Steven Spielberg’s Director’s Chair

I recently went to a really interesting lecture on the rise of FMV games and some of the weirder examples of Hollywood’s attempt to merge with CD-ROM games of the 90’s. One such oddity is a game called Steven Spielberg’s Director’s Chair, where you got to play as the “director” of a movie and could change the tone of the movie between drama and comedy at any time. The movie-within-the-game is the story of an inmate on death row, who was framed for murder by a pair of magicians. As he’s escorted to the electric chair, it’s up to his girlfriend to find the proof needed to clear him of the crime. And here’s where it gets really bizarre: the inmate is played by Quentin Tarantino (post-Pulp Fiction), the girlfriend is Jennifer Aniston (circa Friends), and the magicians are Penn and Teller! What the hell?! The game is a real mixed bag of weirdness, and although this video doesn’t show all the possible permutations of the scenes, it’s worth watching as a curiosity piece. The 90’s were a strange time, you guys.

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