This past Sunday, I drove down to Chicago for the final day of shooting for the pilot (proof-of-concept short) for the Brave New World movie that Reactor 88 Studios is working on. I can barely begin to tell you how much fun I had and how impressed I was with everyone involved.
The pilot brings to life the 8-page comic book that opens up the original Brave New World RPG core book. In it, Lisa Stanski (played by the lovely and talented Natalie Victoria) is on the run from the government supers known as Delta Prime. As she dashed through an alley, she literally runs into Patriot (played by the rugged and talented Chuck Wagner), once a Delta Prime hero and now a leader of the rebellion known as the Defiance. They try to escape, but Charge (played by the handsome and talented Zachary Laoutides) corners them in a helicopter that Patriot blasts out of the sky.
As you can imagine, this is an ambitious, action-packed sequence to tackle, but as a proof-of-concept, it’s perfect. If the team can handle this, they can handle anything, and from everything I saw they’re doing a bang-up job.
I’ve rarely been part of such a polite, respectful, gracious, and grateful group of people. Besides the tremendous amount of skill and talent they brought to the project, I never saw or heard of a cross moment all day long, even on the third, long day of a rigorous weekend shoot. They all treated me with such kindness that I instantly felt like a part of this family that had coalesced around this project.
While many people thanked me for creating the game that’s the basis for the film, I told them they should talk to Darren Orange, Reactor 88’s president, instead. The kind of vision and passion that he and his team displayed for this film would have to find some way to express itself, and I’m just thrilled that it happened to focus on Brave New World.
I took these photos here from a distance, mostly trying to stay out of the way, but the material they captured on for the shoot is utterly stunning. I actually got chills watching the playback on the monitor for the scene in which Patriot shoots down the helicopter. The actors did such a wonderful job reacting to things that only existed in their heads, like the explosions and such, which will be added in post-production with computers.
Chuck, in particular, looked perfect as Patriot. He seemed like he’d leaped off the cover of Ravaged Planet. Seeing a character I’d created walking around and even chatting with me was surreal.
Director Joe Martin even insisted on giving me a Stan Lee moment in the film too. When the pilot is ready later this summer, you’ll see me crossing the street in front of Dearborn Station just before the big battle goes down. I’m in a suit and tie, so no one will be able to recognize me, I’m sure.
I can’t wait to see the final production when it’s ready. As soon as I can share more, you’ll know about it too.
