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The Joy of Fan Films

Ah the fan film. The true sign that someone is a hard-core Geek. How many "normal" people would spend hard earned money, time, and effort on a movie that only the makers and a few folks would watch and enjoy? To say nothing of the fact that said movie maker can never…ever…ever make any money off the movie. Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada. In fact, the act of making any money off said fan film would cost the filmmakers money as the copyright owners would sue the pants off the poor misguided Geek. So why the hell do we enjoy making movies centered in our favorite worlds, with our favorite characters knowing that we can’t do anything with it? Simple, were Geeks and we love these characters and worlds. We like it even more when we can mix genres and characters. Take the title above, taken from a great Star Wars / Office Space fan film. Sure the quality isn’t what the typical American movie audience is used to, but it’s damn funnier then most of the crap coming out of Hollywood. The fan film is also a great opportunity for Geeks to poke fun at each other. What? How can we mock and poke fun at ourselves? Aaron, you ask… Aren’t you always bitching about getting some respect from the straights. Let me let you in on a little secret, well…a couple of secrets.

One: We know we’re dorks, and while we may circle the wagons when a jock approaches, we like nothing better then to make fun of ourselves.

Two: We really don’t want real acceptance from the straights. We love the fact that you’re respectful to our face, but snicker about how weird we are when we turn our backs. What was once a bag of pain is now a badge of honor. Plus, we know that Geeks run the world anyway, we just let you play in it.

Anyway, back to fan films. The reason we like to make them is that it’s just damn fun. It lets us act out all our goofy fantasies while claiming that we are honing our writing and/or filming skills. To a point this is true. A fan film is a good way to try out new camera techniques, editing equipment, and props without risking large amounts of money or time on "real" movie projects. Fun is the main reason though. Even you non-geeks must yield to the fact that seeing Jedi’s fight with lightsabers in a Matrix style environment is damn cool sounding. Well it is, and that’s exactly what a fan film allows. There are a small handful of folks out there that have used fan films as a springboard to real jobs in the entertainment industry. Some of the most well known being Sandy Collora who shot the amazing Batman: Dead End, (a film that captures the mood and image of Batman better then ANY other version ever put to celluloid). The kid who made the fake Episode 2 trailer, (the rumor being that the quality was so good he was offered a job at Lucasarts). Kevin Rubio of TROOPS fame, (one of the greatest spoofs ever and landed him some writing work in comics). Finally, the Star Wars Kid, (sure, his life sucks now, but mark my words… He will be GOLD in about ten years. You hang in there buddy).

The greatest thing about fan films though, in this humble Geeks opinion, has nothing to do with career advancement, or working with like minded people, or even getting to pretend your a Jedi (although that is friggen cool). No, the greatest thing about fan films is their honesty. Fan films are made with a real passion and love for the topic. It doesn’t matter what the film is about. It doesn’t matter if the filmmakers are making a spoof, an action, a horror, or a dramatic fan film. It doesn’t matter if the acting is bad and the effects look like an old Land of the Lost episode. None of that matters because fan films are made without the slightest hint of irony or "hipness". The people involved in fan films aren’t trying to be cool by acting like a dorks and making cheesy films. And yes, pretending to be a Geek is an attempt to look cool and hip. Don’t believe me? Take a walk into any Hot Topic and
ask what the best selling shirts are… It ain’t the "goth" stuff anymore friends.

As long as there are Geeks and cameras there will be fan films. As long as Hollywood continues to make poor sequels to our favorite characters there will be fan films. No matter how hard some studios may try, fans will never stop making fan films (and studios would be wise to support said fan movies, a topic I will tackle next time). Have I, your friendly neighborhood Geek, made any fan films? What do you think? Let’s just say I make a mean Bounty Hunter…and I only use disentagrations.

On a side note, I wanted to give a big shout out and congratulations to Rick Emerson and Joni DeRouchie as well as all the cast and crew of Remote Control; recently chosen to show at the New York International Film Festival. And, a big thanks to EVERYONE who supported the movie. Portland does indeed represent!

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