Sometimes the stars align, the cosmos has a little orgasm, and the right directors, producers, writers, and actors join together to make a feature film that is simply magical. Some of these projects become instant hits. Some become cult classics. Others find their audiences slowly, but eventually become a part of everyone’s film library. No matter how the magical films find an audience, they all share one thing in common – they were actually released.
Recently, as Hollywood has become increasingly uninterested in taking risks, more and more filmmakers are going the “do-it-yourself” route. While making their films, videos, or web-series, they are also drumming up interest and funding via the internet through online video advertising, online product placement, through the use of video blogging websites and through participation in forums, conventions, or events, related to their productions. This often means that the buzz surrounding even a small independent project can be pretty incredibly high before its release. Especially if the online push to promote the film is well orchestrated. However, as the projects are independently produced, all of the buzz can amount to, well, zero. Below are three recent projects that have generated huge hype, but have never been released.
Shot in the Northwest during the summer of 2010, “Knights of Badassdom” follows a group of LARPers who accidentally summon a succubus during a weekend event. The cast is ridiculous, and includes Summer Glau (“Firefly”, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”), Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood”), Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”), Danni Pudi (“Community”) and Steve Zahn (“Diary of a Wimpy Kid”), among many others. In 2011, the production team and cast made a trip to Comic-Con, where they showed a trailer and clips, and the response was insane. Everyone and their uncle wrote about the film. The cast and director, Joe Lynch, were interviewed incessantly about the process of making a feature film, about LARPers and LARPing. It seemed like the film was poised for release. Fast forward to the summer of 2012, and there’s nothing. Various sites from io9 to Wired to Hey U Guys in the UK, have all wondered what happened to one of the most anticipated films of 2011. The website for the film offers few clues. The site administrator just keeps changing the project release date, but no new content has been added in months. There have been rumbles, and occasional postings from frustrated producers who have not received any of their promised returns. There are also rumors that the production team is trying to form a shell company for the film. Whatever the reasons for the delay, the end appears to be nowhere in sight.
Ben Browder became a cult hero by appearing on the show Farscape that put SyFy on the map, back when it was still called “The SciFi Channel”. The star of the Henson Company series, “FarScape”, Ben Browder, as John Crichton, battled alien life forms, his own inner demons, and an on-again/off-again love affair with Aeryn Sun, played by Claudia Black. The show was very unceremoniously canceled while the cast was shooting the final episode of their fourth season, and was wrapped up via two television movies. He then went on to gain a wider fan base, appearing as Cameron Mitchell on “Stargate: SG1”. He disappeared for a bit after “SG1’s" end, and except for rumors that he was making a feature film, the actor went on hiatus. So his fans were very excited when it was announced in early 2011 that he would be appearing as Nick Naught in a new noir webseries called “Naught for Hire”. The interactive website looked awesome, and the first photos of Mr. Browder as Nick Naught piqued everyone’s interest. Fast forward to late summer 2012. The website has been rearranged a little. An e-book has been published featuring Nick Naught. Some additional cast members have been added. Other than that, “Naught for Hire”, which has been listed as “in production” on IMDB for almost two years, is still in limbo.
Joss Whedon is an undeniable god. He has written and directed some of the best television in recent memory. His web musical “Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog” revolutionized what people believed could be accomplished with web content. He wrote and directed this summer’s hit release, “The Avengers”, which, as of June, had raked in over $1.4 billion at the box office worldwide, and had become the highest grossing comic book movie ever. Somewhere amongst all of this awesomeness, he revealed that he had completed making a feature film version of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”. The cast is made up almost entirely of actors from his previous shows, including Nathan Fillion, Sean Maher, Alexis Denisoff, and Amy Acker, and was shot in his home, in black and white. His fans have been waiting for the project’s release since the first photos emerged online in October of 2011, after a secret 12-day shoot. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on who you are, since principal photography wrapped, Mr. Whedon has become the new “It” writer/director/producer. “The Avengers” was not the only successful film on which he worked this year. “Cabin in the Woods”, a horror film that he co-wrote and produced, was an early summer hit. He also co-wrote the well-received documentary “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope” which was released this past spring. Whether he will get a chance to put the finishing touches on “Much Ado About Nothing” anytime soon, remains to be seen.
All we can do at this point is wait, watch, and hope. All three projects sound awesome. According to people who have been lucky enough to see “Knights of Badassdom”, and snippets of “Much Ado”, both films rock the house. Here’s hoping they get their acts together. Until then, we’ll just have to content ourselves with trailers, photos, the random tidbit from video blogging sites, and sacrificing chickens to the gods of production.
