Team Bondi, the developer of the Rockstar Games-published L.A. Noire, may be in discussions that will see Brendan McNamara and his crew absorbed into George Miller’s KMM Studios, insider sources tell Kotaku. Miller is of course known as the creator of the Mad Max series; more recently, KMM’s animation spin-off Dr. D has seen success with its Happy Feet movies. It’s hard to say what role the Bondi staffers would take on, or if that possibility is even being discussed.
In terms of concrete information (albeit from anonymous sources), McNamara has visited the offices of Dr. D. It is also “broadly known” at KMM that Miller is a fan of the Noire director, largely for his “refusal to compromise his artistic vision in the face of deadlines” (Kotaku’s words). Everything else in the story is speculation on the part of both the sources and the writer.
Team Bondi was recently embroiled in a scandal following the release of L.A. Noire. Former staffers stepped forward publicly to blow the whistle on what they considered to be unacceptable working conditions at the studio. The blame was placed in large part on McNamara, who was characterized by some as a “bully.” One still-active Bondi staffer responded with a letter to the International Game Developer’s Association, which by that point had launched an investigation, defending the studio and the working environment there.
Whether or not the allegations are true — the reality is probably somewhere in the middle, as it often is — the whole incident was a major blow to Bondi’s reputation. Some at KMM believe that absorbing McNamara and his team into the company is possible because it would bring in that experience while losing the tainted name.
