The ANA Project: ANAVENGERS ASSEMBLE!
Written by DC
Welcome to The Geek Beat, your weekly serving of Geek on Toast... and let's face it, what doesn't taste better on toast? I once had a friend that used to eat Mars Bar on toast; we ridiculed him at the time but looking back now I realise that he'd simply uncovered one of life's great truths light years before we did: everything tastes better on toast. Geek on Toast was actually one of the other names on the shortlist for this blog back when I started it at the turn of the year... but The Geek Beat trumped it in the end, probably because I figured that writing under a toast-based title all the time would make me perpetually hungry.
In this week's blog I'm talking about ANA. She's not real - at least, she's not real yet. Presently, she exists solely within the confines of a kind of shared mind - I like to think of it as the ANA Brain Trust. Although I'm the writer of the comic book/film project, everything I create gets filtered through the other two lead players in our production team and then further beyond that through artists and costume designers; production managers and storyboard artists; our talented team add their take on things before she walks her refined self back into my life, a little different but a good different.
In that way it's kind of like a triple-distillation method. A purification process. My dad and I once triple-distilled some chilli vodka over a period of a few months. When we finally decided it was time to test it out and take a hit, it was very nearly the end of us. Remember that gun in Fallout: New Vegas - the Fat Man? It was a legendary shoulder-cannon that actually fired mini-nukes: you'd pop off a round and Voila! Forth would pop the minutest of mushroom clouds - small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and yet powerful enough to obliterate even God himself. Hit the jump for a demo:
Nothing like the smell of napalm in the morning... and my kind of mushrooms for breakfast!
This particular devil's brew was the Fat Man of chilli vodkas. It was scorched earth in a shot glass: knocking a slug back left a nuclear shadow in your throat and moved your Doomsday Clock that much closer to midnight. One of my buddies literally ate dirt after his first hit in a mole-like attempt to relieve the burn. It became my party trick to swig it with a straight face before handing it over to some poor challenger who'd eye my nonchalant reaction and think they could take the heat. Cue screaming and cursing; sometimes there'd be vomit. Burny vomit that would sear the very ground it tainted like the xenomorph's blood in Alien.
Karma came calling though and I paid in kind for all those souls that I harvested in the name of the Chilli God: I lapsed into a drunken stupor with the cursed drink in my lap one night; the flask leaked and atomic fire slowly puddled into my lap. When I awoke an incandescent inferno had alighted within my nether regions; it was like God's vengeful wrath had manifested inside my man parts... and this wasn't happy-clappy-New-Testament-God: this was Old-Testament-circumcise-yourself-with-a-blunt-flint-'cos-it amuses-me-God.
I won't go into the particulars of that night other than to say that it was long, arduous and utterly miserable. On the bright side though, I was at least told by an ambulance person that I had the weirdest injury they'd seen in a while... I'm mainly past it now; the nightmares have more or less stopped, although to this day I can't hear the Kings of Leon's Sex on Fire without wincing a little.
But I digress.
ANA's Brain Trust. There are three of us behind the wheel of this would-be juggernaut, and more beyond that. Artists; a costume designer; a production manager; a director of photography and more. Creating comics and films has always been a collaborative process and this is no different. In the coming months I mean to use this blog to introduce you to this assembled mass of talent; to document (and hopefully provide some insight into) the creative process as we slowly peel the lid off this Pandora's box and reveal what's inside...
For those of you that are new to the blog, once in a while I take a week out of reviewing what's going on in the world of comics and video games to focus instead on personal projects that I'm involved with. ANA is by far the most ambitious of these. It's a futuristic, post-civilisation comic book/film hybrid that we're looking to bring to life in the coming months. But we need your help. Right now, the project is still in embryo; scripts have been written, conferences held and this summer, we'll be taking some exciting steps to bring ANA to life. Every time you read my blog; every follower we get online; every retweet you put out there into the TwitterSphere is edging us closer to realising the dream of making ANA a reality. If you're reading this now, in May 2015 - you're here with us at the beginning of something special.
I want to say "ANAvengers Assemble!" ...but that would probably be lame, right?
We're still cooler than these Avengers. Wait, is Iron Man's suit built out of booze boxes? It is Tony Stark!
So, allow me to introduce you to a few members of the ANA team. We are quite loveable, so should you want to hug your screen as we smile out at you as a kind of digital proxy for us... we're totally fine with that. Just hugging though, okay?
DAN
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR/ACTOR
@V_DAN_P
Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I am a part-time independent film producer and actor. My passion for film has driven me to take part in a couple of great feature films and has given me the knowledge to produce my own small indie films.
What are your post-civilisation influences across the media?
My influence on the subject is widely mixed. The way this has been imagined or illustrated by others has obviously always been bleak. With great films like 'Mad Max' and 'Book of Eli' to name two of my favourites, along with a few comics... we always see a dull world with a diminished population suddenly gain a glimmer of hope...
Tell us about your hopes for the ANA project:
My hopes for this project (realistically) are quite high as there is a large audience for this kind of thing. After meeting comic writer DC, and having a thorough understanding of his ability to write amazing comic book stories, and seeing what our illustrator Max Ruffino is capable of creating, combined with my knowledge and understanding of the filming industry, it just makes for an amazing cocktail as these are all the right ingredients to make this a truly amazing and enjoyable project.
Talk us through some of your past projects:
As mentioned, I've been fortunate enough to have worked on a couple of feature film sets and performed in a few small projects with extraordinarily talented professionals. From there I developed an understanding of how to put projects together and learned more about understanding the mechanics of it. I've produced and performed in a small number of short films that have given me that extra experience to help me on future projects.
What do you anticipate being the toughest challenge that ANA will pose?
The toughest challenge for me on developing this project will be a number of elements: from generating awareness to making a film worthy of matching the high quality of the illustrated comic; making a truly authentic, epic and beautifully captured motion picture on a non-Hollywood budget will be our biggest challenge. As this will be my directorial début, having a team that can help me deliver on the visuals I have set for this will be a challenge in itself - though it will be an amazing one that I'm really looking forward to. Along with directing this amazing piece, developing one of the characters that I will also be playing will be somewhat of a challenge, although that will be more of a physical one. Getting deep into the mind of the character and developing him is something that I'm used to and enjoy doing.
What elements of the story are you excited about bringing to life?
Personally, every aspect of this project is exciting me! From collaborating and developing the ideas with the others to sorting through the amazing artwork that Max is illustrating and making this all come to life. Creating a general idea for myself as to how I'd like the film to look is also really exciting. The others have a lot of faith in me to deliver and I don't want to disappoint!
DC
PRODUCER/WRITER
@VertigoDC
@VertigoDC
Tell us a little bit about yourself:
Amongst other things I'm a writer... or at least I pretend to be. I lost the other letters in my name in a freak childhood boating accident. Don't cry for me though, I've carved out quite a fine life for myself all things considered...
What are your post-civilisation influences across the media?
I've covered this in an earlier blog! Who wrote these questions? Right. Of course I did. Go read Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'. That's a good start. Maybe play the 'Fallout' series, 'The Last of Us' and 'Destiny' (the latter from an aesthetic perspective purely). Movies? '12 Monkeys' and 'Akira' would be a good place to start.
Tell us about your hopes for the ANA project:
Like any writer starting out I want to see ideas that grew from my mind (and the minds of my fellow collaborators) take hold in the hearts of our audience; I want to amaze them; I want them to believe in this story the way that I do.
Talk us through some of your past projects:
I'm the rookie in the team when it comes to experience. Although I'm juggling several projects simultaneously at the moment, none of them are what I'd call finished. I have another screenplay in the works, a mythic comic book anthology series and an unfinished novel all in various states of completion. What can I say? I go where the ideas are! Oh, I also write a regular blog. But you already knew that.
What do you anticipate being the toughest challenge that ANA will pose?
Some of the numbers that the other guys in the Brain Trust talk about make my head spin - the budgets seem monumental. But they seem confident we can do this and I trust them. We've eaten many biscuits together and in doing so forged a lifelong brotherhood of loyalty.
What elements of the story are you excited about bringing to life?
The characters. Without a doubt. The high-concept approach is the thing that might initially draw the attention of the audience but it's the strength of the characters that really underpins the story. I can't wait for you to meet them.
PRANAV
PRODUCER
@PlayboyFysicist
Tell us a little bit about yourself:@PlayboyFysicist
I'm a teacher. I regard myself as a libertarian socialist, feminist and everything else that's awesome.
What are your post-civilisation influences across the media?
Well, I don't want to say 'Mad Max' like everyone else says. I'd like to say... 'Waterworld' but no, I'm kidding - it's the worst film ever.
What does the ANA project mean to you?
To me, it's a chance to bring feminist ideas into the light; to express this story through various mediums and be collaborative - to take filmmaking and comic book creation and make it accessible to everybody.
What excites you most about this project?
The fact that we're changing perceptions of film and comic books; of women; of stories and storytelling at a grass roots level.
Which aspects of the story are you looking forward to bringing to life?
For me, it's all about the strong female characters. Absolutely, it's about having the anti-Bechdel test in there. And for me, looking at the way religion is presented in the story also excites me. I think ANA is part me... actually it's part of my name: PrANAv!
MAX
ARTIST
Tell us about yourself:
I am an independent illustrator and have a background in decorative painting.
After my receiving my diploma from the Institute of Art in Catania and the Academy of Fine Arts, I worked on countless projects including commissions (private and otherwise) around Italy.
Currently I am working on my own personal project, the ‘Dreams Project’ is a collection of short futuristic stories hovering between Dreams and Reality. The style has been developed as ‘A work of Unconventional style’ using different techniques and a mixture of materials that have allowed me create suggestive images that are never dull.
What are your influences across the media?
My sources of inspiration are varied across cinema, comics, illustrations for children and above all the great masters of the comic world.
What are your favourite artists and comics?
I could dwell for hours to list the artists in the world of comics that I love... but certainly among them are Moebius, Sergio Toppi, Andrea Pazienza, Jack Kirby, John Buscema, Kent Williams, Bill Sienkiewicz, Dave Mckean, Katsuhiro Otomo, Jacovitti, Guido Crepax, Mike Mignola and Hugo Pratt.
I will stop here. But there are many others that I love as much as these big names.
My favourite comics are for sure all those released by the creators mentioned above, but if I have to name a few in particular, I would say: 'Elektra: Assassin' by Miller and Sienkiewicz; 'Corto Maltese' (all) by Hugo Pratt; 'Kamandi' by Jack Kirby; 'Silver Surfer' by John Buscema; 'Akira' by Otomo; 'Airtight Garage' by Moebius; 'Pentotal' by Andrea Pazienza and 'The collector' by Sergio Toppi.
How did you get involved in the project
I was contacted by my good friend Daniel Pellegrino, one of the creators of the project. I love his vision for the film’s concept: he will be directing it and he personally wanted me to create the characters and the environments for the comic. I had to jump on board as it was simply too great to turn down. Writer DC has also done an amazing job in writing this masterpiece and giving me a platform to work off.
What are your visual influences so far when designing the concepts of the characters of ANA?
I personally have a vision for the project with a great but bleak atmosphere ... futuristic in the 'Book of Eli'/'Mad Max'-style... the plot is original and in my opinion developed in the right way could become a real power.
I recently saw a few Marilyn Manson music videos, White Stripes too that had a certain atmosphere about them... I hope to capture these characters in the images that I am preparing. One of the reasons that Daniel certainly asked me to participate in this project is because there are amazing similarities between the way I imagine my stories for the 'Dream Project's' comic and 'ANA'. Perhaps today, many artists feel or fear that our world can be transformed in the near future into a new and terrifying Middle Ages. I'm doing several studies to get in tune with the world of ANA ... and for sure the various films like 'Mad Max', some of the sequences of Terry Gilliam films or the atmosphere of 'The Name of the Rose' by Annaud will give me food for thought in order to accomplish my goals for this project.
MIRANDA
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Tell us a little bit about yourself:
I’m Miranda, in most circles I’m nicknamed Panda. I love science-fiction and horror. I like to write and work on preproduction and production for media projects. In my spare time I’m a Roller Derby referee.
What are your post-civilisation influences across the media?
My post-civilisation influences include films such as '28 Days Later' and 'Dawn of the Dead' as I’m a lover of zombie movies, as well as films like 'Defiance' and 'Mad Max'. From a dystopian point of view, 'Nineteen Eighty-four', 'V for Vendetta', 'Blade Runner' and 'The Dark Crystal'. As well as games 'Left 4 Dead' and 'The Last of Us'.
Tell us about your career so far in film production:
I’m a media graduate with experience of working on a wide variety of short films and independent feature films. The most recent productions I was Production Manager on were 'Sherlock Holmes and the Stolen Emerald' and 'Last Round'.
What sort of specific challenges does a project like this pose?
Finding the right location and dealing with the special effects and stunts!
What elements of the story are you excited about bringing to life?
What attracted me to this project was the unique ways it deals with a dystopian/apocalyptic future and the inner world cultures on show in the story.
LOU
COSTUME DESIGNER
@LouiseDesigns
@LouiseDesigns
Tell us a little bit about yourself:
What are your post-civilisation influences across the media?
Comic Books: 'Judge Dredd', 'Durham Red', 'X-Men', 'V for Vendetta'
Movies: 'Franklyn', 'Book of Eli', 'Resident Evil: Retribution', 'Priest', 'Dredd', 'Hunger Games' and 'Divergent'
Books: '1984', 'A Brave New World', 'Hunger Games' trilogy and 'Divergent' trilogy
Fashion: Burning Man and Wasteland Festivals, Steampunk
Music: Rammstein
How did you get involved with the project?
Through Miranda, who is a friend and colleague. We've worked together on a couple of projects.
Tell us about your career in costume design:
I studied Theatre Design at Wimbledon College of Art and tailored my studies towards costume. My training came in the form of musical theatre and I continued this after college as freelance designer working on productions of The Mikado, Phantom of the Opera, Bugsy Malone, Blue Bird and designing for Opera. I’ve designed for the comedy TV pilot ‘Jobseekers’ which was screened at BAFTA.
I have also been a production designer – my first outing in this guise was on the short comedic steampunk film ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Stolen Emerald’ which has been screened in London, Oxford and at steampunk conventions in America.
I run my own business, 'Louise's Designs' where I design and make costumes and clothes, props and cosplay for myself and clients.
What are your visual influences so far when designing costume concepts for the ANA project?
My visual influences come from all sorts of places, what I see on screen, in fashion magazines and art work. A lot of inspiration comes from what I’m reading – what my mind can conjure up. For this project, dystopian style movies, comic books and festivals are my primary source of inspiration. Burning Man and Wasteland festival fashions are mixture of steampunk, post-industrial and found objects all combined to create eclectic tribal looks and unique costumes. The style is so colourful and original and tells a story for the person as much as the person who wears it.
So, that's the team, or at least some of them. We'll carry on working hard to bring this project to life and in the coming weeks and months I'll be right here drip-feeding you more of this story's epic journey to the big screen and the printed page. Want to get involved and hob-nob with the creators? Follow us on Twitter @The_ANA_Project, we'd love to hear from you. Remember, every page view helps; every follow counts and running naked through the streets of your local town with 'ANA' daubed across your chest in dayglo letters may be illegal but we'd certainly appreciate the exposure. Wait, not your exposure. The exposure. You get what I mean. Thanks for reading, this is The Mighty DC signing off.
That's all from The Geek Beat this week folks. This has been a
Vertigo production.
Head back this way next week to see what's new with Celluloid Saturday and my latest videography projects.
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