Can Video Game Turned Into Film Hit Oscar Turf?

Marking a first for the film world, an animated movie made up of footage from a video game will be considered for an Academy Award.

Oddworld Inhabitants, a game developer based in San Luis Obispo, has put “Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus” into the Oscar pool for the animated-short category. The 15-minute film tracks the adventures of Abe, a strange-looking, heroic creature trying to save his people from annihilation.

Like animation studios Pixar and PDI, the staff at Oddworld used high-end Silicon Graphics machines to create the digital footage. After editing the images, developers transferred the files over to 35mm film.

“We had 25 minutes of video in the game that told a really compelling story,” said Sherry McKenna, chief executive of Oddworld Inhabitants. “This is a good film, but I’m afraid that voters will be biased against it because it came from a game.”

Oddworld’s bid for a statuette is a bold move, say industry watchers, as the marriage between Hollywood and the game industry has rarely been a fruitful one. But if Oddworld scores a nomination, it could open up new opportunities for other game developers with in-house film divisions--such as Irvine-based Interplay Entertainment Corp.

To meet competition requirements, the film will be screened at the Laemmle Theater in Los Angeles from Oct. 27 to 29. The game, designed both for the Playstation and the PC, will hit retail shelves in early November.

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P.J. Huffstutter covers high technology for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com.