I love stories like Shane Felux’s. He’s a regular guy who got together with some friends to shoot a little fan film called “Star Wars: Revelations.” The film became a cult hit on the web and attracted more than 3 million downloads in less than 2 months. It was featured in major media outlets like CNN, Entertainment Weekly, MSNBC and others. His follow-up “Pitching Lucas” won the George Lucas Selects and Audience Choice award in 2006. The first film to win both top awards. Now he has teamed up with the new ABC-Disney Stage 9 Project to bring his latest film, a sci-fi thriller – Trenches to a YouTube video near you.

Trenches is a 10 episode original series produced for Stage 9. Each 2-4 minute episode will be available in both SD and HD formats.

An interplanetary war between the Rossdale Alliance and the Kuzaa Federation has been raging for generations. Lieutenant Nathan Andrews is a soldier with a relatively simple mission: retrieve his fellow soldiers from a losing battle before being overrun by enemy forces. After a ravenous crash landing, he is stranded with a misfit squad of surviving soldiers while something evil and alien lurks in the shadow of the planet’s trenches. The squad of soldiers find themselves in a race against time where they will put aside an age-old conflict and band together in a last attempt at survival.

Trenches stars Mercy Malick as Captain Racine; Aaron Mathias as Lt. Andrews; Micci Sampery as Lt. Greig; Lev Gorn as Captain Traina; Hong Chau as Specialty Wing; Daz Crawford as Sergeant Verro; Kelley Slagle as Specialty Boyens; Scott Nankivel as Pfc. Janeski; Tom Reuel as Specialty Resnikoff; Orlando Williams as Msg. Drayce; Chaney Tullos as Private Del Amico; Paul Stober as Captain Samson. I caught up with Shane at the recent New York Comic-Con and had a quick Q and A with him. He’s a really cool and interesting guy.  Read the interview after the break.

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For better or worse, Eric Kripke, the creator, Executive Producer and writer of CW’s popular series Supernatural has made the fans an important part of his show, and not just as ratings numbers.  He has often stated that he has a roadmap for the series, a core story that he wants to tell, which he has never wavered from.  “It’s the saga of the Winchester clan — who the brothers really are, who their parents really are, why Demons are so closely intertwined with them, and what their destiny really is. It’s an epic, emotional, family story at its heart.”  Outside of that core story there are elements that come and go and his writing team is flexible enough to make those adjustments.  He states that a decision to keep or discard a storyline combines elements of writers’ opinion, the realities of actors’ schedules, and even opinions of the fans on occasion.  Fan response is valued such that when they overwhelmingly reject something across multiple online forums, it is given proper attention.  “There’s always room to make the show better, and that means trying new things, keeping the things that work, losing the things that don’t.”

This humble admission truly elevates Eric Kripke to a unique position among showrunners.  If the excellent writing, acting and directing were not enough to entice the viewer, then feeling like an integral part of the creative process certainly is.  That and the fact that Eric appears to be a fan’s best friend — someone to sit down with, share a cup of coffee, and have an open exchange of ideas for story elements that are past, present and future.

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In honor of this week’s return of new episodes of Supernatural following the extended hiatus caused by the writer’s strike, we hear from the showrunner himself answering fan questions.

Few people would remember the name of Oscar Levant from the 1930’s and 40’s but there is no doubt that many are familiar with one of his most famous quotes:  there is a fine line between genius and insanity. And these are the most widely used adjectives that fans have applied when referring to Eric Kripke, the creator, Executive Producer, writer, and even one-time director of CW’s popular series Supernatural. The show revolves around the adventures of the Winchester brothers as they strive to carry out their motto of Saving People, Hunting Things — the Family Business.  It features unique paranormal hunts based on widely accepted urban legends, playing alongside unexpected plot twists that fans have often labeled as <genius>.  Equally, some of those plot twists bringing changes to the successful formula of the show have been seriously questioned to the point of being labeled as <insanity>.  It appears Oscar may have been right… a fine line indeed!  (more…)

Warner Home Video (WHV) announced today that the provocative, black-comedy OTIS, the fourth feature under the Raw Feed production banner, will have its world premiere on opening day of the 15^th edition of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference & Festival in Austin, Texas.  The film, along with Columbia Pictures’ 21 (starring Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth), was selected from a record number of entries to kick off the prestigious nine day festival March 7 with a special midnight showing.  The release plan for OTIS, the fourth feature under the Raw Feed production banner, may include a limited theatrical or midnight show run prior to being released in an uncut version on Blu-ray Hi-Def and DVD this summer. The first three Raw Feed films have sold more than one million DVD units to date.

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Hey, Hardcore Queen here at E For All in LA, the newest Gaming event in LA. The producers of the event envision this show to be as large as E3 only focused on the consumers instead of industry folks. When I first walked into the hall, I felt like I was transported back into time. Like it was E3 all over again, even though I railed against the show every year, I find that I really miss it. There was a nice little welcome, as you walk into the doors there was a band performing music. Entering the hall you immediately realize it isn’t E3, there isn’t the E3 crowds there are no packed hallways, no circus atmosphere, outside the South Hall there was almost no indication that anything was happening within the convention center, just a couple of small tents from Novint Tech who were showcasing their amazing new Falcon PC Controller. (more…)