Millennium Times Square New York

The Millennium Times Square New York (formerly the Hotel Macklowe and the Millennium Broadway) is a hotel at 133 and 145 West 44th Street, between Times Square and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Operated by Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, the hotel has 750 guest units, as well as a conference center with 33 conference rooms. The hotel incorporates a Broadway theater called the Hudson Theatre into its base.

The hotel is composed of two guestroom towers flanking the Hudson Theatre. The original 48-story tower west of the theater was designed by William Derman and Perkins & Will, while the 22-story annex east of the theater was designed by Stonehill & Taylor. The original hotel tower contains a lobby with a passageway connecting two entrances on 44th and 45th Streets. In addition, there is a bar, restaurant, and fitness center in the original tower. The conference center in the lower stories extended into the Hudson Theatre, which in 2017 became a Broadway theater. The 22-story annex is branded as the Millennium Premier New York Times Square.

The hotel's original tower was developed by Harry Macklowe as the Hotel Macklowe. Though Macklowe had acquired land for the hotel in the early 1980s, he was penalized after illegally demolishing four structures on the site in 1985, and he could not develop the site until 1987. The original tower opened in early 1990 and incorporated the Hudson Theatre into the conference center. Chemical Bank acquired the hotel from Macklowe through foreclosure in 1994, reselling to CDL Hotels, which renamed it the Millennium Broadway. The Millennium Times Square New York was affiliated with the DoubleTree brand of Hilton Hotels & Resorts from 2019 to 2021, after which Highgate was hired to manage the hotel.

## Site

The Millennium Times Square New York is at 133–145 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue near Times Square, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The hotel is split across two land lots, each with a separate wing of the hotel. The larger lot at 145 West 44th Street covers 16,820 square feet (1,563 m2), with a frontage of 117.42 feet (35.79 m) on 44th Street and a depth of 200 feet (61 m). That site includes the Hudson Theatre, which is between the two wings of the hotel. The smaller lot at 133 West 44th Street covers 6,025 square feet (559.7 m2), with a frontage of 60.25 feet (18.36 m) on 44th Street and a depth of 100 feet (30 m).

The surrounding area is part of Manhattan's Theater District and contains many Broadway theatres. On the same block, 1530 Broadway is to the west and the Hotel Gerard and Belasco Theatre are to the east. Other nearby buildings include the High School of Performing Arts to the northeast, the Lyceum Theatre and 1540 Broadway to the north, One Astor Plaza to the west, 1500 Broadway to the southwest, and the Chatwal New York hotel and the Town Hall to the south. Among the structures that had previously occupied the site were two single room occupancy (SRO) hotels at 143 and 149 West 44th Street, as well as residences. The eastern section of the site, 133 West 44th Street, had been occupied by the Newspaper Guild from 1946 to the late 1990s.

## Architecture

The Millennium Times Square New York consists of two wings flanking the Hudson Theatre. The section west of the theater was originally developed by Harry Macklowe as the Hotel Macklowe. The building has 48 stories according to the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP), and a height of 481 feet (147 m). Macklowe's in-house architect William Derman, as well as Perkins & Will, were responsible for the final design. The firm of Gruzen Samton Steinglass had been involved in preliminary designs, but that company was replaced by Perkins & Will during development. To the east of the theater is a 22-story annex, developed in 1999 for Millennium & Copthorne Hotels. The annex was designed by Stonehill & Taylor and Kiat Supattapone; it is known as the Millennium Premier New York Times Square.

### Form and facade

The facade of the Hudson Theatre is incorporated into the base of the tower. The architectural firm of J. B. McElfatrick & Son was the theater's original architect, but the firm of Israels & Harder oversaw the completion of the theater's design. Both the theater's 44th and 45th Street elevations are clad in tan brick with Flemish bond. The four-story 44th Street elevation, serving as the theater's primary entrance, is divided into five vertical bays and contains entrance doors at ground level. The five-story 45th Street elevation is comparatively plain in design and has little decoration.

Macklowe acquired the unused air rights of the Hudson Theatre to make the original tower taller than would normally be allowed under zoning laws. The first seven stories of the hotel are made of stone, designed in a classical style to complement the Hudson Theatre. The main entrance is at 44th Street, while the convention center entrance is at 45th Street. The 44th Street entrance is flanked by silver sconces and contains a canopy. The rest of the hotel was designed in a modern style because, according to William Derman, it would appeal to "high-tech clients". The facade of the upper stories is made of dark glass.

A wall of Deer Isle granite was built in front of the lower stories of the annex, also complementing the theater; it was designed as a standalone slab rather than as a portion of the annex's facade. The entirety of the annex is set back from the stone wall, recessed from the lot line. According to Paul David Taylor of Stonehill & Taylor, the zoning regulations would have required a setback at a low height if the hotel had been built out to the lot line.

### Features

According to the DCP, the hotel has 471,985 square feet (43,848.8 m2) of gross floor area. The original hotel building was also designed with 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) of office space. The original hotel was designed with a superstructure made of concrete. The hotel has 750 rooms across its two towers: 625 in the original hotel and 125 in the Premier annex.

#### Lobby

Within the original hotel building, the two entrances are connected by a passageway running the entire block, which functions as a privately owned public space. The southern end of the lobby contains a waiting area on the western wall and the Hudson Theatre on the eastern wall. The center of the lobby has a concierge, hotel check-in desk, stairs, and elevators, while the northern end of the lobby includes a gift shop. The walls contain Day-Night, a pair of oil paintings by Carlo Maria Mariani, which depict an awake man and a sleeping woman. The lobby is also decorated in wood and black marble. Derman designed the original decorations, which included gray-and-black carpets evocative of Rockefeller Center's interiors. The convention-center lobby was designed with mahogany, a reference to the decorative scheme at the Four Seasons Restaurant. The elevator cabs were clad in mahogany and steel. Because the original hotel and the Hudson Theatre were already ornately decorated with marble, the Premier annex was clad in simpler marble.

The hotel was designed with one bar and one full-service restaurant. Ali Barker was the original executive chef for the hotel's restaurant. Originally, the restaurant was known as Restaurant Charlotte, which offered both full-service meals and afternoon tea. When the hotel passed under Millennium ownership, the restaurant space became the Bugis Street Brasserie and Bar, serving Singaporean cuisine.

#### Guestrooms

When the Hotel Macklowe was built, it was variously cited as containing 635, 637, or 638 rooms. Each room had a television that allowed visitors to look for and purchase tickets for airlines, theaters, sports events, and other attractions. The service was branded as "MackTel" and could also be used to request room service. The rooms' decorations were designed with a black and tan color scheme, cherry-wood headboards, and Art Deco armchairs. Rooms were also designed with marble-topped writing desks that contained minibars underneath. Harry Macklowe's then-wife Linda decorated the rooms with prints from architects such as Michael Graves, Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, Morphosis Architects, and Bernard Tschumi.

As of 2021, the Millennium Times Square New York contains 625 rooms. These consist of "standard rooms" of 238 square feet (22.1 m2) each, "superior rooms" of 240 square feet (22 m2) each, and "deluxe rooms" of 350 square feet (33 m2) each. The rooms are spread through floors 16 through 52. Higher units contain views of Times Square and the skyline of New York City. he "Millennium Suites" are at the top of the original hotel tower and cover 580 square feet (54 m2) each. The rooms have writing desks, European tubs, and full-height windows. On the 16th floor is a private fitness center. It contains a massage room, steam room, and a sauna, as well as a room containing weights and exercise machines.

The 22-story Premier at Millennium Broadway is on the east side of the Hudson Theatre and is designed with 125 units. The annex has six units per floor on average. Each of the units has European tubs, full-height windows, three telephone lines, a modem hookup, and a fax machine. The public corridors of each floor were originally decorated with color photographs from The New York Times. There is also a mezzanine containing the Premier Lounge and Boardroom, which serves breakfast and evening cocktails. As of 2021, the Millennium Premier New York Times Square has "premier rooms" of 330 square feet (31 m2), "deluxe rooms" of 365 square feet (33.9 m2), and "executive rooms" of 405 square feet (37.6 m2).

#### Conference center

The hotel's conference center is placed on the first five floors of the hotel. and covers 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2). It was originally known as the Macklowe Conference Center and included 33 conference rooms. These are composed of 12 smaller rooms, 15 medium-sized rooms, and six auditorium spaces. The rooms could fit between five and 125 people. When the hotel opened, each of the meeting rooms had custom furniture and lights, as well as modern audiovisual equipment. The rooms also had leather chairs and their own thermostats. The conference center as a whole had word-processing and secretarial services, fax machines, photocopiers, photographers, and a graphics studio. Internet kiosks occupy the second floor, and the roof had satellites to supplement the conference center. There is also a catering service.

The conference center extends into the Hudson Theatre, which was converted into the conference center's auditorium. A new deck, dressing rooms, and stage rigging were added to the theater, and a projectionists' booth and a Dolby sound system were installed as part of the conversion. The auditorium has an orchestra level, boxes, two balconies, promenades on the three seating levels, and a large stage behind the proscenium arch. The auditorium's width is slightly greater than its depth, and the auditorium is designed with plaster decorations in high relief. The auditorium had a capacity of 700 guests when it was being used for theater-style events, but this could be converted to a banquet-style space for 300 guests. In addition to independent corporate events, weddings could be hosted in the theater. After its conversion into a Broadway theater in 2017, the Hudson Theatre has had 970 seats.

## History

The Hudson Theatre opened in 1903. It was originally operated by Henry B. Harris, and then his widow Renee Harris, until the Great Depression. It then served as a network radio studio for CBS from 1934 to 1937 and as a NBC television studio from 1949 to 1960. The Hudson operated intermittently as a Broadway theater until the 1960s and subsequently served as a porn theater, a nightclub called the Savoy, and a movie theater. As early as the mid-1970s, U.S. Steel was attempting to redevelop the surrounding city block.

### Development

#### Site clearing

Harry Macklowe acquired several properties on the block in the mid-1980s, including the Hudson Theatre in May 1984. He wanted to develop a 600,000-square-foot (56,000 m2) tower on the site. The development of the lot started with a highly controversial demolition. Macklowe paid Mitran Associates \$380,000 to demolish four structures at 143–149 West 44th Street during the night of January 7, 1985; at the time, Sol Goldman was selling him the buildings, but the sale had not yet been finalized. The demolition was carried out without either obtaining the necessary permits or disconnecting the utility lines. The demolition had been motivated by a desire to avoid a pending moratorium that would have prevented the demolition or conversion of SROs across the city for 18 months, which would take effect on January 9. Macklowe had told John Tassi to tell Eddie Garofalo, who headed Mitran, that the buildings were being demolished on Goldman's behalf. This would subsequently lead to perjury charges in association with the demolition.

The city government sought to imprison the responsible parties, and Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau indicted both Goldman and Garofalo. Morgenthau sent the case to a grand jury, saying the defendants' failure to disconnect utility lines had constituted reckless endangerment. Macklowe paid a \$2 million fine, and the city gave the money to the Franciscans, which used it to fund a development for the homeless. Initially, Macklowe had been planning an office tower for the site, but that had been delayed due to the controversy over the illegal demolition. Garofalo was found guilty of reckless endangerment, but he was given a conditional discharge absolving him from all charges if he did not get in any other legal trouble for a year. After being acquitted of perjury in May 1986, Garofalo sued Macklowe for defamation. In 1988, on the third anniversary of the demolition, the New York Supreme Court ruled that Garofalo had to pay more than \$1.5 million in damages to the New York City government. The ruling judge said: "That nobody was hurt and other property and people were not damaged is purely fortuitous."

Development of the tower was deadlocked for years due to legal troubles. A New York City Council ordinance had prohibited any structures on the site from being developed for four years; this action was meant to deter other developers from making similar demolitions for their own projects. The City Council quietly overturned the ban on developing the 44th Street site in January 1987, two years early. The administration of mayor Ed Koch had suggested the ban be overturned because of concerns that the ban was unconstitutional. The SRO moratorium was extended by five years at a council vote that year. The New York Daily News reported at the time that the moratorium would prevent the redevelopment of the Lenox Hotel at 149 West 44th Street, which stood in the way of Macklowe's project. Later that year, Macklowe paid the city \$2.65 million so he could finish razing the 29,400-square-foot (2,730 m2) Lenox Hotel site.

#### Construction

By early 1988, Macklowe was developing a hotel on the 44th Street site. A spokesperson for the New York City Department of Buildings said at the time that, since the SRO moratorium had expired, Macklowe was allowed to develop the site. In addition, Macklowe had been granted a zoning bonus that allowed the hotel to be built with 20 percent more space than the maximum that was normally allowed in the zoning district. Had Macklowe commenced the hotel as originally scheduled, he would not have been granted the bonus. Macklowe also received \$3.3 million in restitution from the city government after the New York Court of Appeals found the SRO moratorium to be illegal. He also received tax abatements under the Industrial and Commercial Development Incentive program.

The project was managed by Kent Swig, who was Macklowe Properties' vice president and Harry Macklowe's son-in-law. McCaffrey & McCall was hired as the marketing agent for the hotel. Because this was to be the first hotel in the Macklowe chain, all staff had to be newly hired, unlike in more established chains where more senior staff was transferred from other hotels. During the hotel's construction, models of guestrooms and conference rooms were built on the Hudson Theatre's stage.

In January 1989, the media reported how the City Council had previously overturned the ban on developing the site. Some of the council members who had voted to overturn the ban said they did not realize they had voted to do so. Harrison J. Goldin, the New York City Comptroller, ordered an investigation into the matter, saying Macklowe had signed a legal agreement in which he had accepted the ban. Goldin also urged the city government to issue a "stop work" order on the hotel. By then, the structure had been built to either the 25th story or had surpassed the 30th story. Koch had given conflicting explanations, first saying the ban had been revoked through legal channels, then suggested that council members did not read the legislation closely. A critical piece in The New York Times said "the law was repealed, almost as furtively as Mr. Macklowe's crew had cleared the site". At least one City Council member, Carol Greitzer, wanted the council to protest the fact that Macklowe planned to name the development "Hotel Macklowe". Protests over the demolitions continued in later years, as in 1998, when artists posted signs on lampposts outside the hotel referencing the demolitions.

### Operation

#### Macklowe ownership

Before the hotel's opening, Swig indicated that the hotel might charge \$125 per room per night. Swig indicated in November 1989 that there were already 100,000 overnight bookings for the hotel. Macklowe Hotel opened in May 1990. It was one of three new hotels around Times Square at the time, the others being the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan and the Embassy Suites Times Square. Following the previous year's attack of a Central Park jogger, the hotel offered a paid service wherein a personal trainer would accompany guests while jogging in Central Park. The Hotel Macklowe advertised it as New York City's "only institutionalized hotel jogging service". The hotel's other services included a wardrobe service for frequent guests, as well as the ticket reservation services within guest rooms. One of the hotel's promotions included an offering of Broadway tickets and a dinner, while another provided personalized bathrobes with guests' initials. Senior citizens were given discounts.

The adjacent Hudson Theatre was renovated for \$7 million. The theater was to serve as an auditorium for independent events, including corporate meetings, fashion shows, and product launches. The hotel's opening had coincided with a nationwide recession. To promote the convention center during mid-1990, the Hotel Macklowe ran a promotion in which large groups were allowed to use the meeting facilities for free on their second day. Among the events in the conference center was the World Chess Championship 1990, where Russian Grandmasters Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov competed in New York City's first World Chess Championship since 1907. The conference center also hosted events such as a reel of highlights from the Banff Television Festival in 1991, as well as a publishing conference in 1992. The hotel's management wished to attract fashion shows to the conference center as well, despite the relatively small size of Hudson Theatre's stage. The conference center was particularly popular for announcements of corporate acquisitions and mergers.

By early 1993, hospitality analysts predicted that the Hotel Macklowe and several other New York City hotels were facing financial issues that would force them to be placed for sales. Later that year, Macklowe defaulted on several million dollars of debt on his other properties. Chemical Bank took over the hotel in February 1994 after Macklowe defaulted on the hotel's mortgage. The bank immediately sought to sell it. In September 1994, Chemical arranged to sell the hotel to Kwek Leng Beng of Singaporean chain CDL International for about \$100 million. The transaction valued the hotel at nearly \$164,000 per room. At that point, half of the hotel's revenue came from conferences; the services included a \$100,000 charge for broadcasting an event to live attendees at ten other sites. After buying the hotel, Kwek hired outside management to operate it.

#### Millennium ownership

CDL changed the Hotel Macklowe's name to the Millennium Broadway in October 1995, with Millennium & Copthorne Hotels operating the hotel. CDL acquired the adjacent Newspaper Guild building for \$3.4 million in December 1996. The Newspaper Guild had a three-story building and 54,000 square feet (5,000 m2) of air rights, but they had previously refused to sell their air rights, and these could no longer be transferred to nearby sites. The Guild building had been fully occupied as late as 1991, but it had since lost most of its tenants. CDL wanted to redevelop the Guild site with a 19-story hotel annex containing 130 rooms, and it offered to pay \$80,000 for asbestos remediation of the site. The acquisition was finalized in May 1997; CDL announced it would spend \$28 million on the annex, or \$230,000 a room. The hotel was temporarily partially closed after an accident during the construction of 4 Times Square, one block south; the closure cost the hotel a quarter-million dollars per day.

The Millennium Premier annex opened in 1999. The original hotel was also renovated in the early 2000s. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001, the hotel received more corporate tenants, though this could also be attributed in part to the renovation. CDL had requested a tax abatement for the construction of the Millennium Premier, arguing that it was part of the existing hotel because it did not have separate mechanical system and it was connected to the Hudson Theatre at several locations. The city initially denied the tax abatement, conceding the Premier annex was separate from the original hotel, and the New York Supreme Court upheld the decision. However, the ruling was overturned on appeal in 2003, and the city was forced to pay the abatement retroactively. In 2005, Jablonski Berkowitz Conservation restored the theater for \$1.2 million.

In December 2015, the Ambassador Theatre Group signed a lease with Millennium & Copthorne to convert the Hudson Theatre back to a Broadway venue. The Hudson Theatre was reopened as a Broadway theater in February 2017. The hotel became affiliated with Hilton Hotels, under the Doubletree brand, starting in June 2019. It was rebranded as Millennium Times Square New York, a Doubletree by Hilton Hotel. At the end of the affiliation period, the Millennium Times Square was to become a Hilton hotel. The hotel briefly closed in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City but reopened in June 2020. In June 2021, Hilton abruptly ended its affiliation, and Millennium Hotels and Resorts hired Highgate to manage the hotel instead.

## Critical reception

In 1989, Paul Goldberger wrote for The New York Times that the Hotel Macklowe "stands as New York's proudest monument to the art of the deal." The following year, Goldberger wrote that the lobby "is a spectacular interior set within a mediocre new tower of dark green glass on a stone base that appears to have been designed for another building altogether", though the guest rooms were less impressive to him. Terry Trucco, a hotel critic for The New York Times, repeated the sentiment, saying: "The surprise is that this enormous 638-room hotel has an imposing sense of style". A Los Angeles Times review described the hotel as having "all the luxuries of the major chain hotels but none of the tackiness".

## See also

- List of hotels in New York City

Hotel in Manhattan, New York


The FP

The FP is a 2011 American comedy film written and directed by Brandon and Jason Trost. The film focuses on two gangs, the 248 and the 245, fighting for control of Frazier Park (the FP). The gangs settle their disputes by playing Beat-Beat Revelation, a music video game similar to Dance Dance Revolution. Gang member JTRO (Jason Trost) trains to defeat L Dubba E (Lee Valmassy), the leader of a rival gang. The film also features Caitlyn Folley, Art Hsu, Nick Principe and Dov Tiefenbach.

Jason Trost conceived The FP when he was 16, and developed it into a short film starring himself, Valmassy, Principe, DeBello, Brandon Barrera, Diane Gaeta, Kris Lemche and Torry Haynes in 2007. After seeing the finished film, Barrera suggested that Trost make a feature-length version. In the expanded production, Gaeta, Lemche, and Haynes were replaced with Folley, Hsu, and Bryan Goddard, respectively. Principal photography took place in Frazier Park, California in September 2008. Ron Trost—Brandon and Jason Trost's father—served as special effects supervisor and executive producer of the film, and his property was the primary filming location.

The full-length version of The FP premiered at South by Southwest on March 13, 2011, and received positive reviews. After its screening at the Fantasia Festival on July 30 that year, Drafthouse Films acquired the film for distribution. It had a limited release in 28 American theaters, beginning on March 16, 2012, and was released on home media on June 29, 2012. The theatrical release received mixed reviews and failed to recoup its production budget of , grossing \$40,557 in the United States. A sequel, FP2: Beats of Rage, was released in September 2018.

## Plot

In a dystopian future, rival gangs the 245 and the 248 fight for control of Frazier Park (the FP) by challenging each other in Beat-Beat Revelation, a dance-fight video game. L Dubba E, the leader of the 245 gang, battles and defeats BTRO, the leader of the 248 gang. BTRO dies as a result. His younger brother JTRO is traumatized and leaves the FP.

One year later, BTRO's best friend KCDC finds JTRO working as a lumberjack. KCDC convinces JTRO that the FP needs him because L Dubba E has taken control of the local alcohol industry and is refusing to sell alcoholic drinks to everyone. The lack of alcohol has led to an increase in methamphetamine addicts, a decrease in homeless people and, consequently, ducks. Reluctantly, JTRO returns with KCDC; he meets BLT and reunites with Stacy, an old friend. JTRO and Stacy are interrupted by L Dubba E—now Stacy's boyfriend—who is picking her up to go to a party. JTRO goes to the same party and Stacy drunkenly flirts with him. L Dubba E taunts JTRO then hits him with a baseball bat, rendering him unconscious. JTRO dreams that BTRO tells him to fight back, pushing him to challenge L Dubba E. L Dubba E declines, saying that JTRO lacks sufficient "street cred". L Dubba E demands that JTRO defeat Triple Decka 1K before he will accept JTRO's challenge.

JTRO begins a grueling training regime with BLT to regain his former level of skill. Before his match with Triple Decka 1K, BLT gives BTRO's boots to JTRO. At the match venue, JTRO is tricked into drinking alcohol tainted with methamphetamine. Despite his drug-induced visual impairment, JTRO defeats Triple Decka 1K before vomiting and passing out.

KCDC wakes JTRO, having taken him to the 248 headquarters. After JTRO's recovery, BLT takes him and KCDC shooting; they decide to take guns to JTRO's match against L Dubba E. Stacy tells JTRO that her relationship with L Dubba E began when he spiked her drink with turpentine and raped her. She continued the relationship so she could supply her father with beer to prevent him from turning to drugs. One day, JTRO hears Stacy's father assaulting her and intervenes. After a brief fight with him, JTRO persuades Stacy to leave. Immediately after their departure, L Dubba E arrives and says that he has been cheating on Stacy. Stacy decides to stay with him, which angers JTRO and causes him to end their friendship.

Later the same day, Stacy, who has been badly beaten, finds JTRO and tells him that she has ended her relationship with L Dubba E. She apologizes, and they kiss. Meanwhile, L Dubba E tells his gang members to also take guns to the final match. At the venue, JTRO wears BTRO's outfit and L Dubba E taunts him. When the match begins, L Dubba E defeats JTRO in the first round but JTRO perseveres and wins the second and third rounds. L Dubba E tries to kill JTRO, triggering a lengthy gunfight between the 248 and the 245.

L Dubba E escapes the event and kidnaps Stacy. JTRO and KCDC pursue him while BLT remains at the venue. L Dubba E abruptly pulls into a gas station; JTRO follows and a fight ensues. JTRO gains the upper hand, beats L Dubba E into submission and forces him to leave the FP. Freedom to buy alcohol is restored and control of the FP is returned to the 248. JTRO and Stacy go to the pond together as ducks fly over them.

## Cast

- Jason Trost as JTRO, a member of the 248 gang who sets out to defeat L Dubba E. Trost wrote JTRO as the straight man and compared him to Rocky Balboa and John Rambo.
- Lee Valmassy as L Dubba E, the leader of the 245, a rival gang to the 248. Jason Trost said the character is similar to Mr. T and that Valmassy was "so embarrassed ... when he first [played the part] he almost didn't want to talk to me again". Valmassy also appears several times as a background extra.
- Caitlyn Folley as Stacy, L Dubba E's girlfriend and JTRO's old friend.
- Art Hsu as KCDC, an energetic member of the 248 and BTRO's best friend who serves as the emcee for the Beat-Beat Revelation matches. The directors said Hsu needed little direction because he played his character well. Hsu described KCDC as "the sidekick" and "the guy who ... guides people through the FP". The Trosts originally wrote the character to be more bipolar and feminine but they decided to reduce those elements for the final draft.
- Nick Principe as BLT, an abrasive member of the 248 and JTRO's trainer. Jason met Principe during the production of Laid to Rest, on which he worked as a costume assistant and as Principe's body double.
- Dov Tiefenbach as Triple Decka 1K, a Russian Beat-Beat Revelation player who faces JTRO. Tiefenbach engaged in method acting by maintaining his Russian accent on- and off-set throughout filming.
- James DeBello as Beat Box Busta Bill, a member of the 245 and one of L Dubba E's henchmen.
- Bryan Goddard as Sugga Nigga, a member of the 245 and one of L Dubba E's henchmen.
- Brandon Barrera as BTRO, JTRO's brother and the leader of the 248. Barrera appears as an extra in several scenes.

Additional cast members include Mike Sandow as Jody, Rachel Robinson as Lacy, Natalie Minx as Macy, Sean Whalen as Stacy's father, and Clifton Collins, Jr. as CC Jam. Blayne Weaver makes a cameo appearance as the owner of a gas station KCDC robs, while James Remar narrates the film's prelude. Dash Mihok played a small role in the cut of the film shown at South by Southwest, but his scenes were removed from the theatrical release. Producer Christian Agypt, first assistant director Christopher Holmes, costume designer Sarah Trost, Valmassy's younger brother Kyle, and several of the Trosts' friends appear as background extras. Brandon Trost voices a collect call operator.

## Crew

- Jason Trost – director, screenwriter, story writer
- Brandon Trost – director, screenwriter, cinematographer
- Christian Agypt – producer, unit production manager
- Brandon Barrera – producer
- Jason Blum – executive producer
- Steven Schneider – executive producer
- Ron Trost – executive producer, special effects coordinator
- Hal Tryon – executive producer
- Tyler B. Robinson – production designer
- Sarah Trost – costume designer
- Abe Levy – editor
- George Holdcroft – composer

## Production

### Development and writing

Jason Trost conceived The FP when he was 16 years old and regularly played Dance Dance Revolution. He noticed people playing the game intensely and thought of treating the gameplay "like some blood sport". Trost made short films throughout high school before briefly attending film school. After dropping out, he used his tuition money to fund a short film, also titled The FP (2007). The short film was based on the original feature-length script, but only the first ten pages were filmed. The feature film recreated several shots from the short film. Trost said the feature film was inspired by what they imagined a Dance Dance Revolution film made by producer Jerry Bruckheimer would look like.

The Trost brothers asked producer Brandon Barrera to act in the short film. After seeing their work, Barrera suggested that the brothers expand the premise into a feature film. The filmmakers placed an advertisement in the Mountain Enterprise, the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass's newspaper, encouraging community members to call if they wanted to help with locations, catering, donations, or by serving as extras or crew members on the film.

The Trost brothers named The FP after Frazier Park, California, where they grew up. Jason Trost said locals started referring to Frazier Park as "the FP" after The O.C. began airing. He also said the film's story copies that of Rocky "beat for beat" and that there were "near-plagiarism moments". All the character names were based on his friends. Over 80 percent of the dialogue was based on phrases frequently spoken by several Frazier Park residents. Much of the profanity in the script was taken from conversations overheard by costume designer Sarah Trost at parties, and what the Trost brothers thought of on set. Further inspiration for the dialogue came from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Def Jam: Fight for NY, both of which Jason Trost played alongside Dance Dance Revolution.

The settings in The FP were written using the materials that the Trosts' father had on his property due to the minimal budget. Jason Trost said he had seen several low-budget films that "try to be something they aren't" and did not want to feign the production value. When they are defeated in a dance-off, characters in the film die of a "187", which is slang for murder that originated from California Penal Code. The characters' actual causes of death are unexplained in the film. The Trost brothers found depicting the deaths as ambiguous funnier and believed it would remove doubts about the film being a comedy.

### Casting

Jason Trost (JTRO), Lee Valmassy (L Dubba E), Brandon Barrera (BTRO), and James DeBello (Beat Box Busta Bill) reprised their roles from the original short film, while Diane Gaeta (Stacy), Kris Lemche (KCDC), and Torry Haynes (Sugga Nigga) were replaced with Caitlyn Folley, Art Hsu, and Bryan Goddard, respectively. Goddard was cast as a "rite of passage" for being a noteworthy resident of Frazier Park. Mike Sandow, who portrays Jody, originally had a larger part in the film but his scenes were almost entirely edited out for pacing reasons.

Most of the cast were friends of the Trosts. James Remar, a friend of the Trosts since childhood, agreed to narrate the film's opening. The brothers had met Remar on the set of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, on which their father Ron worked as the special effects supervisor. Brandon Trost knew Hsu and Clifton Collins, Jr. after working with them on Crank: High Voltage (2009) and invited them to join The FP's cast.

### Costume design

Sarah Trost was the costume designer for The FP; she designed the costumes using fashions local to Frazier Park as her first influence. She was also inspired by the fashions of Elvis Presley, and the films Double Dragon, Rocky, Mad Max, The Warriors, 8 Mile, Escape from New York, X-Men, as well as the works of John Carpenter. Trost based the opposing gangs' outfits on American military uniforms of the American Civil War era. The 245's outfits were based on the uniforms of the Confederate Army, while the 248's outfits were based on those of the Union Army. The flags of the gangs were also based on those of the Confederacy and the Union. Trost designed the 245 costumes to look clean and the 248 costume to appear gritty. Most of the costumes were made from materials available to the crew; L Dubba E's costumes were made from jumpsuits. The boots worn by JTRO and BTRO were snow expedition boots. Most of the base clothing came from thrift stores, Sarah Trost's fabric storage, and the Trost's childhood clothing.

Trost designed the costumes to be distinct from one another. JTRO and BTRO wear very similar costumes, the only noticeable difference being a color inversion. Both costumes had American flag-like emblems on the backs of their jackets, further enforcing the identification of the 248 with the Union. At the end of the film, JTRO takes BTRO's outfit, which required Trost to readjust it for the height difference between Jason Trost and Brandon Barrera, who portray JTRO and BTRO, respectively. As the film progresses, JTRO's color scheme changes from black and blue to military green to reflect his "becoming one with BLT". KCDC's costume design features ducks, referencing a speech in the film in which he notes the lack of ducks in the FP. Stacy and her father are both dressed to be somewhat transsexual, though it is more prominent in her father's character. Whalen told Trost he would wear anything as long as his nipple was exposed at all times. Stacy also wears an I Love New York shirt, with the words New York covered in duct tape and "The FP" written over it with a marker. CC Jam's costume was designed to be as colorful as possible to emulate rave culture.

### Filming

Principal photography took place in Frazier Park, California, with a budget of \$45,000. It began in September 2008 and lasted 20 days, most of which were spent on Ron Trost's property. Scenes set in BLT's house were filmed at the Trosts' childhood home, while the look of his basement was designed using the inside of a shipping container. Many set pieces were taken either from items Ron had collected or from other film sets. The Trost brothers split directorial duties between themselves; Brandon focused on visuals and Jason focused on the performances and story. Valmassy directed a driving scene featuring himself and Folley when the Trosts were briefly unavailable.

Several planned filming locations were abandoned due to budget constraints. For thematic reasons, the film's penultimate fight scene between JTRO and L Dubba E was originally set at Dawn's Liquor Mart—a key location in the film. The store's owners refused permission for filming and the location was changed to a long-abandoned gas station. Bryan Goddard, who portrays Sugga Nigga, acquired permission for the crew to film on the property.

The penultimate dance-off was filmed in three eight-minute long takes and edited down. Brandon Trost would "float around with the camera" while Valmassy and Jason Trost performed the dance-off sequence. While filming a tire training scene, Brandon asked Jason to increase the amount of spins he was performing. Jason broke his ankle and relied on his costume's snow boots as medical boots.

Director of photography Brandon Trost shot The FP using digital cinematography with Canon XH-A1 cameras, which he had recently used while filming Crank: High Voltage. Using a single-camera setup, he filmed The FP using 35mm film to evoke the traditional look of films such as The Warriors and Total Recall. Trost ignored camera and lighting errors to make the film "feel genuine".

### Visual effects

Visual effects artist Aaron Juntunen copied the visuals from the Beat-Beat Revelation dance tracks from Dance Dance Revolution by using computer graphics. The tracks were played live, allowing the actors to dance in unison. Visual effects were also used to cover the name of Dawn's Liquor Mart, as the actual location did not give the production permission to use its name and logo.

### Music

George Holdcroft composed the score for The FP. He was invited to a screening of the film by producer Christian Agypt, and asked if he could compose the music for it. Holdcroft, who lived in Chicago at the time, spent 12 hours a day composing the score and e-mailed his compositions to the Trost brothers. To emulate the sound of a choir for one song, Holdcroft sang the same segment more than 200 times using different voices and melodies to achieve the desired result. For another song, he sang in falsetto and altered the pitch of his voice to make himself sound like a woman.

Holdcroft had never played Dance Dance Revolution, though he was familiar with video game music—specifically the compositions of Koji Kondo, the score of Final Fantasy, and the music of early Nintendo games. The film's soundtrack consists of 61 songs.

## Release

The FP premiered on March 13, 2011, at South by Southwest. It was later screened at several events, including the Fantasia Festival, the Lund International Fantastic Film Festival, the Philadelphia Film Festival, and Cinefamily. The Trosts held a free screening of The FP in Frazier Park, California as part of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema's Rolling Roadshow. The film began its limited theatrical run in the United States on March 16, 2012.

### Box office

Drafthouse Films acquired distribution rights to The FP on August 1, 2011, one day after its premiere at the Fantasia Festival. Tim League, the founder of Drafthouse Films, attended the film's screening at South by Southwest and "fell in love with it". It was the second film distributed by Drafthouse Films, following Four Lions. The FP grossed \$22,571 in 28 North American theaters during its opening week, averaging \$806 per theater. The following week, it was shown in nine theaters and grossed \$9,314. In the remaining five weeks of its run, the film grossed \$7,979, for a total gross of \$40,557.

### Critical response

The film was met with positive reviews at its festival screenings. Jordan Hoffman, writing for UGO Networks, gave it a B+, compared it to Black Dynamite, and wrote that it "is bursting with idiotic humor and in-your-face stoner wit". Eric Kohn of Indiewire also gave the film a B+, called it "loud, furious and recklessly funny", and mentioned the references to The Warriors, RoboCop, and Escape from New York. Scott Weinberg of Twitch Film echoed Hoffman's comparison to Black Dynamite. Weinberg said he "found quite a lot to enjoy" and praised the performances of Hsu, Valmassy, and Trost. Jacob Hall of Moviefone gave the film a positive review, praising Brandon Trost's cinematography and mentioned its similarities to Mad Max 2 and A Clockwork Orange. He commended the film's dedication to its "absolutely ludicrous premise" and called it "the rare 'ready-made cult hit' that actually works". Fred Topel of Screen Junkies predicted that the film "will be the Trosts' calling card" and praised it for being "exactly the kind of the movie [Topel] hope[s] to see at Fantastic Fest, or any film festival".

Upon its theatrical release, The FP received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 48% approval rating, with an average rating of 5.2/10 based on 23 reviews. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 based on reviews from critics, the film has a score of 48 based on 11 reviews, which is considered to be "mixed or average reviews".

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film a positive review, calling it "deadpan hilarious, a shameless satire of every teen gang, future-shock dystopian nightmare movie—combined with a brutal send-up of 8 Mile". Tom Keogh of The Seattle Times gave the film 21⁄2 stars out of 4; he praised its novelty and criticized its lack of "outright laughs". Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle gave the film 3 stars out of 5, saying it was "awash in silliness" and calling it a "potential cult-movie masterpiece". Angela Watercutter of Wired called it an "instant cult classic" and also compared it to 8 Mile, Rocky and The Karate Kid. Shawn Anthony Levy, writing for The Oregonian, gave the film a B; he praised its eccentricity and said, "It's very hard not to admire its zealous commitment to its ethos". In a mixed review, Peter Debruge of Variety praised Brandon Trost's cinematography but said the film "plays its boilerplate premise with endearing earnestness, but runs thin in no time". Matt Hawkins of Kotaku called it a "legit goofball comedy" and said it "speaks to gamers without flat-out insulting them". Michael Phillips, writing for the Chicago Tribune, gave the film 2 stars out of 4, praising its premise and filming technique while criticizing its "sometimes funny execution".

Conversely, Andy Webster of The New York Times said, "Its bargain-basement production values and lack of wit unexpectedly prove a greater liability than an asset". Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times criticized its characters, costumes, and dialogue; he said it "so desperately wants to be cultishly admired ... that it forgets to be genuinely offbeat or funny". Scott Tobias of The A.V. Club gave the film a C+, mentioning the influences of John Carpenter, The Warriors, Mad Max 2, and A Clockwork Orange, and criticizing Jason Trost's performance. He said the film was "a junky, disposable lark, created for a midnight audience to swallow, belch, and forget about the next morning". Nick Schager of Slant Magazine gave it 11⁄2 stars out of 4, and called it a "humorless void" and a "wannabe cult hit". Eric Hynes of The Village Voice said, "the film's charm fades fast" and , "[t]he problem with paying such dogged homage to shitty movies is that integrity is best achieved by producing a shitty movie in turn. Mission accomplished, for whatever that's worth." Ethan Gilsdorf of The Boston Globe gave the film 1 star out of 4, saying it was not "obliviously dreadful enough to be 'so bad it's good'". Christy Lemire of the Associated Press echoed this opinion, giving it 1 star out of 4; she said the film is "just plain bad—and boring, and repetitive" and that "as comedy, it just feels numbing". Max Nicholson of IGN said the film "is by no means the worst thing I've ever seen", but that it "should have been a three-minute sketch on Funny or Die".

### Home media

Image Entertainment released The FP on DVD, Blu-ray Disc, video on demand, and digital download on June 19, 2012. The feature was accompanied by a making-of featurette, interviews with costume designer Sarah Trost and composer George Holdcroft, audio commentary by the Trost brothers, and a special edition collectors' booklet with introductions by Rob Zombie, Brian Taylor, and Mark Neveldine. Four special editions were made available for purchase on Drafthouse Films' website, all of which contain Holdcroft's soundtrack and a 720p HD digital download. Additional items sold include a Blu-ray or DVD copy of the film, a poster signed by the Trost brothers, a model of L Dubba E's grill, and a tampon in a glass tube signed by the Trost brothers.

## Sequels

According to Jason Trost, two sequels to The FP have been planned, the first of which would involve going to Hong Kong. He said the first sequel would take place five years after the original and would feature more dancing and a Beat-Beat Revelation tournament. He also compared the sequel's plot to that of Escape from L.A. Trost also teased the possibility of a fourth film to come when he was older, comparing it to Rocky Balboa. In August 2013, Trost said that both he and the film's investors had not received any money from The FP, and "probably never will". He further stated that it was challenging "to figure out a way to get people to fund a sequel to a movie that recouped zero dollars".

Trost started an Indiegogo fundraising campaign seeking \$100,000 in February 2016, revealing the title to be Beats of Rage: The FP Part II. In July 2017, Trost started another Indiegogo campaign to finish the film, now titled Beats of Rage: The FP 2. The first thirty minutes of the film had already been shot at the time of the posting, and the fundraising goal was set at \$20,000, which was surpassed with over \$34,000 donated. In April 2018, a synopsis and poster were released for the film, now simply titled Beats of Rage. The film follows the events of The FP, and features Trost, Hsu, Barrera, and Principe reprising their roles from the first film, alongside new cast members Mike O'Gorman, Tallay Wickham, and Bru Miller. Beats of Rage will again feature JTRO and KCDC trying to save the world from an alcohol withdrawal by competing in the titular Beat-Beat Revelation tournament against AK-47, the leader of The Wastes. Trost also said that the film will debut at "a major U.S. genre festival" in October 2018. The film premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 22, 2018, again retitled FP2: Beats of Rage.

FP3: Escape From BAKO and FP4: EVZ world premiered in October 2021 and 2022 at the Nightmares Film Festival.

2011 film by Brandon Trost and Jason Trost


Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII

is a 2006 action role-playing third-person shooter video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. It is part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII metaseries, a multimedia collection set within the universe of the popular 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII. The game is set three years after the events of the original game and focuses on one of the game's playable characters, Vincent Valentine. In the story, Vincent is targeted by Deepground, a mysterious organization that plans to awaken a creature known as Omega, with the ability to destroy the Planet.

As the first shooter game in the Final Fantasy series, the game's staff had various problems during development, and producer Yoshinori Kitase found the experience challenging. The team added role-playing elements in order to make the game more entertaining for traditional fans of the main series. When Dirge of Cerberus was released outside Japan, several aspects of the gameplay were modified in order to make it more appealing. In 2008, Square republished the game in Japan with the updates made for the Western versions. It has received a mixed critical reaction.

## Gameplay

Dirge of Cerberus is an action role-playing third-person shooter. Battles occur in real-time, with the HUD displaying information such as Vincent's hit points and magic points, the currently selected item and quantity thereof, and a cross-hair to aid in targeting enemies. The action is viewed from an over-the-shoulder perspective similar to Resident Evil 4, although players can switch to a first-person perspective if they wish. Defeating enemies yields EXP, and at the end of each stage, the player can either use that EXP to level up, increasing Vincent's stats, or convert it to Gil (the in-game currency), which can then be used to purchase items and equipment upgrades.

Unlike Final Fantasy VII, where a character could equip three types of equipment (weapon, armor, and accessory), Vincent's equipment consists solely of his weapon, which can contribute to his armor rating and enhance his stats through customization. Vincent has three basic gun frames available to him; a three-barrel handgun called Cerberus, a rifle called Hydra, and a machine gun called Griffon. There are also several different barrels available throughout the game; short, regular, and long, with longer barrels allowing easier long-range targeting, but reducing Vincent's movement speed due to their weight. Accessories, which can be attached to the weapons, include a sniper scope, charms that can increase Vincent's defense and decrease the weight of the gun (among other things), and materia, which enables magic shots with special properties that use up Vincent's magic points. Ammunition capacity can also be increased through upgrades.

Vincent's Limit Breaks return from the original Final Fantasy VII. Two forms are available in Dirge of Cerberus. The first is Galian Beast, in which Vincent transforms into a large creature with enhanced speed and strength that last for 30 seconds. The second is Chaos, Vincent's most powerful form, which is only available in the final stages of the game and is not optional.

## Plot

### Background

Dirge of Cerberus centers on Vincent Valentine, who is the main playable character, although Cait Sith is also playable for a single level. The game's main antagonists are the members of an organization named Deepground, who are planning to use a creature known as Omega to destroy all life on the Planet. Their highest-ranking members are known as the Tsviets, and their leader is Weiss the Immaculate. The second highest-ranking member is Weiss' brother, Nero the Sable, who leads Deepground in the field. Other members of the Tsviets include Rosso the Crimson, Shelke the Transparent and Azul the Cerulean.

The online mode of the game, which is only available in the Japanese version, also introduces a group called the Restrictors, the former leaders of Deepground before Weiss took over. The Restrictors' leader had implanted microchips into the brainstems of all Deepground soldiers so as to ensure they never turn against the group. However, Weiss was able to overcome this control method, and the Tsviets wrenched control from the Restrictors. Although Weiss was successful in overthrowing the Restrictors, the leader of the Restrictors was able to implant a virus into Weiss' bloodstream.

### Story

The game begins during the climax of Final Fantasy VII. As Vincent and Yuffie Kisaragi help to evacuate Midgar, which is about to be destroyed by Sephiroth's Meteor spell, Vincent finds the body of Professor Hojo slumped at the controls of the Sister Ray cannon. After a flash of lightning, Hojo's body seems to disappear, and before Vincent can investigate, the cannon explodes, forcing Vincent to escape with Yuffie.

Three years later, Vincent is in the town of Kalm when it is attacked by a group of mysterious soldiers. Vincent, with the help of his former comrade, Reeve Tuesti of the World Regenesis Organization (WRO), an organization dedicated to helping the planet recover from the events of Final Fantasy VII, fights the soldiers and forces them to retreat, but not before many of the citizens of the town have been captured, and many more killed.

Reeve explains to Vincent that the soldiers were members of Deepground, a military organization created as part of a covert Shinra operation to create genetically enhanced super soldiers. Vincent soon learns that he is one of Deepground's primary targets, as he is unknowingly in possession of "Protomateria", a substance which he uses to control the "Chaos" gene hidden inside him. Deepground claims they need the Protomateria to control "Omega". According to ancient tablets discovered some years previously, Chaos and Omega have an unknown but important relationship, with Chaos described as "Omega's squire to the lofty heavens". The Chaos gene was injected into Vincent over thirty years previously by the scientist Lucrecia Crescent, Hojo's research assistant, with whom Vincent was in love.

In an effort to find answers, Vincent goes to the town of Nibelheim where Lucrecia studied Omega and Chaos. Whilst at Lucrecia's research lab, Vincent is ambushed by Rosso the Crimson, who steals the Protomateria but is prevented from killing Vincent by the arrival of Yuffie. As they return to the WRO headquarters, they find that Deepground has launched an assault on the base. However, Deepground member Shelke the Transparent has been captured by the WRO, and reveals that she is synaptically interconnected to Lucrecia's memories, thus allowing the WRO to complete Lucrecia's research on Omega. Shelke's sister, Shalua Rui, a high-ranking scientist in the WRO, soon discovers that Omega is a WEAPON, which activates when the Planet senses that it is in mortal danger (like the WEAPONs it activated in the original Final Fantasy VII). Omega's function is to absorb the Lifestream from the Planet and then move to another planet, leaving the inhabitants behind to die. Deepground plans to slaughter a huge number of people at once so as to 'trick' the planet into activating Omega prematurely.

Vincent and the WRO launch a full-scale assault on Deepground's headquarters in Midgar. While Reeve's team battles the Deepground soldiers and attempt to destroy the Mako reactors which serve as a means to revive Omega, Vincent heads to Deepground's centre of operations to confront Weiss. He is surprised to find Weiss slumped in his chair, dead. However, as Omega begins to manifest itself, Weiss seems to revive, and confronts Vincent. It is revealed that Weiss is possessed by Hojo; before Hojo was killed in the Mako Cannon three years earlier, he uploaded his consciousness into the Worldwide Network, then took possession of Weiss's body while he was online attempting to find a cure for the virus with which the Restrictors had infected him. Hojo/Weiss and Vincent battle to a standstill. However Nero, who had been defeated earlier by Vincent, emerges from the Lifestream and destroys Hojo. Nero then merges with Weiss in order to help him fuse with Omega, just as Vincent is fused with Chaos.

While the WRO continues to fight the remnants of Deepground, Vincent transforms into Chaos in a desperate attempt to defeat Omega Weiss. Shelke dives inside Omega to find Lucrecia's Protomateria, and upon finding it, she gives it to Vincent, also telling him that his survival made Lucrecia happy. Vincent then takes control of Chaos and battles Omega. Omega sprouts wings and tries to ascend from the planet, but Vincent manages to destroy it, disappearing in the process. A week later, he is seen visiting Lucrecia's crystalline tomb in the Crystal Cave. He states that both Chaos and Omega have returned to the Planet, and he thanks Lucrecia for being the reason he survived. He is then found by Shelke outside the cave, and she tells him that everyone else is waiting for him.

In the secret ending of the game, "G", a legendary warrior with unexplained connections to Deepground, awakes beneath the ruins of Midgar. He finds Weiss's body and picks it up. He tells the dead Weiss, "It is not yet time for slumber. We still have much work to do... My brother". He then sprouts a large black wing and flies into the night carrying Weiss with him. The Crisis Core Ultimania, however, explains that "G" (Genesis) has returned from his three-year slumber to protect the Planet.

## Development

When Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children began development, the Square Enix staff agreed that one title from Compilation of Final Fantasy VII was not enough to cover the entire world, and so Before Crisis, Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core were conceived so as to embrace more aspects. With no official word from Square on the genre of the game, many publications and gamers speculated that it would be an action game similar to the Devil May Cry series. In 2004, however, character designer Tetsuya Nomura denied this, and said that the genre would surprise gamers. Producer Yoshinori Kitase decided the title to be a shooting game based on his love for first-person shooters and the challenge provided for the developers that would eventually improve their skills. He said that role-playing elements were added as the design work on pure action games was less appealing to developers. Monolith Soft assisted on development.

Vincent was chosen as the game's protagonist due to the scope for expanding his backstory, which was left very vague in Final Fantasy VII. The fact that his main weapon was a gun also worked into the team's desire to create a more action-oriented game. Prior to the solidification of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, the development team originally considered using other gunfighter characters from the Final Fantasy series, such as Final Fantasy VII's Barret Wallace, VIII's Irvine Kinneas or X-2's Yuna. However, after the release of Before Crisis and Advent Children, and with the expansion of the Final Fantasy VII mythos, they settled on Vincent.

The main character designer for the game, Tetsuya Nomura, had also worked on both Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children. The Tsviets were designed with the idea of creating a sense of balance for the warriors with which players would already be familiar; primarily Vincent, Cloud Strife and Sephiroth. Nomura initially had doubts when designing Shelke's ordinary clothes for the end of the game, but he felt it was important for her to appear out of uniform so as to indicate she was truly free from Deepground. The character of G was based on the Japanese singer and actor Gackt, who wrote and performed the two theme songs of the game, and voiced G in the Japanese-language version of the game. Hideki Imaizumi, the producer of Crisis Core, liked the mysterious role of G so much, he decided to expand his character in that game. The character of Lucrecia Crescent, who features briefly in an optional quest in the original game, was redesigned so as to give her a similar appearance to her son, Sephiroth, based on portraits from guidebooks and in fan-art. Reeve Tuesti was also redesigned, as he only appears briefly in the original game as himself rather than through Cait Sith.

Dirge of Cerberus was first announced in September 2004, and was scheduled for release in Japan in 2005. The game's official site went online in April 2005. In May, Nomura said that several snippets from the game would be revealed during that year's E3, but no demo was shown at E3, as the staff were still trying to fix some issues with the controls in the game. In September, the beta test program was postponed indefinitely. Listed as 60% complete, the company stated if the beta test started with the game's current state, they would not be able to fully utilize the beta testers.

The North American and European releases of Dirge of Cerberus received a major overhaul as the developers were not completely satisfied with the final Japanese version of the game. They also wanted to make the game more single-player oriented, and as such, they removed Online Multiplayer support, primarily due to the lack of popularity of PlayOnline outside Japan, and lack of PS2 HDD support in the U.S. Missions from the Multiplayer Mode were reworked into unlockable secret missions in the English-language versions of the game, although none of the additional storyline presented in the Japanese Multiplayer Mode featured in the English versions. The Easy Mode, which was originally featured in the Japanese version to assist gamers not overly familiar with shooter games, was also removed. On September 11, 2008, the English-language version was released in Japan as , as part of Square's Ultimate Hits lineup.

## Audio

The soundtrack for the game was composed by Masashi Hamauzu. Japanese singer and actor Gackt wrote and performed the two theme songs, "Longing" and "Redemption". For the game's ending theme, "Redemption", the staff originally planned for it to be a ballad, but Gackt decided to make it a rock song instead. Upon hearing Gackt's ideas, the staff were pleased with the direction in which he had gone. The CD soundtrack, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack, was released on February 15, 2006 in Japan. Consisting of two CDs, the soundtrack spanned 53 tracks. A limited edition of the soundtrack includes a "Cerberus Complete Case" deluxe box designed to hold the soundtrack along with the Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII PS2 game and the limited edition of Gackt's single for the game, "Redemption". This single was released on January 25, 2006. A limited edition was also released featuring two "Redemption" video clips; Gackt's promotional music video, and an alternate video using clips from the game.

A supplemental soundtrack was released through the Japanese iTunes service and the Square-Enix Music Download page on August 22, 2006. Titled Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII Multiplayer Mode Original Sound Collections, this album consists of 27 tracks, including several songs from the single player game which were not included in the official soundtrack, as well as all of the original music composed for the multiplayer mode, and two new songs composed by Ryo Yamazaki for the North American release of the game.

## Reception

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII shipped 392,000 units in its first week. As of August 2008, 460,000 units were sold in North America and 270,000 units in Europe. Three months later, over 513,000 copies of the game have been sold in Japan alone. In July 2006, Dirge of Cerberus was in Sony's Gold category of top-selling video games (the Gold category includes games which have sold anything from 500,000 units to 1 million).

Dirge of Cerberus received similarly mixed reviews from critics. At GameRankings, the game holds a score of 60%. The combined score from Metacritic is 57 out of 100 based on 51 reviews. GameSpot stated that the game "does have a few interesting and even entertaining moments, but will ultimately leave action game fans and Final Fantasy fans feeling unfulfilled". Despite stating that it is not "the best use of the Final Fantasy VII universe", IGN called it "a decent game with a strong story and occasionally-engaging rifle blasting". 1UP.com criticized the enemies' artificial intelligence and weak scenarios, and labeling the story "boring". Reviewer from Electronic Gaming Monthly's Shane Bettenhausen opined that he found all of the titles in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII to be unappealing. Eurogamer found that Dirge of Cerberus was a "risky gamble" by Square Enix, as their first shooter, and he criticized the fact that most of the main characters in the game were either optional in Final Fantasy VII or had only small roles. GameSpy called its gameplay and plot "interesting", but found other aspects generic. GameTrailers praised the game's storyline, calling it "convoluted, but incredibly impressive in its scope". They also praised the changes Square had made to the Western versions but found the game to be very similar to Devil May Cry, and felt that it didn't make good enough use of Vincent's abilities. While the CGI cutscenes and designs also received positive comments, the lack of variety in enemy types was criticized. G4's game review show, X-Play, responded negatively, citing poor level design, weak gameplay, too many cutscenes, and bad AI.

## Mobile phone games

`was co-developed by Square Enix and Ideaworks3D, and published by Square Enix. The game was released on August 22, 2006 in North America and July 26, 2007 in Japan. Initially only available on Amp'd Mobile phones, the game was subsequently made available on Verizon's V Cast network. It was also unveiled as a flagship title for NTT DoCoMo's FOMA 903i handset at the 2006 Tokyo Game Show. The title initially contained only a single player mode, with a multiplayer function introduced at a later date. Lost Episode involves a 'missing' chapter of Dirge of Cerberus taking place between two events of the main game.`

IGN called it "passable", arguing that the graphics did not fit the mobile phone, causing a sense of imbalance.

The game's storyline will be recreated in the mobile game Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis.

2006 video game

Multiplayer and single-player video games