Batman Dead End is the fan film by which all other fan films are judged. It is hands down still one of the best fan films that has ever been made. Director Sandy Collora made the film back in 2003 with some of his friends to help kickstart his filmmaking career, and ended up making something pretty legendary. I would actually still love to see him take on a Batman movie. It's kind of ridiculous, I'd like to see him make more movies. He ended up doing a great little sci-fi film called Hunter Prey, and the last I heard he was developing a horror movie called Shallow Water. I'm not sure if that's still the movie he's currently working on though.
Collora has started a Kickstarter campaign to help fund a new documentary on the making of Batman Dead End for its ten year anniversary. It should prove to be very interesting, especially for the fans of the film. I've had the opportunity to meet Collora on a couple of occasions, and he's a really great and talented guy.
So here are the Kickstarter details for Batman Dead End; A Ten Year Retrospective! For those of you that want to help him out with the project click here!
In the winter of 2003, commercial director Sandy Collora and some of his friends, set out to make a little short film, to serve as a demo reel, that would hopefully showcase his talents as a filmmaker. What they wound up actually doing, was making one of the most elaborate, most watched, most talked about, and most controversial short films, ever made... 'Batman Dead End' premiered in July 2003 at the San Diego Comic Con and instantly threw Batman fans into a frenzy about what exactly it was, who made it and most importantly, where they could get their hands on it. This documentary will reveal the true story not only behind the making of film, but chronicle as well, the impact and influence it has had on what has come after it. Hardcore fans of both The Batman and Predator around the world, including Kevin Smith and Alex Ross, cite 'Batman Dead End' as the quintessential representation of those characters on film, and to this day, they remain part of the lexicon and mythos of both franchises. Through never before seen footage, photographs and interviews with the cast and crew, this retrospective will reveal, step by step, what it took to get to the screen and follow a few of the key players through the last ten years, to see how this little, 8 minute short film changed their lives forever.
The film will consist mostly of archived, behind the scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. For the most part, we've all stayed in close contact through the years and some have worked with me on projects since 'Batman Dead End', of which there were many. Unfortunately, two very special people who worked on the film, have passed on since then, and not having them included, will be painful to everyone involved, but as we always do, we'll persevere, and get it done. I also would like to interview a few notable celebrities who have publicly expressed their love for the film over the years. I'm sure this will be difficult, but through all my connections in the industry, I'll do my best to get everyone I can into the documentary.
I'd like to make it at least an hour long, but with the conservative goal I have set, this will also be challenging. However, myself and the voluminously talented group of people I have behind me, will do the best we can if we meet our goal. If we are fortunate enough to surpass our goal, I'll have to produce greater numbers of rewards, but I'd like to make it feature length at that point. It's our most sincere intention to give the fans the in depth and comprehensive documentary they expect, and that they so deserve.
Making all the works of art for the rewards will be also quite the undertaking... Especially since I'll be creating them mostly myself, but I've worked on many daunting projects in my career, so I am up to the task. I'm looking forward to it, actually... It will be a lot of work, but it'll also be a lot of fun. My passion not only for the film, but for the subject matter, will inspire me to deliver quality work to my backers, within the given delivery time. If our goal is surpassed, and we wind up with more backers than we expect, your patience and understanding regarding the timing of getting your rewards would be appreciated.