DG and ZOE Announce JourneyQuest: Season One

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

28 November 2009

ZOMBIE ORPHEUS ENTERTAINMENT AND DEAD GENTLEMEN PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCE JOURNEYQUEST: SEASON ONE

From Matt Vancil, writer and director of cult hits THE GAMERS and DORKNESS RISING, comes a new fantasy comedy web series, JOURNEYQUEST. Developed, produced, and distributed by Zombie Orpheus Entertainment (ZOE) and co-produced by Dead Gentlemen Productions and Kairos Productions, JOURNEYQUEST: SEASON ONE will begin production in March of 2010. Free episodes will be released online weekly beginning the following July.

Following a group of dysfunctional adventurers on a quest to discover and destroy the mythical Sword of Fighting, JOURNEYQUEST: SEASON ONE is a comedic adventure through the world of Fartherall, where intellectual orcs, seductive dwarves, lying gargoyles, and holy zombies form the living (and not-so-living) backdrop to an epic story of unrequited love, burning passions, and severely reluctant heroism. And running away. Lots of running away.

In addition to JOURNEYQUEST: SEASON ONE, Vancil will also direct a bonus featurette entitled JOURNEYQUEST: UNDERQUEST, which will be available exclusively on DVD and through several online digital download markets.

JOURNEYQUEST: SEASON ONE will be released online under a Creative Commons Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike license. Fans will be encouraged to play and create their own stories and art in the JOURNEYQUEST sandbox.

ZOE is partnering with Dead Gentlemen Productions (DGP) and Kairos Productions to create and promote JOURNEYQUEST: SEASON ONE. The show will be featured content at deadgentlemen.com and throughout DGP’s online syndication network.

JOURNEYQUEST is executive produced by Ben Dobyns and Matt Vancil, produced by Jeremy Spray and Kat Ogden, co-produced by Cornelia D. Moore, and the Production Manager is Elizabeth Heile. It will be shot entirely in the Pacific Northwest.

More information is available at deadgentlemen.com, on the Zombie Orpheus Facebook page, and via the contact information below.

ABOUT ZOE:

ZOE develops and distributes original web content directly to fandom, including especially the fantasy, science fiction, and horror markets. By focusing on building long-term relationships with core fans, ZOE aims to establish a model of sustainable independent filmmaking outside of the studio system. The company is also developing a modern steampunk web series entitled STROWLERS.

ABOUT DG:

Dead Gentlemen Productions is a group of filmmakers with roots in the Seattle/Tacoma area. Their recent film, The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, is currently distributed by Anthem Pictures.

In addition to ongoing comedy sketches and short films, Dead Gentlemen recently produced the high definition feature The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, and co-produced the Demon Hunters Roleplaying Game with Margaret Weis Productions, which introduced the newly canonized world of their original Demon Hunters and a short film entitled: The Brotherhood Orientation Video. To this very day the Dead Gentlemen exercise their super power of unmatched collaboration to create projects together.

www.deadgentlemen.com

ABOUT KAIROS:

Kairos Productions is a reverently irreverent film development and production company based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently developing numerous book-to-film properties based on several works by Newbery Award-winning novelist Madeleine L’Engle. Kairos’ next project is a motion picture adaptation of L’Engle’s novel CAMILLA. Additionally, Kairos is working on HAIRSTORY, a documentary, and a feature entitled THE CURSE OF THE SCOTTISH PLAY.

www.kairos-productions.com

ZOMBIE ORPHEUS ENTERTAINMENT: ZombieOrpheus@gmail.com (206) 659-8963

Dead Gentlemen Announces Zombie Orpheus Entertainment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

28 November 2009

DEAD GENTLEMEN PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES ZOMBIE ORPHEUS ENTERTAINMENT

Dead Gentlemen Productions (THE GAMERS, DEMON HUNTERS) is proud to announce the formation of a new company, Zombie Orpheus Entertainment (ZOE). Founded by Dead Gentlemen veterans Ben Dobyns and Matt Vancil and by Kat Ogden, formerly of Created By, ZOE will develop and distribute original web content directly to fandom, including especially the fantasy, science fiction, and horror markets.

The first ZOE project will be a fantasy comedy web series called JOURNEYQUEST, to be written and directed by Matt Vancil (THE GAMERS, THE GAMERS: DORKNESS RISING) and executive produced by Matt Vancil and Ben Dobyns. Zombie Orpheus Entertainment and Kairos Productions will present a Dead Gentlemen Production of a Matt Vancil film. JOURNEYQUEST is in preproduction and begins principle photography in March of 2010. Episodes will be released weekly beginning July of 2010. DVDs will be available for the 2010 fall/winter holiday season.

In addition to JOURNEYQUEST, ZOE is preparing an urban fantasy, STROWLERS, scheduled to shoot in September of 2010 for a web release in January of 2011. The project is written by Matt Vancil and directed by Ben Dobyns. STROWLERS is currently partially financed. Interested parties may contact producer’s representative Dawn Roscoe for more information about STROWLERS financing.

ZOE will also produce ongoing behind-the-scenes web content for these projects under the leadership of producer Kat Ogden, including special live interactive streaming events, ongoing opportunities for fan participation, and a wide variety of contests and polls. ZOE also plans to release all web-originated ZOE properties under a Creative Commons Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike license, which will allow fans not only to share and promote ZOE projects among their friends, but to create their own noncommercial, noncompetitive derivative works, including fan fiction, video remixes, and games.

Finally, ZOE will offer its distribution, syndication, and promotions services to select companies who produce high-quality media in the fantasy, science fiction, and horror genres, beginning with Dead Gentlemen Productions. In its new role ZOE looks forward to expanding the market for Dead Gentlemen’s brands, including THE GAMERS and DEMON HUNTERS.

More information is available at deadgentlemen.com, on the Zombie Orpheus Facebook page, and via the contact information below.

ABOUT DG:

Dead Gentlemen Productions is a group of filmmakers with roots in the Seattle/Tacoma area. Their recent film The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, is currently distributed by Anthem Pictures.

In addition to ongoing comedy sketches and short films, Dead Gentlemen recently produced the high definition feature The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, and co-produced the Demon Hunters Roleplaying Game with Margaret Weis Productions, which introduced the newly canonized world of their original Demon Hunters and a short film entitled: The Brotherhood Orientation Video. To this very day the Dead Gentlemen exercise their super power of unmatched collaboration to create projects together.

www.deadgentlemen.com

ABOUT KAIROS PRODUCTIONS:

Kairos Productions is a reverently irreverent film development and production company based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently developing numerous book-to-film properties based on several works by Newbery Award-winning novelist Madeleine L’Engle. Kairos’ next project is a motion picture adaptation of L’Engle’s novel CAMILLA. Additionally, Kairos is working on HAIRSTORY, a documentary, and a feature entitled THE CURSE OF THE SCOTTISH PLAY.

www.kairos-productions.com

ZOMBIE ORPHEUS ENTERTAINMENT: ZombieOrpheus@gmail.com (206) 659-8963

DAWN ROSCOE: zoe@iamthepartystarter.com (206) 715-4182

PreproductionQuest

Had a great table read of the rough draft in LA on Wednesday. And this morning, Jeremy and I fly up to Seattle for ten days of camera tests, location scouting, and auditions. We have somewhere in the realm of 200+ people auditioning. Holy crap, this is getting real.

Many thanks to Paige, Nathan, and Rian for hosting the read; to Matt for providing scripts; to Dan for hashing his voice reading action; and to everyone who participated. LA auditions will be in the first week of December.

The Quest Begins

Many developments this last month. I didn't post at all during October. Much of that was out of respect for my grandfather. Part of it was that I just didn't have the time. One event dovetailed into another into another that scarcely left us room enough to breathe, let alone reflect and report on the events. Here's how it started: Camille and I were going to Oregon for our anniversary near the end of the month, and that trip combined with Grandpa's memorial and fused into an unexpected two-week journey to the Pacific Northwest, equal parts grief and business and celebration.

I've written about the grief, and Camille's written about the celebration. On to the business. I mentioned in a post after Comic Con (near the bottom, it's a long one) a new web project I'd been planning to work on: JourneyQuest, a fantasy/comedy webseries. The plan was to get back to my Gamers roots: shooting a no-budget passion project, running-and-gunning guerrilla style with a skeleton crew, begging and borrowing and stealing costumes and props and locations, and paying for it out of pocket. It would be more for fun than for profit, a welcome break from the grind of my other projects. A pallet-cleanser, a sorbet for the soul.

That was the plan. And that changed rather quickly. Ben and I (but mostly Ben) ran some numbers, just to see what JQ might do if it, say, matched the success of The Gamers. We discovered that JQ would be a viable project for investment. We could raise enough money -- not a lot, a drop in the bucket by industry standards -- to give it top of the line production value. And we wouldn't have to pay for it ourselves.

So we started to putting together an investment package ... and the opportunity was so lucrative that an investor bit before we'd finished the presentation materials.

Boom, JourneyQuest is fully funded. Just like that. And just like that, our shooting and roll-out schedule fell into place. We shoot in March. Which means we need to be cast before the end of the year. Which means casting is in mid-November. Which means we need a script immediately; I've spent the last two weeks on just that. Open auditions in Washington start next week.

Friday, Jeremy and I fly to Washington for a 10-day excursion of camera tests, location scouting, and auditions. Our casting director will be coming to LA in the first week of December to see talent and hold auditions down here. We're having a table read of the script on Wednesday. It's all coming together, at breakneck speed. The Dead Gentlemen serendipity factor seems to be at work again. Expect frequent updates in the weeks and months to come. 

Still haven't decided whether or not to capitalize the "Q" -- JourneyQuest or Journeyquest? I think I like the latter more, but I've always written it the other way. I'm open to suggestions.

Dr. Richard O. Failor, 1918-2009

A month ago, on October 1, my grandfather died. He was 91. 

We knew it was coming, but the death hit me harder than I expected. When my dad's folks passed away in 2004, they'd had dementia and Alzheimer's for years.  In those final years, the Vancil grandparents didn't recognize me ; I would introduce myself every five minutes or so, and would tell Papa D.O. his favorite World War II joke (which he'd taught me), and hear him laugh and laugh because he'd never heard it before. And then he'd politely introduce himself. I'd been able to mourn them before they were gone, you see, and when they physically died there was as much relief as there was grief. And still, to this day, though I haven't been there in a decade, their little house in Longview is the place I go more frequently in my dreams than any other. I can remember every detail with stark, painful clarity. I believe it is because it's the first permanent place I ever lost. But that's a discussion for another time.

Grandpa Dick had also struggled for years with ailing health, but his mind stayed keen. The man was built like an iron goat, virtually indestructible with a fiercely stubborn constitution and will not just to live, but to stay able bodied. Everything he'd survived had tempered him to be so -- he survived the Great Depression, the death of both parents by age fourteen, two wars, three bypass surgeries and the replacement of both hips. And the only thing he would complain about -- this was in his late 80s, by the way -- was how he couldn't maintain the five-acre farm where he'd lived with Grandma for fifty years by himself anymore. He'd grouse about this to me -- me, in my 20s at the time, drenched in sweat and dirt and manure after only less than an hour outside, secretly wishing it would rain so I could go in without losing face -- about how he just couldn't do it all anymore. These last few years, he didn't spend much time outside. He couldn't. This last year, he could barely leave his chair.

I would call every week or two to check in, see how he was feeling. After exchanging pleasantries and laughs with my grandmother -- I've never met a woman quicker to laugh, though the one I married comes close -- she'd pass me off to Grandpa for about a ninety second conversation.

"Hi, Grandpa, it's Matt."

"Oh, hello there."

"How are you, sir?"

"Oh, you know.  Some days are good, some are bad." He'd give me the details of what was ailing him at the time, whether it was the pneumonia or his lungs or his heart or the cancer. "What have you been up to?"

"Well ..." and I'd give him a brief rundown of my projects, and how Camille was doing. He always appreciated brevity. 

"Well, thanks for calling," he'd say, whether I was through telling him what I was up to or not. "You take care. Bye bye, now." And he'd hang up. That was a long conversation , especially over the phone.

The way to get to know him was to work alongside him. I didn't really crack into that until I was in college, when I would spend some of each summer working on the farm under Grandpa's supervision. Under his mandatory supervision -- I am a terrible farmer. I can't till a straight line in the garden or uproot a rotten fence post without the foot breaking off or split wood without cracking an ax handle and sending every other piece of firewood pinwheeling off the cutting block. Dick would work alongside me, and when he'd tire (again, the man was in his 80s and still doing field word) would have me take over.  He'd watch me work, adjust me when I erred, and emit a single chuckle with a wry smile when I'd embarrass myself -- like by cracking an ax handle or tilling a row that resembled the flight pattern of a moth.

After a few hours, Grandma would bring us out some sandwiches and a jug of lemonade. And he'd start to talk. He'd tell me about growing up in Tacoma in the Depression, and how he would run seven miles to school every day, swim after school, and run back home (hence his legendary stamina). He would tell me about how he worked full time at night while he was studying Orthodontia, expressly forbidden by the university. He'd tell me about being stationed in the Aleutians during the War in the Pacific, and how it would get so cold that a man could grab the coal-burning stove in the tent with his bare hands and not be burned. He'd tell me about becoming the first orthodontist in the city of Olympia, and practicing full time while raising four children on a farm with a dozen head of cattle. He'd tell me about the first time he saw my grandmother, coming down the steps of the library in that city in Texas (I forget which), and he turned to his brother and said "That's the girl I'm gonna marry." Which he did, 63 years ago.

You didn't just get these stories from him.  You had to earn them. You had to spend time with him at work, in the trenches, in silent effort, and after that he would gift you with a pearl of family history you'd likely never heard before.

At the memorial service, I heard many stories I'd never heard before. My Uncle Jim spent a day scanning family photos, and put the slideshow on the TV on a loop. Family and friends dropped snippets of stories every time a new picture popped up. Many I recognized; more I did not. I saw sides of my grandfather I'd never seen (due mainly to my non-existence at the time they were taken), but that all informed the old man I had known.

The favorite picture -- indeed, the one that showed up on the program for his memorial -- is dated 1972. My Grandfather is standing on a dock somewhere on Vancouver Island. A solid curtain of trees conceals the horizon across obsidian water. He is holding up one end of a pipe supporting a 52-pound salmon he caught. The pipe in his teeth, held there despite the impish grin, is upside down. It fits him perfectly: his poise, his confidence, his sense of humor, his exuberance for the outdoors. His quiet nature, his eyes that saw everything, and were amused and moved by it all. It's pretty much the same expression in this picture, taken in July of 2008.

I miss you, Grandpa. Take care. Bye bye, now.