Douglas Gets Under Lara's Skin

It's true. At E3, you run into everybody who's anybody at the Eidos party. It took a few screaming jousts, but after he leaned directly into my ear, I had sufficient information to deduce that the fellow to my left - the one screaming - was indeed author Douglas Coupland of Vancouver, BC. I haven't got the slightest idea who he thought I was.

Stemming from the many long hours he spent with the digital diva (he's got an upcoming book due on everything you wanted to know about Lara but didn't know whom to ask), he knows a thing or two about her that you and I will never know.

Here's what Douglas Coupland, the author of Shampoo Planet, Life After God, and Girlfriend in a Coma had to say when GameSpot News asked him a couple of probing questions about his relationship with Tomb Raider's Ms. Croft.

This interview ran in E3News. For the benefit of those who may have missed it, here it is once again.

GameSpot News: OK, so you're a writer. With all the subjects available to write about, why pick Lara Croft as the basis upon which to write a book?Doug Coupland: Why did I do it? Fun, for starters. It was a good time. As well, the whole notion of Lara as a "person" is a tempting late 20th century puzzle about what's "real" and what's not. And finally, all of my close friends have migrated into gaming and 3D animation - I wanted to enter their world for a while. It's an exciting place to be at the moment.

GameSpot News: Can you give us a brief description of what to expect from this new book?Doug Coupland: If you read this book you'll know almost everything it's possible to know about Lara and Tomb Raider at this point in time. Everything.

GameSpot News: What are gamers going to learn about Lara?Doug Coupland: Gamers will learnt that Lara is well aware of her relationship with them.

GameSpot News: About themselves?Doug Coupland: That when they think they're alone with their games, they're not as alone as they think they are.

GameSpot News: Can you tell us about the first time you laid eyes on Lara Croft?Doug Coupland: Cover of the Face magazine. I thought she was the mascot for a grrrl band!

GameSpot News: What is it about her you find attractive? Or are you just like all the other guys?Doug Coupland: She has a delightful personality.

GameSpot News: A Tomb Raider movie is inevitable. Whom would you pick to play Croft? The reasons?Doug Coupland: OK, I'll answer this, but this is only my opinion and has nothing to do with what the powers that be are arranging. 'Nuff said. I'd like Elizabeth Hurley to play Lara because she was so wild in Austin Powers, but I think they're doing a sequel, which means she'd be too over-identified with Austin. Sandra Bullock would be good, but she's maybe too American to be Lara. An opinion.

Strangely, I think Julia Roberts would make a boffo Lara, but she probably only wants to do Audrey Hepburn roles. Natasha Henstridge with a brunette wig would be great, and I've never seen her name come up. I'm wondering if, at this point, an unknown might be cast.

GameSpot News: As a result of your close examination of Lara, what can you tell us about her that no one knows?Doug Coupland: For breakfast she eats three fried eggs, sunny side down, with a veritable puddle of Tabasco. And she secretly likes reading the Family Circus cartoon.

GameSpot News: How did you research your book?Doug Coupland: Eidos paid for a ten-day trip to Tibet on Japan Airlines, first class. They hired a team of Sherpas, and when we were up in the mountains we stayed at Gwynneth Paltrow's house, which she and Brad Pitt bought last year. Gwyn wasn't there, but Ewan MacGregor and Alanis Morrisette were. We went exploring in caves, and Alanis brought along an acoustic guitar and played three songs from her new album while Ewan played air-guitar with pieces of broken stalagmites.

GameSpot News: Do you play Tomb Raider? Are you, in fact, a video game aficionado? If so, what console do you have at home?Doug Coupland: PlayStation. But I'm not a good player. Nay, take that back - I'm dreadful. I really think that hand-eye coordination relationships are developed between the ages of 3 to 18, and I missed that bus, and it makes me kinda sad. The game that Ate My Life is Eric's Ultimate Solitaire - the Klondike variant - which I've played maybe 500 hours of across the past year. It's scary.

GameSpot News: Of all the publishing companies in the world, you had to pick Prima. Given that Prima's not exactly the most well-known publishing company, why the choice to go with them?Doug Coupland: It's complex. But basically, working with Lara came first, and Lara already has a relationship with Prima. Ta da.

GameSpot News: Thanks Doug.Doug Coupland: See you at E3.

Lara's Book: Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider Phenomenon, cowritten with Kip Ward, will be published this July.