TWO brothers who headed to America chasing their dream have just struck gold in the hills of Hollywood.

Dave and Mike Anthony, who used to live in Rainhill, have been involved in the development of a video game which had worldwide sales of around 500 million dollars on its first day in the shops.

And the forecasters are predicting that Call Of Duty: Black Ops II will have sold more than 200-million copies by the end of this year.

Millions of fans queued from midnight on the day of release eager to snap up copies of the futuristic war game from 16,000 stores worldwide which opened early to cope with the demand.

Mike, aged 43, is the senior technical director at Treyarch, which made the game.

He said: “I listen to proposals other people put together and work with the team to create an improved fleshed-out idea.”

“It has been a crazy 20 years of ups and downs and, at times, it is a case of being in the right place at the right time.”

The former Rainhill High and Liverpool Polytechnic student continued: “Ours is an interesting story of how you can develop from a modest working-class background, have the dedication to earn a university degree, and then end up working in Los Angeles on a multi-billion-dollar franchise with dozens of stars.

Treyarch, part of the Activision conglomerate, is one of the most successful video game developers in the world and is home to world-class talent.

Among that talent is Mike’s brother Dave, who directed a host of A-list celebrities for the game.

Among those Dave enrolled was Michael Keaton, who took a lead role.

Dave’s role was to bring the fictional story to life, working closely with writer David S Goyer.

In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter Dave spoke of the sheer enjoyment he had in developing Black Ops.

“One of the great things is that you really do get attention from the real A-list of Hollywood.

“I’m a huge fan of Michael Keaton and to get the opportunity to work with him is amazing.”

 

 

St Helens Star: Dave and Anthony went from their Rainhill garden to life in the fast lane living in Los Angeles

TWO boys play in their garden and there are no prizes for guessing the name of their favourite cartoon character.

Emblazoned across the front of the T-shirts worn by Dave Anthony and brother Mike is…Captain Whizzo.

Today, almost 40 years on, the boys are still very much into fantasy figures, but now they are creating and bringing superheroes to life for a generation of video gamers.

The photograph was taken in Rainhill but life for the Anthony brothers these days is centred on Los Angeles in the warm sunshine of California.

Their latest game, Call Of Duty: Black Ops II, takes a peep into the future in the year 2025, illustrating the story of a fictional Cold War between China and the United States, with the character Raul Menendez, a Nicaraguan narco-terrorist, attempting to bring the two super-powers to a full-blown war by inciting conflicts between them.

Dave Anthony, who directed the game has settled down to married life, having wed Betim six years ago.

But Mike, who was was a regular member of one of the league teams at Scala Snooker Centre, in Ormskirk Street, St Helens, is single and very much enjoying life in the fast lane as a bachelor.

He is a familiar face in LA in his open top sports car – bright red in tribute to his favourite football team. No, not Liverpool but Manchester United