FAN FILM FOLLIES (through Christopher Moshier): Heh, Andrew. It’s been a while since we did an interview at the FFF so thanks for playing along. This is a standard question, but an important one. What got you into making your own films and fan films specifically?

ANDREW LUND: Well, our background really isn’t too far behind us as we are still a young family just doing what we’ve always done; having fun with cameras! Cheapy, crummy cameras, but still fun. We started with several short stop-motion superhero “fan films”, before we had even heard of the term. Every production was naturally just a little bit more ambitious, and eventually we started a little line of Bible-based comedy short films, which were also fan films in a sense.

To be honest, I think fan films are the “easy way out” when it comes to storytelling through the film medium. It’s just a really fun way for beginners like us to jump right into the action and get our feet wet without having to put too much effort into the actual story and character development. Though, I know that isn’t always the case!

FFF: I find it interesting you and your brothers and sisters are home schooled. How does that play a role in why you make films?

AL: I think it plays a major role! Home schooling has kept our family close and taught us how to work with each other. Filmmaking is just one of many ways that allows us to bring our creativity together in a joint effort. Additionally, I’m sure that if we had been public schooled, peer-pressure would have made it more difficult to work with our sibs, as it is totally uncool by many young people’s standards.

FFF: That’s probably a silly question as I could ask the same to anyone who is public schooled or goes to a private school.

AL: Doesn’t seem silly at all. The environment that we are brought up in certainly shapes our creative endeavors in a major way. I’m not saying one way is better than the other; just different.

FFF: I’m guessing your parents are very supportive of your films. How do they play a role in your productions if any?

AL: Good guess! They are very supportive of anything that sparks our imaginations and drives us to create – though, my Mom isn’t always too thrilled to see her little John being placed in perilous situations all the time! They don’t play too much of a physical role in the films; we actually try to keep them out of the editing room until the rough draft is done, as we value their fresh review of our work. I guess I just contradicted myself. They do play a role. They tell us when it’s good, and are brutally honest when it stinks. Usually we already know it, but are in a state of denial.

FFF: Why Indiana Jones and why a fan film based on the character?

AL: Mostly because we live in the country, and we like action movies. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like we have a whole lot to work with, and the Indiana Jones theme just seemed to fit the bill pretty well. We were also partly inspired by the Linn brother’s 1992 production “Indiana Jed and the Search for the Infinite Power”. We sympathized with them and their clunky analog cameras and the tape-deck editing, and we’re quite amazed at what they pulled off while in high school.

FFF: Walk us through a couple scenes of your latest Indiana Jones offering and tell us how you were able to put everything together?

AL: Well, I’ll start by saying that it is very difficult to write any kind of a script for a six-year-old who doesn’t exactly pronunciation very well. Usually I start by writing what feels natural, and then edit out all of the three-or-more syllable words, replacing them with appropriate and simpler substitutions. Any time there was a questionable word; we would sit him down and practice it over and over again. Hopefully he would remember it when we actually went out to film, or “tape” as was our case with our $200 mini-DV camcorder and a $50 shotgun mic.

Sometimes I try to storyboard our action scenes. Usually, I can play the film very vividly in my head, but a storyboard is so important for conveying your mental image to the actors and for keeping things running smooth during the shoot. I like to sketch, and I’m usually quite proud of my first couple pages of storyboards, and then I get impatient and the artistic quality of my work rapidly decreases.

I would say our most challenging scene and the one that I was most disappointed in was the conversation between Indy and Jerry portrayed by myself in the hall. Our camera couldn’t handle the lighting, and the audio was t-e-r-r-b-l-e through the shotgun mic in the big hall. A couple Lavalier mics are in my wish list. We ended up dubbing almost every line.

The action is the fun part, and the main reason we do the films in the first place. It’s really just a backdrop to play with special effects! Let me tell ya’ though, it takes an awful lot of patience to get a little kid to throw, much less receive a convincing punch. The end fight sequence took three afternoons to film, and those three afternoons were spaced about two months apart, which made continuity impossible at times. I would just move the camera quick and hope that the rapidly-growing grass didn’t bother anybody!

FFF: I found your story most interesting as you and your siblings are the majority of the talents behind and in front of the camera. How did this dynamic come about?

AL: Hmmm… We’ll, ’cause there’s nobody else who can drop everything and go running out into a field to film an action scene when the inspiration strikes! Seriously though, it is nice working at a relaxed pace, knowing that if you don’t get everything done the talent will still be there tomorrow. It can’t last forever, though. I’ll admit, we’ve all got an itch to take on a ‘big’ project with a bunch of people who share our enthusiasm for filmmaking! Time to expand the ol’ horizons.

FFF: And being siblings – and as we know siblings bicker – how do you keep the rivalry in check while making a film at the same time?

AL: Bicker? Are you kidding me? No way…

…Okay, maybe a little…

…Once in a while…

I wouldn’t say it’s “rivalry” so much as, sometimes the little kids aren’t quite as eager to spend a whole hot afternoon out in the middle of nowhere, repeating lines over and over again while their older sibs get frustrated with cameras and such. Don’t know what’s wrong with them.

FFF: Spotlight the “LUND” team and how they each contribute to your productions.

AL: Well, at the top of the family I am naturally the director and chief bossy guy. I’ve got a couple sisters under me who often offer creative ideas, make costumes and pamper the kids as well as coach them with their lines. Couldn’t do it without them! Then I’ve got a brother who is my idea guy and bouncing board when it comes to these flicks. He’s into photography and has a great eye, so very nice to have an assistant cameraman like that. He might be taking the role over completely in the near future. And then we have actors, actresses and younger actors and actresses. That’s about it!

FFF: What is the ultimate film you would like to make be it a fan film or your own concept? Give us some details on such a project.

AL: Ah yes–we’ve all got one of those, don’t we? Ours would be a funny family feature, preferably with some good food for thought and perhaps even lightly romantic. No, not a Hollywood action-packed explosion-filled eye-candy flick. Though, those are fun to make on the side.

FFF: A question I ask a lot of fan film and independent film makers. The gap between Hollywood and Independent filmmaking continues to shrink. Hollywood is shooting out gimmicks such as 3D for example. What do you think about the economics of home movie making and how that compares to what Hollywood releases on a regular basis?

AL: I think that the creativity of the storyteller is and always has been the most important aspect of a film, and now there is less and less blocking any creative mind from presenting his or her story to the world! So yeah, I think it’s great. I feel very un-hindered, and that if I can dream it, I can create it and show it to everybody, which is totally cool.

FFF: Will you be pursing your filming aspirations?

AL: Yes, I/we sure hope to. We just took the plunge and upgraded to an HD DSLR. Yes, we are about a half-decade behind everyone else. So we are excited about how much better our future projects will look. We just need ideas now! Making any half-decent movie is a lot of work, but when I am really excited about a project, I have no problem finding the energy to complete it. I’ve got my eyes peeled for something that gets me excited. As far as long-term goes, I have no idea. I have no desire to be associated with Hollywood in any way, and I don’t seem to be independently wealthy, so I’ve got a few obstacles ahead if I ever want to crank out something more professional. I’m just gonna play it by ear, and if I get knocked over the head with a great story that I want to tell, I’ll tell it one way or the other!

FFF: Awesome, Andrew. Thanks for taking the time to talk with us.

AL: Well, that was fun. Really hope you guys enjoy our “Indiana John” flicks. They’re not much, but we made them to entertain, so I hope they do their job. Until the unforeseeable next time!

On their behalf I had posted a ‘help wanted’ advertisement asking for assistance. The short version is that I had offered to do an audio reading for them but due to my personal life I keep pushing that back. To Scott and his team working hard on the fan produced Doomwatch, I apologize and I do hope this interview will help in getting some new listeners for you.

You see as I stated earlier, I had never watched a episode of Doomwatch so I emailed Scott some questions in the hope he could help make it clearer for me. To my delight he agreed and even managed to get Grant Foxon, the co-creator, to answer some questions as well. I do hope you enjoy this.

FAN FILM FOLLIES (through Lee James Sands): How did you become a Doomwatch fan?

GRANT FOXON: I had first heard of Doomwatch as a kid who collected Doctor Who videos. Inside the video covers they would advertise other titles. The enigmatic cover of The Plastic Eaters/Tomorrow the Rat always caught my attention. When I finally watched the video many years later after a friend leant it to me I was hooked. I wanted more info on the series which is how I discovered Scott, who was running the excellent Doomwatch.org

SCOTT BURDITT: I watched a VHS of the first two episodes with a friend about 7 years ago and loved them. It took me years to gather enough info together to build a website as I couldn’t believe how little info on the series was available online.

FFF: What inspired you to want to create your own Doomwatch series?

GF: I wrote a retro story which Scott liked called “The Inheritors” which was about nano-technology. Scott liked it and asked me if I was interested in assisting create a new batch of stories. I thought it was a great idea and we haven’t stopped since.

SB: A short story submitted to the site from Grant Foxon featuring Doctor Ridge started off a friendship which created the new team.

FFF: How many episodes have you planned?

GF: I don’t think we have a limit. Whilst there’s ideas we run with it. Although we try to end our seasons on a good cliff hanger.

SB: Roughly 24 per Season but it’s pretty loose.

FFF: Do you plan on making further seasons?

GF: We’re currently working through it (it’s called Season 2).

SB: Yes, it’s underway at the moment. It’s been re-branded as Season 2, as has Season 4 as it was confusing for new fans to start on Season 4, even though it is meant as a continuation of the original series! lol

FFF: Most of your productions are audio book based. Do you plan on doing a radio play or a full fan film?

GF: We’re currently working on audio scripts and have shot some limited film footage which is now serves as a trailer for our first season of stories.

SB: There was lofty plans to do a film but as it deals with requiring a lot of help and support for no money it’s hard to get enough people together in one place to do it. A script was written but only a short segment has been filmed which is available on YouTube.

FFF: What advice would you give to someone attempting to make their own fan production?

GF: Go for it. If it’s a labor of love then all you can do is have fun and meet like minded people.

SB: Patience is a virtue. It’s also surprisingly hard work! Always map out a character and Season plan before you start as it’s much harder to graft one in…

DOOMWATCH – THE PLASTIC RAIN TRAILER

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’d like to thank both Scott and Grant for their time. Scott has taken the time to set up a campaign to get Doomwatch released on DVD. Please be sure to check them out if you’re interested.

Below is a transcript of an email interview that I conducted with Sean Branney, the co-producer of both films:

FAN FILM FOLLIES (through John Walliss): Looking at the trailer for Whisperer in Darkness, you’ve gone for a different look and era of filmmaking than you used in The Call of Cthulhu. Why is this?

SEAN BRANNEY: We felt that because Lovecraft’s stories were grounded in the 20s and 30s, shooting them in a style reflective of that era was a good approach. After making The Call of Cthulhu, we were interested in producing a feature length talkie. We realized The Whisperer in Darkness was a good candidate. It was written in 1931, the same year that Dracula and Frankenstein came to the screen and synch sound became the new standard. The bold visual style of the classic horror films of the early 1930s inspired our approach to the photography. On the technical side, we moved from a rather low-end camera which we used for The Call of Cthulhu to a very high-end HD camera for Whisperer. It creates an image that is drastically better than we could create in our previous movie. And, of course, the addition of recorded dialogue fundamentally changes the set of tools we use to tell the story.

FFF:After The Call of Cthulhu, what drew you to making another film, and why this particular story?

SB: The Call of Cthulhu wildly exceeded our expectations. When we made it, we made it just because we wanted to. We hoped someday we’d make our investment back and we hoped someone, somewhere would want to watch it. We discovered that there were a lot of people out there eager to see this kind of film and we thought it would be fun to make another. We chose Whisperer because the story itself has a lot of dramatic potential in it and it’s structure lent itself to cinematic storytelling. That said, we felt in order to make it into a feature film, we were going to have to flesh out some of the elements of the story. Whisperer is one of Lovecraft’s great stories, a favorite of many readers and we thought it could be an equally pleasing movie.

FFF: What are the particular challenges of bringing HP Lovecraft to the screen?

SB: Lovecraft’s stories are often not dramatic in their nature. The story of The Whisperer in Darkness, for example, consists in large measure of two fellows writing letters back and forth. A purely literal adaptation might come across and dry and static on screen. But, of course in adapting is writing, it’s also easy to move so far away from his source material that the resulting film bears little resemblance to the story being adapted. His stories often tend to eschew characters and relationships in favor of cosmic themes and atmospheres. While that can be very effective in a short story, movie goers are accustomed to interesting characters who engage with other characters in relationships. So, it becomes a challenge to present a Lovecraftian protagonist in a manner that’s keeping with the source material, but which will entertain and engage an audience.

FFF: Producing a fanfilm takes a great deal of time, effort and money, what do you think it is that inspires fans such as yourself to do this?

SB: We’re inspired to try and make great movies. We don’t really look at ourselves as fans – we’re filmmakers who are not just doing some job for hire but are working on a project that we’re personally invested in. Nearly everyone who works on our films are highly qualified professionals. People work with us for very modest compensation because they believe in the projects that we’re trying to bring to the screen. Like most filmmakers, our goal is to tell our audiences a story that they’ll enjoy. I suspect that’s the driving motivation behind most filmmakers who create their own projects. We’re fortunate that we’ve found a commercial market for our films and we’re able to make our living from our very small production company.

FFF: Fanfilms have been around for years, but have achieved a degree of prominence in recent years (with, say, the media interest in The Hunt for Gollum). Why do you think this is and what do you think the future holds for fanfilms?

SB: Independent producers are now able to produce sophisticated movies that tell stories in a manner that used to be outside the reach of multi-million dollar productions. Some small producers have made some films that have really resonated with audiences and left people realizing that big budget, heavily marketed films are not the be-all and end-all of entertainment. I think these types of projects will only serve to excite new filmmakers who will find ways to bring exciting, imaginative entertainment to the wide variety of screen sizes currently available.

For more information on the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society, see its webpage, or for specific information on Whisperer in Darkness, see its blog and facebook group.

THE WHISPERER IN DARKNESS TRAILER

Click here to view the embedded video.

Another Dredd film, written Alex Garland, is currently in production with Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby in its leading roles. Scheduled for release in 2012, it is still up for grabs whether it will rescue the Dredd mythos from Hamlet and Eggs or leave ‘old stony face’ with more egg on its face.

Dredd fans, however, do not have to wait two more years for a fix of Mega City One’s finest. The fanfilm, Judge Minty, directed by Steven Sterlacchini and written by Sterlacchini and Michael Carroll (based on characters created by John Wagner), is due to be released in 2011. Focusing on the story of Judge Minty, a character who appeared only briefly in the Dredd story back in the late 1970s, the film shows what happened when he is forced to retire from active duty and take the ‘Long Walk’ into the Cursed Earth “to take law to the lawless”.

I recently interviewed writer/director Steven Sterlacchini about the film.

FAN FILM FOLLIES (through John Walliss): Can I start by asking what inspired you to begin working on the project?

STEVEN STERLACCHINI: I think we were most inspired by the thought that ‘it could be done’.

It was more a case of chance meetings than anything else. I initial saw some of Daniel Carey-George’s comic book Dredd prop work on his website. I thought “Wow! These are amazing, you’d only need a ‘few more’ pieces to create a fan film”. I started to discuss it with Dan and we kept the idea at the back of our minds. Dan then met Stephen Green at an industry show and they got chatting about their shared interest in 2000AD. Steve showed Dan his brilliant digital showreel and offered to come on board. It sort of snowballed from there.

FFF: Producing a fanfilm takes a great deal of time, effort and money, what do you think it is that inspires fans such as yourself to do this?

SS: Well, for us, I would say the main thing was the source material. It’s an enormously rich vein which hasn’t been properly tapped. We can create a ‘fan film’, but without having to repeat anything that’s been seen on screen already. It’s also an excellent opportunity to show our work to a large audience. In the beginning these were our main reasons, but I have to say it’s been the enthusiastic response of fellow fans that’s helped to keep us going.

FFF: In recent years, media companies have differed in their response to fanfilms, with some celebrating them, others tolerating them, and yet others responding with cease and desist orders. What has been the response of Rebellion and Dredd authors?

SS: Rebellion and a number of 2000AD creators have been very encouraging. I think they’re interested to see what we can come up with and have been positive about what we’ve shown so far. Though I think it’s important to point out that we are following the four rules of fan film making to the letter – 1. Do not make any money from their property. 2. Do not bring the property in to disrepute. 3. Do not create competition with their official works. 4. DO NOT MAKE ANY MONEY FROM THEIR PROPERTY!!!

FFF: What has the fans’ reaction to the news of the film?

SS: The fan’s reaction has been outstanding. Dredd fans tend to have a strong understanding of the character and his world, anything out of place would be spotted in an instance. They know how it should really look and feel, so we’ve been listening to all the feed back with interest.

We were worried that by announcing the project too early people would get bored of waiting. However by doing so it’s allowed us to get in touch with talented Dredd fans who have been more than willing to help out.

FFF: The choice of Judge Minty is interesting, as he is a canonical figure, but only a minor one. What drew you to tell more of his story?

SS: I think the fact that he is still remembered by a lot of fans after so few appearances and such a long time speaks volumes. Though the main reason would be that his story is a precursor to important events in Dredd’s life. Mainly doubts about the justice system and the ‘long walk’. Minty is a more compassionate Judge. A Henry Fonda style lawman, reluctant to use violence, in contrast to Dredd at that time who was a Dirty Harry, black and white, type of character.

FFF: What would you say are the main challenges bringing Mega City One to life on screen?

SS: Only a small portion of the film is set in the city, it’s just a taster of the original story, before Minty heads out into the Cursed Earth. Unsurprisingly location filming has been biggest challenge and the most expensive one. Unforeseen costs, weather and logistics can create a strain when working on a very limited budget. We’ve been put back a little on our original release date due to location difficulties, however we only have four scenes left to ‘get in the can’, so we’re still optimistic about earlier next year (2011).

Edmund Dehn is Judge Minty

SS: It could be a number of things, the better quality available from budget equipment, the willingness of professionals to get involved, or simply the fact that fan films aren’t tied by having to cater to a mass audience, they can simply focus on a story that appeals to a fan base.

We’ve been lucky enough to attract a few professional actors to our project, most notably Edmund Dehn, who takes the lead role. His work, along with the work of industry professionals like Daniel and Steve Green have taken the story telling possibilities of the project to a another level.

For more information on the film click on over to the official website.

CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW:

The following is a transcript of an email interview that I conducted with Huan:

FAN FILM FOLLIES (through John Walliss): What inspired you to begin with this project? What drew you to the story?

HUAN VU: I loved the concept of ‘science horror’ in the story when I first read it. The very moment of realization, that it’s just a creature, and not an evil monster, really intrigued me. It’s very different to ‘normal’ horror stories and had a unique atmosphere.

In the same period of time, a colleague of ours (both my co-producer and I were interns in a visual effects studio) showed us the opening animation for the International Trickfilm Festival in Stuttgart that he had created – where strange guys in a very dark, black & white world bring tubes with glowing colours to an altar and mix it together. That brought the idea how to visualize the otherworldly and indescribable colour. Make the film black & white, which does also suit to the historic setting, and give the creature a colour.

FFF: What are the main challenges on bringing the story to life?

HV: Apart from not having much money and only a small crew and working on other jobs, to make a living, it’s the visual effects and especially the creature. We had the idea to give it a colour in a black & white world, but what does it look like? Is it a cloud? Is it fluid? Does it consist of bubbles? In the end we had to take an approach that primarily wasn’t too hard and time-expensive and which we felt confident with. I hope it won’t turn out to be a disaster. Many Lovecraft fans will debate about it, the choice of colour, the choice of physical form, but we have made our thoughts and we were limited in our resources. But that Lovecraft for you – his writings are very vague and full of adjectives, so everyone can fill in what his mind can create and even leave it blank. A film can’t be like that, you have to make choices how things look. And it can’t be too wild, it has to stay believable.

Another problem is Lovecraft’s distance to his characters, there isn’t much emotional bonding. We didn’t really change that, although there are new parts to the story. In retrospect, I wish we would have been braver to explore more inner emotions of the characters, e.g. the relationship between father and son, or husband and wife, etc.

FFF: Linked to this, I know that we have spoken before [for the interview for the article on Damnatus] about ‘sticking to the story/fluff’, how does this relate to the H.P. Lovecraft story that you based the film on?

HV: After deciding to make this film I watched The Call of Cthulhu by the HPL Historical Society and was really happy with their sticking to the story. I felt that this was the ‘right’ way, it felt ‘authentic’ as if Lovecraft would have made a film back in the 20s.

Our film isn’t exactly following the same vein. We transferred the story to Germany and the 30s/70s, whereas the original story happens in the 1890s/1930s, but that’s still ‘true’ to the core. It would have been more expensive to make a 1890s film, but it also wouldn’t have worked in my eyes. The story ends with the question if the creature is still on earth and if it can spread thanks to the reservoir dam. So it has to be in the near past to pose a threat for today.

After finishing the script I found out that an Italian splatter movie director named Ivan Zucchon was working on an adaptation as well [Colour From The Dark]. He was close to start shooting, we saw preproduction images on his website and that demotivated us. But after seeing trailers of his last films and reading reviews we switched to the opposite – it motivated us to push our own project forward. Again we had to see someone not being ‘true’ to Lovecraft’s spirit, only using his name, and since he took the splatter/gore approach, our film would still have a right to exist.

FFF: Producing a fanfilm takes a great deal of time, effort and money, what do you think it is that inspires fans such as yourself to do this?

HV: With me it’s definitely the lack of someone else doing it in the ‘right’ way. Guillermo Del Toro is adapting At the Mountains of Madness now, he will face the typical problems, and he will have to make a film for a huge audience, so it surely won’t be ‘authentic’ in every aspect – but he’s a great filmmaker, a big fan of Lovecraft, it’s his personal dream project – so there’s hope he will get it ‘right’ despite all the tradeoffs he has to make towards Hollywood. If it doesn’t turn out well, then fans will be enraged. But since ‘AtMoM’ is so difficult to turn into a fan movie because of its scale and Antarctica setting, there’s a good reason why no one has ever tried it.

Stuart Gordon is adapting The Thing on the Doorstep now and has declared to strengthen the sexual parts in the story, which is the only one of Lovecraft’s with a strong albeit evil female character. I’m not sure how Lovecraft purists will respond to that, but we will have to wait and see.

With our film it’s basically the same. There are changes to the original story and I always have to ask myself if I can justify them. Peter Jackson’s approach to The Lord of the Rings was similar – in the beginning he had to write Arwen as a warrior princess to fit into the expectations of Hollywood bosses, he had to cut out many parts of the story. But in the process he could convince the producers to stay as faithful to the original story as possible, because that’s how he felt in the first place and he knew the fans. Still there are many Tolkien purists who are not totally happy with the many changes we see in the film trilogy. Like myself – as a film maker I can understand almost all of Peter Jackson’s decisions, but as a fan of the book it still hurts if characters are depicted in a wrong way.

This difficulty – making a good film, but staying true to its origin – is what drives us, that’s what I want to hear from fellow fans. I know it won’t be a crowd-pleaser since it is not a standard horror film with fast pacing, action, violence and stuff. It’s great enough if ‘normal’ people would like it. And Lovecraft fans as well. No one has to love it. It’s walking on a tightrope and so we’re happy if no one hates it.

FFF: Speaking of which, what has been the attitude of fans to news of the film?

HV: Only positive feedback, everybody thinks that we got the atmosphere right in the teaser and trailer, the website too. So there are expectations to meet now…

FFF: Fanfilms have been around for years, but have achieved a degree of prominence in recent years (with, say, the media interest in The Hunt for Gollum). Why do you think this is and what do you think the future holds for fanfilms?

HV: I think it’s due to the possibility of digital filmmaking. The urge was always there (see those guys who recreated Indiana Jones, they started with VHS cameras) and with cheaper cameras, faster computers, young guys like us learning how to create visual effects at home, it suddenly is possible. If there’s a universe out there, and if there aren’t legal issues colliding with it , fans will always try to get there and tell each other new stories from that other beloved fantasy world.

But I think there’s more and more career ambition in it as well. For some fan film makers it’s only a hobby in their free time, but for some it’s really an attempt of getting a foot into the film industry. I don’t know if that will work out for me, till now no one has made the step from fan film to professional filmmaking as far as i know (those guys from Finland with Star Wreck and their new Nazis on the moon project could be the first ones, they have a reasonable budget for that). Still it’s probably better to make your own short films, totally on your own, without fan support, find your own stories of heart and your own voice of telling, win some prizes at festivals, and start a career by that traditional way. But who knows, new ways are there to be taken, and I don’t feel too restricted by making fan films, it’s a challenge, a challenge that you have to face with all adaptations of successful source material. Female fans of Twilight also would not accept unfaithful retelling of that story, with Lord of the Rings it’s the same – the bigger the project the more both genders tend to stick to the original story.

Thus I wouldn’t expect to see big fan films to take wildly creative approaches. The Hunt for Gollum is a good example for that: They perfectly copied the style of Peter Jackson’s film trilogy, to the last detail, costumes, cinematography. For me, that’s a little bit too much, that’s too restricting. But probably it’s a special case with LOTR, since we have book fans and film fans mixing here. The Hunt for Gollum wants to be ‘true’ to both sources, and then you have less creative space.

I think there are two types of fan films – those who continue and expand a film/universe and those who bring a universe/story to life. Damnatus and Die Farbe are the latter. We will probably see other adaptations emerging in the future – for example if someone thinks we didn’t make justice to H.P. Lovecraft. Star Wars fan films are based on the films, they can only expand the universe, it’s already been brought to life. LOTR fan films as well. I wouldn’t say anything to be harder or more a challenge, it’s just a matter of taste and affection and personal ambition, and so we’ll probably continue to see both types in the future as long as there are films and books and games etc. which are capable of spinning off fandom.

For more information on Die Farbe, see its webpage, facebook group and youtube channel. It will be available on release in DVD and Blu Ray formats.

And so is the plot based on a character not normally seen in the fan film genre. It’s refreshing to see a fan take on this classic comic book. Fan Film Follies talks with GM Finney Productions the makers behind to “The Mask Strikes Back“.

FAN FILM FOLLIES (through Christopher Moshier): What got you into filmmaking more specifically fan filmmaking?

GM FINNEY PRODUCTIONS: I think it was around 2005 after seeing…dare I say it, the “sequel” to ‘The Mask’. I thought it was a complete disaster and a waste of what could have been an incredible franchise. So without delay, I decided to go out and write my own sequel to ‘The Mask’.

FFF: Why “The Mask” fan film opposed to any other character or franchise?

GM: ‘The Mask’ has been my all-time favorite movie and character from a very young age, and since the day I saw the movie, I became obsessed with it! To be honest, I still am to this day (laughs). I think there are many directions to go with ‘The Mask’ and that’s what peaked my interest.

FFF: Son of the Mask? Why? Why would they make such a thing?

GM: Tell me about it. New Line Cinema really confuses me. They make an incredible film in 1994 with a great cast, great story and mind blowing special effects. And ten years later, instead of things improving, they somehow make it ten times worse! I can only say one thing, compare ‘Son of the Mask’ with the original ‘Mask’ comics! But that aside, I would LOVE to see ‘The Mask’ back on screen. Obviously, we would all like to see Jim Carrey back in the role, but I think it’s safe to say that will never happen. So I would like to see a re-imagining of the character, in the same tone as the comic book. That is what I would do and that is what the fans want to see!

FFF: The Mask of Loki that appears in your film – was that a licensed prop or was that fan made? How about the green The Mask’s mask?

GM: Well, before I decided to make this movie, I came across a replica Loki Mask on the internet and I just HAD to have it! Unfortunately, I lost that particular Mask and got another one. This Mask is the one Eric’s character (Stanley Ipkiss) uses in the movie. So again, because that Mask was sent 4,000 miles away to the US, I got my hands on ANOTHER replica and this one was used for the UK scenes.

FFF: How about the green The Mask’s mask?

GM: The green latex mask was basically a new design we came up with and based loosely on ‘The Mask Returns’ comic. We decided to add a false Mohawk onto it (as it was originally bald) to give it a more rock/punk look. The Stanley Ipkiss mask was just an officially licensed 1994 mask that we cut the mouth out of to see the actors mouth move when he talked.

FFF: How does one make a fan film? Give some hints for other people who want to make a fan film.

GM: To begin the film making process, you obviously need a few good ideas; these will then evolve into plot points and storylines. When you have a complex storyline, you can begin writing the script. But one thing that I have noticed fan films lacking is a really great story. Make sure you have a good story to keep your viewers hooked!

Then, after several re-writes (like we had with ‘TMSB’) you can start finding suitable actors to fill the roles (or, like us, use the people around you). When you have gathered a good, committed cast, you can start drawing up storyboards (we skipped this with ‘The Mask’ and we wish we hadn’t…trust me). And if you think your ready, get out there, find some locations, and shoot it!
Believe it or not, this was the most challenging thing for us.

Now, Post-Production is the key to a great movie. Work hard. Take your time. But most importantly, HAVE FUN!

FFF: Good advise! Not really a criticism, but more of an observation. When the actor was wearing the green The Mask mask we see a lot of neck meaning we see a lot of the actor’s neck. Where you conscience of this? I think some kind of green body paint would have worked better.

GM: You mean when Ipkiss was wearing the Mask?

FFF: Exactly.

GM: The licensed mask we had was only a 1/2 head covering mask so it would have been tricky to work around that in such short time. We could have used a bald cap to cover the hair and back of head but again this all uses up time, which then, we didn’t have a lot of. But as for the body paint, the Mask only covers the head. If you notice in the original ‘Mask’ movie, Jim Carrey’s neck was also exposed.

FFF: I didn’t realize that. I’ll have to go back and watch the film again. What was the most difficult aspect in making your film?

GM: The most difficult was actually the production (filming). I think the main reason is that I have never had any directing experience and my actors had no acting experience. Just imagine trying to tell people what to do when you barely know what your doing yourself (laughing). But eventually, we got through it by studying the script and learning a little bit about the story and characters as we went along.

In post, I had a lot of fun editing it together and after several cuts, I worked with what I had and it came out pretty cool.

FFF: What kind of reception has your film gotten?

GM: This actually really surprised me. The film actually received about 95% positive feedback! Most saying around 4 out of 5 stars. Almost everybody saying it came miles ahead of ‘Son of The Mask’ and should have been the REAL Mask sequel. THAT is what I was going for!

FFF: Where do you see the genre of fan film going in the next five or ten years.

GM: In the last few years, there have been many fantastic fan films, more so in the BATMAN category. I can only see it getting much better! But I think categories like ‘The Mask’ for example, need to become more popular! So I encourage people to get out there and make your dreams happen while you still can.
FFF: What else are you working on these days? Promote what’s new!

GM: Actually, after ‘The Mask Strikes Back’ things happened and unfortunately I found myself torn apart from filmmaking, and I don’t think I will ever return to make another movie. But if I were, I would make something original and after some experience, I would make a feature length Mask remake or sequel. Although like I said, it’s very, very unlikely. But never say never.

FAN FILM FOLLIES (through Christopher Moshier): Give us a little bio on yourself.

MONICA EDWARDS: I am (pretty much) a Florida Native. Yes, really! I have mainly specialized in dance, but do enjoy acting as well. I am also a little bit of a “geek” and LOVE Harley Quinn and was thrilled to have the opportunity to play her!

FFF How did you get hooked up with Rock Art Digital getting the parts of Harley & Selina Kyle?

ME: I had a friend that saw the audition notice posted and knowing my love for the masked psycho he called me and filled me in.

FFF How familiar were you with the characters you portrayed in the short film before securing the parts?

ME: VERY. I have carried around an action figure of her in my purse for years. I subsequently gave Marlene the Catwoman one from the same series. Awwww.

FFF Did you read any of the comics or watch any of the animation prior to filming? How did you get into character?

ME: Absolutely. And, for those who know me, it’s not THAT far a reach.

FFF How was it working with Marlene? Any funny stories or character quarks you would like to share?

ME: We had never met before, but I really enjoyed working with her! Probably the best stories were actually caught on film. On the dvd (yes, we have those!) there is a blooper real that definitely caught the feel of the whole production. I ran into her in Target a few months back but mostly we keep tabs through the MySpace.

FFF What has the Fan Film done for you professionally if anything?

ME: Well – not a whole lot.

I did make another movie with the Dr. from the film a couple of months later. It was actually a feature length SAG movie called “the Karaoke King.” But that was purely coincidental.

We were supposed to make the prequal of H&S, in full costume, but then I got pregnant (no spandex!) and then before I became show ready again our director moved to another state!

FFF What is your GEEK-O-METER? On a scale from one to ten where do you put yourself in relation to comics, animation, pop corn movies and the like?

ME: Ummmmm….Relatively geeky. Geeky enough to be happy that Christopher Nolan corrected the myth that the Joker killed Batman’s parents but not enough to tell you any issue numbers or anything. I mostly watched the cartoons, especially the Batman animated series in the ’90′s. Thus starting my Harley-love! NO ANIME!!! Japanimation just isn’t my thing. As far as popcorn moveis, Mallrats will always be one of my all-time favs and with the exception of Jersey Girl and Clerks II, I do own the entire Kevin Smith ouvre. I will say that the Neverending Story has and will always play a major role in my life!!

FFF Considering we are celebrating “Women” at the Comic Book Bin and the fact we cover comic books, action figures, movies, etc. what is your perspective, experiences, view on what can be changed or done to draw more women into these industries?

ME: Maybe draw them slightly more realistically? Big chests are great and all but we don’t all have them! (Unless we’re nursing that is) – And more feminine frindly plot lines could possibly help as well.

FFF You have the final word.

ME: Thank you to Mr. Scott Robb for telling me about the audition and thereby giving me the chance to play my dream role and thank you to Rock Arts Digital for casting me!!!

At the start of 2005 Kate made a resolution to make the most of the new year and to fully pursue her acting and filmmaking ambitions and that is exactly what she has been doing ever since.

Kate made her directorial debut in July 2005 with an ambitious project called Into the Darkness and has also been involved in a number of other projects mostly with the Cambridge Filmmakers Network, filling a variety of roles, from set dressing, costuming and prop making to production managing, assistant directing and driving. As Kate is also an actor, when not behind the camera she can often be found in front of it.

The Born of Hope test shoot was only Kate’s second attempt at directing but she is already proving the ability to create, with her talented crew, highly professional looking work on a very low budget.

Kate likes to believe that “anything is possible” and Actors at Work Productions aims to make films that are high quality, ambitious and appealing to larger audiences.

FAN FILM PODCAST (through Christopher Moshier): What has happened on the project since your “The Journey So Far” video?

KATE ROBINSON: I find it quite funny now if I watch the “Journey So Far” because I end the video saying “I’m looking forward to the next 6 months of it…” when in fact the next 6 months all went a bit pear shaped. To be honest I kind of lost it for a while regarding Born of Hope. After my trip to The Gathering of the Fellowship convention in Toronto Canada, where I had a great time showing the trailer and footage and doing Q&A sessions about the project, the issues of copyright had been brought to the forefront and the story was also going through various changes and after months of work and stress well basically it all got too much and my protective little bubble burst leaving me wondering what the hell I was trying to do.

I spent the next few months unwilling to deal with the ‘problem’ that was Born of Hope. I focused my efforts on other things like the short films “The Horsemen”, shot in July 06 and “One Little Step” a short seaside musical shot in Great Yarmouth in Oct 06 both of which are showing at Cannes in the Short Film Corner 2007. The closest I went to BoH was trying to edit together the test shoot footage so I could actually get it out to the cast and crew. I found the editing really hard. I think this was due to a lack of self-confidence and the need to live up to my own and everyone else’s expectations.

Now that I have had some time to gather my thoughts properly I have basically decided that I need to slow the whole project down and delegate tasks more or risk throwing the towel in all together. For the first half of 2006 it felt like I did nothing but Born of Hope. I spent nine solid months working very hard on the project and basically it couldn’t continue like that. I love Born of Hope and think it could be an amazing project but I don’t think it should take over my life completely.

So after a long break from the project we are now back on track. A new script is currently being written by an American screenwriter. I am again liaising with West Stow’s Anglo-Saxon Village, our main location from the test shoot and starting work on the construction of various large props with their assistants. I will also soon be crewing up an Art Department and Costume Department to continue work and expand the collection of props and costumes we already have.

FFF: Can you give us a synopsis of the story you are trying to tell, characters involved, time frame around the Jackson trilogy, etc?

KR: From 2003 when I had the original idea to make a LOTRs fan film to now 2007 the story has changed and developed quite a lot.

Back in 2003 the first story idea was about a female Dúnedain ranger who finds herself in Mirkwood during the War of the Ring and came from my various interests like stage combat, wilderness survival, archery and the need for strong female characters that I as an actor could play. I very quickly realized that this idea was too large to attempt as it involved large amounts of Dwarves and Elves and Orcs and horses etc as you can imagine. I put that one on the shelf and started thinking about stories that Tolkien had already written, looking back through the Appendices of the Lord of the Rings.

My next thought was to do the early part of Aragorn and Arwen’s relationship, with their first meeting in the woods of Rivendell. I would need only two or three actors and Tolkien had detailed most of their relationship. I decided against this idea though because the ambitious perfectionist in me was really keen to make a film that people could watch and almost believe that it had been filmed by Peter Jackson and his team. An impossible task I know, but Viggo and Liv as Aragorn and Arwen are now so imprinted in our minds that I felt people would find it hard to believe in the actors I found to imitate them. I therefore needed a story that people would want to see but that didn’t involve any character that we had seen in the New Line Trilogy. Turns out that Aragorn and Arwen’s first meeting was actually shot by Peter Jackson though we have yet to see it.

I first read the books only after the release of the Two Towers and the Dúnedain had really captured my interest and a story about these rangers of the North really appealed. Also, as they had been cut from the movie version I did not need to compete or replicate what had been done before.

So Born of Hope is a prequel to the New Line Trilogy and my aim is to make a film that can sit alongside those films without looking too out of place. The story focuses on Aragorn’s people, the Dúnedain, the rangers of the north. We want to show people more of a back-story for Aragorn. Based on Tolkien’s writings in the Appendices of the books we look at Aragorn’s people and show the relationship between his parents, Arathorn and Gilraen. As well as giving more of a back-story we are also able to show characters on screen who had to be cut from the New Line Trilogy. Not only will we be introducing a number of new characters but we will also see the sons of Elrond and a young Halbarad who is mentioned in the Return of the King. That’s all I will say for now because I don’t want to give too much away.

FFF: To my understanding actual footage hasn’t been shot, but only test footage. What is the timeline from starting the actual shoot for the film and what is your realistic outlook for a finished film?

KR: Before the script is finalized it’s hard to say and I often under estimate this but I’ll try not to. Hopefully we’ll have the script sorted in the next few months and will then need another few months to plan even some simple filming. It would be nice to do some filming before the year is out but who knows. Maybe we’ll have shot it by this time next year but will then need some time for the edit. Don’t hold me to this but it may be ready by next summer and if that seems like a long way off to you, think how it feels to me.

FFF: Have you had any reaction from New Line or the master Peter Jackson himself?

KR: Not a squeak but that doesn’t mean I can breath easy. The copyright issues regarding fan films is obviously a constant worry because we are, in a none threatening, non profit making way, breaking the rules. I mean that’s what fan films in essence have to do or they wouldn’t be fan films they’d be original films. We are not doing a parody and there are very few LOTRs fan films that extend or add original material to Tolkien’s work, so in a way I feel like we are breaking new ground and that’s partly exciting and partly terrifying.

It’s hard to believe that the Estate, New Line and even Peter Jackson himself do not hear things on the grapevine about what fans are doing and therefore it’s extremely plausible that they know about Born of Hope in someway. I just hope that they can accept it as a complement to their work and not a threat. If George Lucas can be so generous to Star Wars fans why shouldn’t other films have the same treatment? I mean it’s been 4 years since Return of the King and even if they can get the Hobbit made it will be another couple of years so surely fan films help to keep the enthusiasm going in the Fan world.

I would love to hear words of encouragement from Peter Jackson or any other official LOTRs people but if nothing else I just hope we are left alone to finish this without any problems and that people like what they see. Once finished this will hopefully be a fantastic showcase for many up and coming actors and filmmakers in the UK and even around the world and that’s got the be a good thing.

FFF: This seems like a far more ambitious project than most fan films. Was there a consideration of starting with just a short 5 or 10 minutes film to get the feet wet? If the film was done today how long it would be – I know things are cut and added in post-production so just a ball park figure.

KR: I don’t seem to come up with short 5 minute films. I don’t have a background of studying filmmaking and therefore most of my knowledge of movies is from watching feature films. Luckily since 2003 when the idea first came up and I knew nothing about filmmaking to now when I know a heck of a lot more and actually have some decent experience including directing a 25 minute short called Into the Darkness and a 10 minute short called The Horsemen as well as working on many other films.

Born of Hope has gone from being a 20 min film to an hour and a half feature and back again but I think we may have finally come up with the best idea. The latest idea is to do about a 30 minute film divided up into three parts for easy viewing and story telling.

FFF: Is there a concern with the amount of time the project is being put together people won’t necessarily lose interest, but have other offers (paying offers) that brings them elsewhere? I’ve seen it a million times with fan made and independent productions. I guess a good question is what is the glue that keeps cast and crew involved in the project over the amount of time it has been trying to get it off the ground?

KR: Of course this is a problem and I tried to make it clear from the very first auditions that this project was probably a long-term thing. All the actors knew that they were only being cast for the test shoot but if we were to ask them back for the final film it may take a year or more to complete. Even with unpaid short films you can loss cast and crew to paid work. Making it work is often down to meticulous planning and scheduling. Even for the test shoot we had actors performing in shows in London and could therefore only work say Sunday’s for us etc.

It’s not just cast either. Just last month my friend and fantastic Director of Photographer Neill Phillips was sent out to LA with work and may not be coming back. Many of the filmmakers here in Cambridge are moving on with their careers so quickly that it might be hard to book time in their busy schedules but I’ll have to try.

Not sure what the glue is really. I guess it’s partly me trying to keep people interested and willing to work with me again but I think it’s also the fact that this project is so different from most of the low budget films people are used to making. As far as Showreels are concerned this is something you don’t see everyday.

FFF: What advise would you give to fellow Fan Film makers out there from your “Trials and Tribulations” of getting Born of Hope together?

KR: IT’S HARD! I mean doing something like Born of Hope is really hard. You have to really want it. Don’t try to do it on your own and don’t get overwhelmed by having too many people giving advice either. You need one or two people to bounce ideas off. Get the story locked down and don’t try to take on too much, advice I seem unable to take.

There are many factors that can increase the difficulty of doing a fan film, like any film. If your film has multiple characters and locations then it will be harder to do than a short 5 minute film set in one place with just two people. Doing a little parody in the back garden with a few mates and a rug over your shoulders is obviously easier than casting professional actors and making original costumes etc.

If you want to do it just picking a story you like and that you think you can accomplish and go for it!

FFF: Considering we cover comic books, action figures, movies, etc. at the BIN – what is your perspective, experiences, view on what can be changed or done to draw more women into these industries?

KR: That’s a hard one, I’m not really sure. Women are so varied. For some women the closest they ever want to get to comics is watching buff men playing superheroes in Hollywood movies where as others are real Tom Boys that do live action role play every weekend and have a huge collection of comics and action figures at home. I feel I’m somewhere in the middle. I love watching comic book movies but don’t read comics. I used to have action figures when I was younger, I visit shops like Forbidden Planet and a wall of my home has LOTRs replica swords and a Harry Potter style broomstick on display.

I guess with all the comic book movies coming out of Hollywood in the last few years it’s likely this will boost people’s interest in Comics whether they are male or female.

FFF: What do you think you bring to the realm of specifically the Fan Film and even more specifically to the world of Tolkien in a women’s perspective as opposed to a male’s view of Fan Film/Tolkien?

KR: Well I don’t really know what the male view of Fan Film/Tolkien is so I couldn’t really say, I’ve seen great fan films made by men and women. There are quite a few women involved in the making of Born of Hope so there is a nice balance of males to females. With Born of Hope I’m keen to show not only all the fun and exciting action sequences but also the humanity. If you look at a lot of Star Wars fan films they are nothing more than lightsaber duels and these are I think, mostly made by men. I’m keen to really show people who these characters are and really get inside them. I’m also keen to produce a film of the best quality I possibly can.

I don’t know if that helps, I find this a hard question to answer and could probably be answered better by someone else once the film is completed and can be held up alone side other fan films and assessed.

FFF: Outside the world of Lord of the Rings what films or other jobs are you working on and what do you have on tap that you can tell us about?

KR: Well I have actually been involved in a number of short films since the test shoot and 4 of them are going to be showing at Cannes in May in the short film corner. The films are: The Horsemen, Blood on his hands, Guilty? and One Little Step. I did a variety of jobs on these films including acting, art department, costumer, producer’s assistant etc.

I know that a couple of the actors from Born of Hope are going to be at Cannes, Christopher Dane (Arathorn) and Howard Corlett plus Emily Blickem my Co Producer and I would love to go too but I can’t make it unfortunately, maybe next year.

Any people near to Cambridge UK in the first week in June can come and see me play Jennifer in the Witches of Eastwick at the ADC Theatre. Otherwise for now it’s Born of Hope and building my acting career.

FFF: If you had an unlimited budget, the backing of any major studios, and the rights to any project what film would you either want to write, act in, or direct and why?

KR: Nice question. Well as you can imagine it’s ambitious and not a kitchen sink drama. Doesn’t sound very original now that Pirates of the Caribbean has been done so well but for a long time I have been extremely interested in the story of Anne Bonney and Mary Reed the famous female pirates of the Golden Age. I would love to make this film and play one of these characters or a similar strong character in a fun and exciting action adventure. If I have the energy to do another film after Born of Hope I am thinking about doing a short film involving these characters if nothing else.

FFF: Anything else you would like to share you think our readers at the BIN would be interested in? Perhaps people you would like to thank? Your favorite color (colour)? Favorite flavor ice-cream?

KR: Wow, what to say? I guess I just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who is supporting me in this endeavour! Thank you to all the cast and crew from the test shoot, all those who I have been in touch with since this first began, all those who are part of the team in one way or another, all those who have given generous donations to help finance this endeavour, all those who have sent me emails and posted in the guestbook, all those who are desperate to watch the finished film and anyone else I’ve forgotten. I would also like to apologise to those who have emailed me but have not heard back I am slowly working my way back through countless flagged emails but if you do not hear please do write again to pester me for a response. I do not mean to be rude and not reply.

So I don’t want to jinks it but.. “I’m looking forward to the next 6 months..”

FAN FILM PODCAST (through Christopher Moshier): Can you give us some background on your Spiderman short and your website?

COLBY BLUTH: I created Spider-Man in the late summer of 2000. Although I’m a fan of the comic book character I was mainly doing it as a portfolio piece. It was to demonstrate my abilities of creating a Flash web cartoon on my own. This was my second cartoon, the first being The Rubber Tree which I created a few months earlier while learning Flash and how to use a computer. The Rubber Tree is in the style of a traditional silly cartoon short, and with Spider-Man I wanted to show a more cinematic and faster paced action style. Unfortunately, the week that I began showing my two Flash shorts around looking for work, the dot com business began to crumble. I think it was late September. A lot of studios liked my work and wanted to hire me, but most of them went out of business by the end of the year, but I’m sure this is a familiar story.

As far as the look of Spider-Man, I wanted to do something different with the colors. I made his costume more muted than you normally see it. I also made an effort to show Spider-Man in a more dynamic way then he had been depicted before, keep in mind the piece was completed before I’d even heard about a Spider-Man movie being made.

FFF: Your site mentions you did everything but the music. Would you like to comment or give a hat tip to the one who did do the music?

CB: The music was done by two friends of mine, Ben Wendel and Daedalus (an L.A. DJ). I gave them a Quicktime version of the piece and then they worked out the music to fit it. Then we got together and polished it up in a couple hours. It was a fun working experience and they did a great job. With an animated piece I’ve discovered that sound is equally important as the visuals, but is only about 10% of the total work load.

FFF: You have a vast portfolio on your site. Can I ask what you are involved in these days professionally or fan related in relationship to maybe a future installment of another Spidey Flash Film?

CB: Currently, I’m paying the bills with freelance Flash animation and ink illustration. I don’t currently have any plans for a new fan film mainly because I can’t make any income from a fan film.

FFF: Has the Spidey flash film gained you any exposure?

CB: I guess Spider-Man has gained me some exposure. Most people have liked it, especially those that understand the limitations of a Flash web cartoon.

FFF: Have you seen films such as BATMAN: DEAD END pop up on the internet? What are your feelings about the most recent spotlight of comic licensed characters being made into fan films?

CB: I saw the Batman piece and thought it was good. It wasn’t perfect, but it had some standout visual moments that people have wanted to see. I think it’s great that people are creating their own fan films. Especially with inexpensive computers, DV, and DVD burning, it’s a great time to be an aspiring filmmaker.

FFF: How about talking up your other creations on the site. Lots of fun stuff! Can you elaborate on Monkeyfish at all and what is happening with this creation?

CB: Monkeyfish (working title), is an experiment to see if I can create TV quality animation on my home computer. Now that I’m half finished I can say that it’s very possible. The thing you need the most is just time for all the drawings. This is the first time I’ve ever done traditional animation or painted backgrounds – trial by fire.

It’s a simple comedic short about a monkey that finds a fish washed up on the beach. It will be about 4 minutes long. I’m drawing everything by hand and then scanning it into the computer. I’m then using Flash 4 to ink and paint everything.

I’m planning to submit it to festivals when it’s done as well as adding it to the portfolio. I’m hoping it will open more avenues for more interesting and better paying freelance work. I have some short clips available for viewing on my website.

FFF: What is in the future for Colby Bluth?

CB: I’m trying to finish Monkeyfish by the end of this year. Then I will either be doing one final animated sci-fi fantasy short or move into creating my own comic book. Depends how burned out I am on animation. It’s soooo much drawing.

To help satisfy her love for the character Lara Croft, she teamed up with fellow fan Nick Murphy to create the live action film “Tomb Raider: Tears of the Dragon” that received worldwide attention and creative support. This led to being hired by Atlantis Studios to create a film short based on their new comic book entitled “Paula Peril: Trapped In the Flames”. Currently she embodies other comic characters by modeling for artists such as Mark Brooks at Marvel and Adam Hughes at DC Comics. This July marks her third year co-presenting the San Diego Comic Con Film School with Visual FX guru/Director Sean Rourke.

FAN FILM FOLLIES (through Christopher Moshier): So what ever happened to “Tears of the Dragon?” As I understand it you had some showings around various cons. I’d seen you on the boob tube on G4 last year promoting the premiere. Will the film ever make it to the internet for world consumption?

VALERIE PEREZ: Yes it did screen and yes it will be online! A rough cut was premiered in Hollywood for fans, friends, cast and crew to celebrate then screened at cons around the United States for feedback to take in to consideration (we were still in post production looking to do more sound design work, FX and pickup game action shots). No more excuses – by the end of June ’07 TEARS will be on the web.

When it comes to filmmakers and their labors of love, you often have to pry the movie from their hands for there will always be something more that they want to do with it. At that point you just gotta take what you’ve learned and put that desire into your next project. It’s especially hard to let go when you know you can do better. Jeepers, the opening Lara voice over was only supposed to be temporary but now it looks like it is forever! In addition to a few tweaks, I have DVD and subtitles work to do for worldwide screening commitments that were made. You can expect to hear more about the online release and the prequel comic book that sets up our little epic soon.

"Tears of the Dragon" poster

Valerie as Lara Croft

FFF: Fan Films are certainly giving the people in front of and behind the camera a modest amount of fame and in some cases jobs from the “BIG BOYS”. I see you are attending a lot of cons. Has TEARS propelled you into a fanboy “Starlet?” How has this helped you professionally?

SB: Wow, it doesn’t feel like it but when I look at the definition of “Starlet” I’d have to say yes. Since the announcement of TEARS I’ve been doing steady interviews in various news publications, websites and TV as well as being featured at events. I get recognized as Lara Croft at my grocery store with questions on what’s next and now I am starting to get favorable mentions in blogs that are expecting bigger and better things from me. TEARS has also given me more opportunities to network that lead to getting work and auditions, definitely been of help.

FFF: You are now Paula Peril for a licensed film based on the same character from Atlantis Studios in sort of a pilot episode. How did you meet up with James Watson to play the part?

SB: James Watson is the president of Atlantis Studios which publishes the “Tales of Lara Croft” comics with the permission of Eidos Interactive. When James first contacted me, he offered us a deal to create and sell a comic adaptation of TEARS. Nick and I didn’t want to release one before the film but we were interested in working with his company. This lead to a prequel book showing how the Tomb Raider first met our original character, the dangerous Wu-Chen Li. Impressed with TEARS, James offered me a modeling gig for his creation Paula Peril. Liking the photos, he wanted to put together a film short based on his “Trapped In the Flames” script to use as a test. The multitude of feedback at the 2007 New York Comic Con was that of wanting to see more, so five episodes with a better budget will be in the works.

FFF: There seems to be this whole new vacuum of women enjoying comic books. Stereotypically these tales where always aimed and marketed towards males. What do you attest the “new” female interest to the comic world based on your personal interests and then your experiences through talking to people (specifically females) at the conventions you attend?

SB: Many inspirational female characters with skill and integrity have come out from all the popular genres: Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Their adventures were very accessible via television and movies, but you have to turn to a different medium when the show comes to an end and only so many feature films are made. After getting into or rediscovering the joys of comic books they become open to other titles. Many women I know from the Xena and Lara cosplay circles were first drawn to the artwork, but then got hooked by the stories.

FFF: Kind of a follow up to the previous question – Considering April is “Women” month at the Bin and the fact we cover comic books, action figures, movies, etc. what is your perspective, experiences, view on what can be changed or done to draw more women into these industries?

SB: I would hire more women writers & illustrators. They bring a different perspective that needs to be heard. I wasn’t the only one dismayed to see that out of about 100 artists at the New York Comic Con, only four were women and none with a special appearance – not even for widely acclaimed Alison Bechdel of FUN HOUSE. Of course I wouldn’t have lacking the Y chromosome the only prerequisite – they would have to be qualified true believers!

FFF: Do you see yourself as a type of role model to young ones out there who would like to do what you do?

SB: I have been contacted by others interested in doing their own projects; some are very young filmmakers including twelve year old Tony Robinson from Ireland who has become one of TEARS biggest fans. For them I do offer a heads up on what can be done and how many problems can be avoided during the Comic Con Films Schools in San Diego and San Francisco or through email. To them I say follow your bliss! To have passion and be inspired is a great gift so enjoy it.

FFF: Based on your pic on your MySpace – when are you going to make that Wonder Woman Fan Film!?! – meaning you look great as that character!!!

SB: Thank you! For years I shied away from portraying her despite what friends said, because I wanted her to be done well. After seeing others in the star-spangled bloomers I finally decided to have my fun trying to perfect my image of her. I was going to be patient and wait for the Hollywood flick with one of my favorite storytellers, Joss Whedon at the helm, but we all know now that’s not going to happen. So let me announce here that I am in pre-production on a currently untitled Wonder Woman script with my new writing partner Chris Mason, co-founder of Superhero Hype. I have also enlisted the lovely Vera Vanguard as the Amazon Artemis. With a Navy Seals instructor friend of mine, Bill McClelland, we will begin fight choreography practice this month.

Our film will be mine and Chris’ personal take on Wonder Woman, but in the spirit of George Perez’s run that first attracted me to her and drawing from the awesome visuals of Adam Hughes’ work. Bruce Timm of the animated Justice League inspires us too. We are going to keep tight lipped on the details for now, but I can say a new WW costume is in the works as well as other plans which are very ambitious.

FFF: That is awesome to hear! Do you have a really bizarre or strange experience with a fan or situation at a con?

SB: I know others that have had regrettable experiences, but I myself have been pretty lucky. Most people are a joy to meet and normally I am not alone which probably helps. I guess it is a bit bizarre when, for instance, a guy runs up to me saying he has a sick buddy stuck at home in Canada. He took a picture of me on his cell, and handed me the phone to talk to him unexpectedly. It was nice being able to cheer up a sick guy I never met from a few thousand miles away. Of course the fans that I delight in meeting the most are the kids. For that experience of seeing their eyes light when they see me as their favorite character I have no words to describe other than pure happiness.

FFF: Outside the world of the fanboy (or is that fanperson now?) what films or other jobs are you working on and what do you have on tap that you can tell us about?

SB: I am also working with photographer/stylist Roger Gania James on a makeover series that transforms folks from all walks of life into classic Hollywood Glamour style of the 1930’s and 1940’s. It is currently being shopped around by producers at Univision, TCM and Lifetime. This week I did a photo shoot for Geek Monthly and the soon to be re-launched Femme Fatales magazine.

FFF: What would your ultimate role be in any medium and an ultimate budget what film would you want to make, what character would you die to play?

SB: I would drop everything in my life to reach down deep inside myself and work in any capacity to bring about a great Wonder Woman film. As far as directors go, I would still like to see Joss Whedon but would have Adam Hughes writing it. Be sure to check out Adam’s All Star Wonder Woman series – I LOVE what he has in store for us!!

The runner up would be Modesty Blaise, a new favorite of mine from the 1960’s comic strip who is the ultimate survivor. Quentin Tarantino currently has the film rights but it is Robert Rodriguez I would love to see take the reins.

FFF: You have the final word – anything else you would like to share you think our readers at the BIN would be interested in?

SB: I find it interesting that it seems the film industry is listening to and tapping into the fan base now more than ever. Major motion pictures have MySpaces pages which you never would have seen two years ago. Independent films and ideas spawned by those who have genuine passion for the comics, stories, and films they watch are becoming the starting point for new major motion pictures…there’s been no better time than now to be a FAN!