Here’s a roundup of stories on fandom works in the news that might be of interest to fans:
- Indiana Jones fan Jeff Gurwood created a stop-motion film of the Raiders of the Lost Ark opening which gained media attention. The film took “six months of work, 45 hours a week” and “cost him about $500 to $600.” The fan film was undertaken only after he and his creative partner attempted to sell a film based on an original work they had made and after the “Syfy channel came close to green-lighting a series. And Adult Swim, the late-night arm of Cartoon Network, talked to the pair about a year before producing Robot Chicken, which also features action figure stop-motion.” He currently has at least one offer: “A major toy manufacturer saw the Raiders video and is looking to hire Gurwood to make videos for its toy lines.”
- The band My Chemical Romance’s new video was partially created by a fan. “Emily Eisemann, a 21-year-old from New York, had created a collage-like YouTube video called “My Chemical Romance – Celebrating 10 Years as a Band,” which singer Gerard Way and crew stumbled upon while mining for footage to use in a similar purpose.” Now available on YouTube “in a nod to Eisemann, her original video — and story — is also linked prominently.”
- Filmmaker Ryan James Yezak “was better known on YouTube for his glittery remakes of Katy Perry and Rihanna videos as gay love stories” before he turned his hand to a new project, a successful fund raising effort to create “a full-length documentary, called Second Class Citizens.” The current trailer “takes the viewer on a fast-paced journey through the gay rights movement, starting with historic footage denouncing “homosexuals.”” A major supporter was actor George Takei. ““This young filmmaker made my Spidey video,” he tweeted, referring to a campaign to have Takei play Spider-Man on Broadway. “If you watch one clip today, let it be this.””
- Less inspiring is a recent trend to get celebrities to read fan fiction on camera, the more potentially embarrassing the better. Ralph Fiennes’ appearance reading Harry Potter fanfic was covered by dozens of sites including TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, The L.A. Times and Vulture. A post at Crushable mentions a similar recent case in Twilight fandom. While it has been considered poor etiquette for fans to confront celebrities with fan fiction written about them or their projects, the media seems to be setting different boundaries for ratings fodder.
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