While we usually don't report on rumors until we have enough proof to actually prove it's true, this rumor comes from Superannuation. You may remember him as the person who just a few weeks ago discovered the domains Rockstar had registered and is known for being right most of the time. This week, he has stumbled upon what seems to be the codename for Grand Theft Auto V, "RUSH". Here's the story on how he got it. He started doing searches for the talent company Rockstar mainly uses to find people to do acting, "Telsey & Company". When searching, he found a casting call for a game that was codenamed "Sao Paulo Knights" with a description that contained information similar to what we know about Max Payne 3. After a bit more searching, he found an actor by the name of Al Nazemian who has sort of a mini-blog on what casting calls he has done. He has a couple of entries pertaining to Sao Paulo Knights and in one of them be basically says Sao Paulo Knights is Max Payne 3. Just a warning, the last entry quoted and much of the rest of the article contains what could be considered spoilers to some. If you believe that character names and short briefs regarding their personality are spoilers, I'd advise you to skip the rest of the article.

May-June 2010
Did face scanning, motion capture & voiceover for video game "Max Payne 3": Sao Paulo Knights. Voiceover in English & Portuguese.

Feb 2010
Got cast as Dr. Arthur Fisher in "Max Payne 3" video game for Rockstar games.

Here are some character details for Sao Paulo Knights from the casting call:

Seeking: All characters are Brazilian. "Brazilian" means a wide range of ethnicities (Caucasian/Latin/African-American), but all actors should be able to speak Portuguese fluently, (with the exception of Fabiano and the stunt double...Fabiano can just do an accent...stunt double doesn't speak.)

[ COMANDO VERMELHO ] Prominent Sao Paulo gang. Not affiliated to any one favela, but networked throughout them all. More akin to a biker gang than a low-level street gang… well-established with a focus on big-ticket, organized crime (drug trafficking, high-profile kidnappings etc.) They have an urban feel to them, ranging in age from 20's to mid to late 30's.

[ CANGACO ] Paramilitary group, made up primarily of off-duty and former cops, soldiers and prison guards. Well-trained and equipped. Right-wing guns for hire, they also view themselves as a "community self-defense force"…vigilantes bringing their own ruthless brand of justice to areas of the city where the police have lost control. They have an older, more established feel to them. Age range would be between 30's to possibly early 50's.

[ STUNT/BODY DOUBLE ] No speaking 6'1"- 6'4" 190-215 pounds. We're looking for someone who has a lean athletic build as opposed to an overly muscular one. Age range: 35-50 (Must be in good physical condition and able to do stunt work.) Ethnicity: Caucasian/Hispanic/Multi-ethnic

[ FABIANO ] (NO MOTION CAPTURE, ONLY FACIAL AND AUDIO RECORDING)
He's a street-wise kid who is used to taking care of himself in the slum areas of Sao Paulo Brazil. He knows he has to do what it takes to survive, even if it means working with local gangs in order to make a little cash. (14 years old) Character speaks with Broken English, but Portuguese is a plus)

After he found that, he went back to his search and found another casting call for a game titled "RUSH". The call contained details of characters similar to Rockstar's style. Here are the characters included with the call:

Mitch Hayes – 38 yrs old – 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 yrs old – Young Mexican American FBI agent, caught between a few mob bosses. Very clean cut

Clyde – 23 yrs old – Moronic, almost inbred and creepy white trash hillbilly. Very naïve but in a creepy ‘it’s only incest sort of way’

Brother Adam – 50 yrs old – Welsh monk, cult leader, yoga teacher, very lithe, very into exploring your personal tension through gripping massage. Needs Welsh accent.

Mrs Avery – 48 yrs old – Neurotic soccer mom, home maker, anxious and addled on pain killers. Very angry at neighbor MRS Bell.

Mrs Bell – 45 yrs old – Swinger, and mellow Californian divorcee. Ugly but comfortable with self.

Eddie – 47 yrs old – Weed evangelist, guy who started smoking at 30, and is now a leading proponent of marijuana’s fantastic properties. White, awkward.

Ira Bernstein – 56 yrs old – 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 yrs old – 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 yrs 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 yrs old – paranoiac living in the sticks, near Simon, completely paranoid, and terrified of Simon.

Calvin North – 55 yrs old – 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 yrs old – disabled IT expert and criminal information vendor.

Rich Roberts – 35 yrs old – English hardman actor, who acts tough but who wants to do serious work – the only problem is he can’t quite read the words.

Alex – 52 yrs old – white, loosie goosie hippy rich guy who has lost his money and is getting desperate but trying not to.

Scarlet – 45-52 yrs old – unshaven female spiritualist and hippy with a love of exploring the wilderness. Very into journeys.

Chad – 29 yrs old – pretty boy misogynist Beverly Hills party boy. Made money, but not as cool as he thinks he is.

Tae Wong – 39 yrs old – somewhat incompetent Chinese mobster, loves doing ecstasy, going to raves.

Taes Translator – 45 yrs old – VERY STRAIGHT LACED Chinese translator, terrified of his boss’s dad. Male, awkward. Needs to speak Chinese.

I did some research and found that the casting calls for both RUSH and Max Payne 3 have the same payout rate of $801.30 per 8 hour day. Also, another thing I realized is one of the characters above lives in California and one of the domains Rockstar registered back in January was "CashForDeadDreams.com" which screams Los Angeles (San Andreas anyone?). These two add even more fuel to the idea that this is at the very least a Rockstar game.

Source: Superannuation
Source: Openbook Casting Live
Source: Managing Your Acting Career

Edit #1: An actor has listed RUSH as a project she have worked on.

RUSH   Inner city female street   Take 2 Games

Edit #2: Al Nazemian has removed the Max Payne 3 details from his site.