The next Grand Theft Auto game may be heading back to Los Angeles—or its GTA equivalent Los Santos—if rumored casting details dug up by Google search crackerjack "superannuation" for a project codenamed "Rush" are Rockstar-related.
Casting calls for a project by the name of Rush tied to Take-Two Interactive, which owns Rockstar Games, point to a video game set in the Los Angeles area, one that's certainly not 2011's L.A. Noire or the announced but never seen Agent. This appears to be a modern day fiction, with a cast that sounds very much like a broad, memorable group of miscreants, lowlifes and Hollywood stereotypes.
Mobsters, FBI agents, actors, hillbillies and hippies feature prominently in the cast listing that doesn't mention GTA by name, but sure reads a lot like the multicultural motley crews that feature in Rockstar's video games.
If accurate and related to Grand Theft Auto V, it would match a rumor put forth by VG247 last year, which tipped a return to the Los Angeles and Hollywood caricatures Los Santos and Vinewood. That locale was last featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which also included Las Vegas and San Francisco-like cities, a game that went on to sell more than 21.5 million copies.
The following casting call comes from talent network The Agency.
Mitch Hayes:
38 - Annoying, wise cracking, highly successful FBI agent. In great shape. Does triathlons, drinks low cal beer, but still has a sense of humor.
Miguel Gonzalez:
25 - Young Mexican American FBI agent, caught between a few mob bosses. Very clean cut
Clyde:
23 - Moronic, almost inbred and creepy white trash hillbilly. Very naïve but in a creepy "it's only incest sort of way"
Brother Adam:
Welsh monk / cult leader / yoga teacher - 50, very lithe, very into exploring your personal tension through gripping massage. Needs Welsh accent.
Mrs Avery:
Neurotic soccer mom, home maker, 48, anxious and addled on pain killers. Very angry at neighbor MRS Bell.
Mrs Bell:
Swinger, and mellow Californian divorcee. 45. Ugly but comfortable with self.
Eddie:
47 - Weed evangelist, guy who started smoking at 30, and is now a leading proponent of marijuana's fantastic properties. White, awkward.
Ira Bernstein:
56 - publicist for an actress known as America's newest sweetheart who just so happens to love animals, orphans, drugs and sex. He's always trying to hide her latest indiscretion.
Kevin De Silva:
18 - Albert's fat, FPS playing gamer son. Smokes a lot of weed, has anxiety issues and a card for a bad back, very soft, very opinionated. Into making racist comments while playing online.
Harut Vartanyan:
42-52 years old - Armenian car dealer, moneylender, would be Fagin and would be bully. Heavily connected to the underworld, but irritates people so much no one likes him.
Nervous Jerry:
48 - paranoiac living in the sticks, near Simon, completely paranoid, and terrified of Simon.
Calvin North:
55 - clapped out FBI agent who now mostly works offering advice on TV shows - whose only claim to fame turns out to be entirely false - but a decent guy in other ways. Badly dressed. Divorced. Putting on weight.
Jerry Cole:
53 - disabled IT expert and criminal information vendor.
Rich Roberts:
English hardman actor, 35, who acts tough but who wants to do serious work - the only problem is he can't quite read the words.
Alex:
white 52 yr old loosie goosie hippy rich guy who has lost his money and is getting desperate but trying not to.
Scarlet:
45-52 years old - unshaven female spiritualist and hippy with a love of exploring the wilderness. Very into journeys.
Chad:
29 - pretty boy misogynist Beverly Hills party boy. Made money, but not as cool as he thinks he is.
Tae Wong:
39 - somewhat incompetent Chinese mobster, loves doing ecstasy, going to raves.
Taes Translator:
45 - VERY STRAIGHT LACED Chinese translator, terrified of his boss's dad. Male, awkward. Needs to speak Chinese.
Rockstar Games was recently credited with registering some similarly Grand Theft Auto-sounding domain names, including CashForDeadDreams.com and StopPayingYourMortgage.net.
Rockstar North, the studio behind core Grand Theft Auto games, is currently at work in some capacity on Agent, "a paranoid journey into the world of counter-intelligence, espionage and political assassinations during the height of the Cold War at the end of the 1970's." It has not officially announced GTA V.