Before you read this, you should know that this post might inspire jealousy:
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to attend Crackle.com‘s American Cinematheque event at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Crackle’s first original series, The Bannen Way, 16 Web-episodes in length, was thrown onto the big screen as a full-length movie. And it looked fantastic. (You can check out my interview with creators and cast at the bottom of this post).
If you’re not already there, here’s the first reason why you should be feeling the pangs of envy: my experience last Friday was bigger than a screening for a well-written, skillfully-shot series about a con man gone good. What I really saw was the materialization of the Web colliding with film. Sure, I’ve seen Web shows screened as full length movies before, and it’s not news that aspiring filmmakers turn to the Web in hopes of gaining credibility as directors and screenwriters… but for The Bannen Way crew this dream is actually becoming a reality. This screening was living proof that the lines between the online and theatrical mediums are blurring. That’s a pretty incredible thing to witness (commence jealousy).
The Bannen Way has come across some serious Web success, having wracked up way over 8 million streams since it’s online debut. It’s an amazing feat for co-creators Jesse Warren and Mark Gantt, because although Sony-backed Crackle opened a lot of doors for the duo, Bannen Way was their first ever Web project. (See? If you weren’t jealous before, you are now). This won’t be the last we see of Mark and Jesse. If they could land names like Michael Lerner, Robert Forster, and Michael Ironside for Bannen (all of whom raved that the riveting script is what brought them on board), just think of what they’ll be able to pump out next time around.
Crackle is hoping to meet similar success with their newest original series, Trenches, a sci-fi thriller created by Shane Felux that focuses on what war might really look like in the future. Rest assured: Trenches is not your typical “pew!-pew!”-instant-death-at-the-hands-of-a-laser-gun sci-fi battle.. this is full on filthy warfare, and that’s part of the point. Content creators want to look credible, and Felux has made a distinct effort to tweak a pre-conceived genre toward authenticity.
It looks like Felux’s hard work has paid off. We got a sneak peek of Trenches at the screening on Friday, but it’s online now so you should definitely check it out for yourself!
If you made it to the bottom of this post without skipping straight to the video, congratulate yourself, because you’re my favorite reader. But without further adieu, get a glimpse of my Friday night at the Egyptian:
[vimeo clip_id=9513953 width="480" height="270"]
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