the pull of Mr Moriarty

Josh Gamez

Wednesday afternoon shadow drop with Neil?!? Let's FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jerison Reidell

DUDE! IT FINALLY HAPPENED! SO STOKED TO LISTEN TO THIS!

Chris H.

Huge! Can't wait to listen!

Joseph T-M

So siked for you, listening immediately 🙏

Jacob

Wow!

Mark Davis

Colin pulled in a big one!!! wow

Monkey D Luffy

Been waiting for ever for this. Huge huge huge Colin W

Deemac

Holy shit, the madlad actually did it! Great work Colin, this 5 bucks a month truly is incredible value

SIR_K_Daddy

If anybody could do it, it would be you sir. Amazing

Terry Atkinson

God dammmmm. This is going to make driving around with work tomorrow a whole lot better

Rayden

The madlad really did it

RD_21

Wow nice

Brian

I'm just disappointed Colin didn't wear the blue jacket bare chested

Miky Sh

Whaaaaat

Kodynardo

I have never clicked on a Sacred Symbols notification faster since being a Patreon supporter. $5 a month is a fucking steal. Thank you, Colin, for gifting us today.

Danio

At this point it's Last Of Us Media, not Last Stand

Dante B

Shut the fuck up

Rob M.

I'm getting spoiled with content lately.

Kmarkada

Hype!! The SONY shackles have come loose

Mike D

Good work sir!

ExpectingRain

3 great interviews in a row. You’re too good to us Col.

Adam Mackenzie

Colin Fucking Moriarty. Great interview, loved hearing from Neil. LSM is the best about ❤️

Joseph

omg 😱

bob

Colin I thought diversity for diversity’s sake was bad? Oh it’s your friend nvm

Wayne Moss

What a fantastic episode of SS+ I really enjoyed it.

Envydiel

Relax bob. Not everywhere has to be a battleground.

ShookNasty05

Great interview! Neil is awesome.

Eric

Great interview. I have to say after the first episode of season 2 I was worried it was going down the wrong path but after that the episodes have been improving each one to the point of being great. Really looking forward to Intergalactic too! Neil has the special it thing when it comes to creating content and how he let little things change to help keep the actors/creators engaged because they do their best work when they are passionate about it. That is so true. Awesome to see this interview on Sacred Symbols+

Cameron

God damn this was awesome. I’m so glad Colin got to do this

Matthew Foley

This was great! Love to see Neil get some love from this audience. Naughty are the goats and he’s a huge part of why.

Matthew Cooper

Great interview, totally saw this coming with how Colin has been hyping his interviews and the current zeitgeist. Best part for me is hearing the show is going to stop at the end of Part 2 and not try to keep going after the end of the source material. The show is weaker than the game and it just would not survive that. The show is at its best when it fills in the cracks in the story, like flashing back to young Joel for a scene. Telling the story of the Prophet would be a great idea for the show. Hopefully Neil comes back to talk about Intergalactic when the time is right!

Shawn

Holy fuck he finally got him!!!

Shawn

Literally have been waiting for Colin to interview Neil for years.

Adam Sullivan

Finally! I’m so glad you were able to make this happen, and it sounds like Neil was fighting for you to get this opportunity also from what I can infer. Great interview, can’t wait to have him back for Intergalactic talk!

ludacritz

Excellent interview. Thank you!

J.S

Thanks Colin. Great interview.

Nevets

Congratulations! I know you have been wanting this for a long time!

Taylor Martin

Awesome! I’m excited to listen. Thank you Neil for bringing fans the moving stories and gripping world of the last of us.

Andrew roman

Fantastic interview, Colin. Glad Neil could make an appearance and congrats!

Michael Hobbs

Congratulations, Colin and LSM! Great interview! I love that Neil took the time and opportunity to give back to people who have covered and supported his work. This was awesome.

MJ SKA BOI

Nice! It’s about time Neil shut down this “allegory” nonsense.

Taylor Martin

Just finished watching episode 6 after being critical of many points this season, and I cried. The work between Pedro and Bella there made the entire adaptation worth it. It enhanced my understanding of the games and the characters’ emotions so much. I played the last of us part 2 just after the birth of my first child. Having children and knowing what a parent would do for these little miracles in our lives, and seeing all of that in Pedro’s performance as Joel wrecked me. Excellent directing by Neil.

frankiefromny

Stellar interview. Admittedly i’ve been hyper critical at times with the show(casting and deviations from the game) but the insights i’ve gotten from this really make me want to let up a little and just absorb it as it is instead of being so comparative/cynical at all times. Great job man. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Guybrush Threepwood

What a great interview, Colin. Mr. Druckmann is a thoughtful, well-spoken, obviously intelligent man and I have a lot of respect for him after this, having not been too familiar with him prior. Also, when he said "The Secret of Monkey Island is one of my favorite stories of all time," that really resonated with me. And like him, Batman (1989) had a HUGE impact on me as a child, also.

NorthOfAmerica

Neil should come back for a Constellation ep! No vidya game talk. Just a bunch of broster's hangin with the Dagsteroonie diggin up dirt!

Henry Maxwell

This biggest thing I got out of this interview was that it sounds like Neil hasn’t been involved in the actual studio production hands-on for a long time now. He’s doing press and about to go back to the writers room for the next season, as well as going on location for filming and what-have-you. Maybe I’m wrong, it’s just the vibe I’m getting from everything he said. But, maybe it’s because he also sounds really tired- so that doesn’t help.

Directional Joy

I imagine this was a refreshing recess from the typical press junket, for Neil. I see celebrities deal with variations of the same questions, so it must have been a welcome breath of fresh air. 😊 Thank you Neil, for being involved with 1 of 3 video games that brought me to tears (in good company: Life is Strange, Valiant Hearts). It is rare for me (and I imagine most) to have an emotional reaction to a video game. Armed & Dangerous and Psychonauts get the nod for laughter (wait, I did chuckle at Joel’s daughter selling hardcore drugs)… dang it Neil, you are killing it. 😆 ❤️ I will, happily, swat away dreams of a Naughty Dog return to Jak & Daxter. You have much more to offer, by valuing cultivating/nurturing risky excitement, over safe but unimpactful business trends/ignorance. 🫡

KING OF KINGS

This is one of your best! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Brandon Yost

An incredibly well done interview

Henry Maxwell

Good to know. He is at the end of a press cycle, so he is undoubtably tired regardless.

RU46N2 (REY)

These Dev interviews have been really really good Colin would love to see you interview Raphaël Colantonio.

Frickitive

Everything about this was fascinating.

Trevor B.

I don’t post much but know that I enjoy everything LSM puts out. This was an awesome interview. Loved when Neil said he declined a call from Pedro while doing the interview. Great job Colin.

Shane Sperry

Congratulations, Colin and team! Best interview I have listened to in a long time. With your history with Neil going back to pre-TLOU days, this made it all the more special. I didn’t want it to end!!

Born-Blind

Really love all the positivity up in here. You don't have to love everything about an artists work to at least show respect for their obvious talent. Looking forward to this