SDCC 2015 – Con Man Trailer Released at Show Panel

After a hugely successful Indiegogo campaign and months of anticipation from fans, the trailer for the upcoming web series Con Man was released at the show’s Comic Con panel on Thursday, hosted by Nerdist’s Chris Hardwick. Con Man is a sort of spoof on the popular, yet short live Sci-Fi show Firefly and the lives of its actors after its cancelation. The show revolves around Wray Nerely (Alan Tudyk,) an actor who played a pilot on the canceled Sci-Fi show Spectrum alongside the ship’s captain Jack Moore (Nathan Fillion). Jack has gone on to be wildly successful, while Wray is still very much stuck in his past, begrudgingly attending conventions to celebrate his one and only successful project. Naturally, Wrey is more than a little upset about his lack of a colorful resume.

The release of the trailer brings in even more exciting news. While the Indiegogo campaign released many big names that would be on the project (Seth Green, Felicia Day, James Gunn and Gina Torres,) even more stars were announced during the panel and can be seen in the trailer. The cast list includes Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica), Amy Acker (Angel, Dollhouse), Joss Whedon, Sean Maher (Firefly, Eastsiders), Seth Green (Family Guy/Austin Powers), Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers), Jewel Staite, (Firefly), Summer Glau (Firefly, Terminator: SCC), and Sean Astin (Lord of The Rings.) 

The web series will be released exclusively on Vimeo On Demand for $14.99 and is available for pre-order. It’s curious that fans will have to pay for the show, as web series are usually free. It is especially strange given the Whedonverse routes that this is coming out of. Joss Whedon’s web series Doctor Horrible Sing-A-Long Blog was first released for free before going to DVD as was Felicia Day’s The Guild which is still available to watch on YouTube. With the $3.2 million that was raised for the project, one would think Con Man could afford to go the same route. Regardless, the show still seems to be worth every penny.

Shot from Spectrum.

Tudyk has sacrificed a lot for this project. He originally brought it to a television network but was unsuccessful, which led him to take to Indiegogo instead. He even loss his agents over the show because he decided to take time off during pilot season to dedicate himself to the production of the show. “My agents fired me,” Tudyk said. “I said, ‘I can do something in six months.’ They said, ‘Yeeeaaah, we’d be happy for you to do that with someone else.’ ” Tudyk took the risk anyway. This show means the world to him.

The most difficult part for Tudyk was getting people outside of his friend group involved. Many agents are wary of web content and wouldn’t even tell their client that they had been approached for the project. They didn’t want to take the risk, much like his own agents. “There is a sort of firewall,” Hardwick said about how the agent/talent dynamic sometimes works. Tudyk said that he is hoping that Con Man will show the film industry just how lucrative the web can be. Felicia Day believes it could “blow up the world the way Doctor Horrible did.” So far, this doesn’t seem like a far off claim.

Another cool thing that came out of the panel was a marriage proposal between leading visual effects artist Billy Brooks and makeup artist Barry Bishop after Tudyk invited them on stage. Bishop tearfully said yes. “We were born and raised in the deep south, and now we can go to our home states and get married,” Brookes said.

Photo by Comic Book Resource

Things are definitely looking awesome for this group of creators. Con Man will release September 30. There is no word yet on Bishop and Brookes’ wedding date, but is certain to be equally exciting.

Denver Comic Con 2015 – Buffy/Doctor Horrible Shadowcast

Panel Name: Buffy-Horrible Picture Show

Topic: Shadowcasters silently act out Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s “Once More With Feeling” and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog while it plays in the background (similar to Rocky Horror Picture Show).

Featured Guest: The Rocky Mountain Whedon Shadowcasters.

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Members of The Rocky Mountain Whedon Shadowcasters hit the Main Events stage at Denver Comic Con 2015 May 23rd for the first time this year. While the troupe has performed at other Denver pop culture conventions such as Starfest, this show was by far the its biggest. Its double feature shadowcast of Doctor Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog followed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s musical episode Once More With Feeling is always a big hit at Starfest. It was no surprise when the turnout for the show was large at DCC.

“Now the monster’s real.” Photo by Connor Mudd at Puddle Photography.

The show had a very casual feel. It was all about having fun with the fans. While many actors have their lip-syncing down to a science, others simply mimed the actions of their on screen counterparts. The costumes were more approximate than dead-on and some of the entrances and exits were a little too late, but regardless of the less-than-perfect nature of the show, it is extremely fun to watch. The best performance was given by Michael Jasper in the role of Dr. Horrible whose lip-syncing was indistinguishable from the actual audio. It took audience members a few minutes to realize he was just mouthing the words. Close to follow his performance was Karl Brevik as Spike who not only embodies the character flawlessly in both his lip-syncing and movement, but is also actually British. That’s something even James Marsters can’t say! Josh Whitby also had amazing energy as both Captain Hammer and Xander and Genae Gerardi made a wonderful Buffy. Overall, the performance was a lot of fun for any fan. There were even a few jokes for those unfamiliar with the two productions, such as an appearance by Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow as Dr. Horrible sang the lyrics “It’s not a death ray or an icebeam / That’s all Johnny Snow.”

“Let Me Rest In Peace!” Photo by Connor Mudd at Puddle Photography.

RMWS first performed at StarFest 2009, a little less than a year after Doctor Horrible first came out. Originally organized by Michael Newman, the show started as a small panel room production without the inclusion of Once More With Feeling. “I was dressed as ‘Dead Penny’,” says now director Erin Card who met her husband through the show. “[he] was one of the Doctor Horribles… and [the other cast members] were like, ‘Hey, Penny, come on down. Act this out!’ ” The first production had only five cast members. From there, Card became an integral part of the production, the role of director being past down to her. Later on, the cast would come to Card asking to add Once More With Feeling to the show. Having never seen BTVS at the time, Card was hesitant to include what would become the second half of the show, but ultimately decided to give it the go ahead.

Jon Snow makes special appearance. Photo by Connor Mudd at Puddle Photography.

“I like performing in plays, but that can be really nerve-wracking to remember your lines and blocking and to have people only watching you,” says Lara Griffith who plays Willow in Once More With Feeling. “When you are doing a performance of something you love and know by heart and the audience knows by heart and it’s playing in the background so you aren’t the only thing people are watching, it makes it more fun and easy.  Plus everyone is incredibly nice and accepting.  We’re all there to just have a good time.” And it shows. The cast of this show is from all over Colorado, which makes rehearsing difficult. This means the entire production has to come together in what is essentially one rehearsal. Card hopes to make the show even more professional as the years go on, adding more than one rehearsal into the mix and detailed choreography. She says they are always looking for new cast members, but as of now the main cast is made up of veterans of the show. There’s a general consensus that if one actor has a lead in one part of the show, they’ll have a minor role in the next. For example, Griffith plays Willow in Once More With Feeling but in Doctor Horrible plays the small role of a news anchor.

If you haven’t seen this performance, it is likely they will be back at DCC next year, or you can always catch them at Starfest at their midnight showing in Main Events. This is one of those fan productions you definitely have to see if you’re a Whedon fan. Despite its low budget look, it’s an incredible hour and a half of fun.

Weekend Wrap-Up… February 16, 2014

The Toy Fair 2014 is happening this weekend in NYC.  Unfortunately, we aren’t there, but have already decided to blow all of our money on the cool stuff displayed.  Good-bye future paychecks.  See what made us drool here, there and everywhere.

Arrow was renewed for a season 3.  Duh.

Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy join acting forces in the BBC show Peaky Binders, a gangster drama set just after WWI.  Peaky Binders is often compared to Boardwalk Empire.  Should viewers wonder if the water supply will be poisoned?

The Assassin’s Creed franchise is going to release a strategic board game.  It seems like a board game version of the online play as players race over each other to get kills.  It sounds exhilarating.

Ellen Page came out.  And grown men wept.  But we say, good for her!

Jed Whedon finally spoke up about the sequel to Dr. Horrible.  He was incredibly specific, too.

Attention Litchfield inmates: Orange is the New Black season 2 has an official premiere date and teaser.  It’s safe to say that fans of the dramedy should take June 6th off, because let’s face it, you will veg on your couch and watch all the episodes in one sitting.

Nike is releasing the power laces from Back to the Future next year.  2015 happens to be the year the shoes are from, so how cool is that?!

Kickstarter was hacked.  Perhaps the hacker had an account to fund his hacking?  Too soon?

The animated series Star Wars: Rebels will introduce a new character named Kanan.  Check out the cowboy Jedi here.

Alyson Hannigan and Tom Papa are going to star in a comedy written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.  We don’t really know what else to say.  It just seemed important to report.

UDON is releasing an impressive-looking Street Fighter comic book for Free Comic Book Day this year.

Goosebumps is gonna be a movie.  Starring Jack Black, this film should be insta-nostalgic for all mid-20 somethings.

Coming soon to Mac: Marvel Heroes.  Being a Mac has never been cooler.

In Forever Evil, the demise of Power Ring sent his… power ring… in search of a new owner. Well, thanks to Geoff Johns’ interview with IGN, we know who is filling those shoes.

Give an emotional and adolescent Kryptonian a Red Lantern ring, and you are looking for trouble. Check out issue #28 of Supergirl to find out more.

The Walking Dead is on right now.  Check out our review later tonight!

written by Adrian Puryear and Sherif Elkhatib