Fan-made films run the gamut from tribute to satire, but how many of them are created with charitable causes in mind? “Browncoats: Redemption” is one such film and I was granted the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with the film’s creator, writer and director, Mike Dougherty. This will be the first in a series of exclusive interviews that SciFi Mafia will have with the fan-filmmakers behind this project, delving deeper behind-the-scenes and giving you an exclusive look at what it takes to develop a fan-dream into a reality.
“Browncoats: Redemption” is a fan-made film set in Joss Whedon’s “Firefly”/ “Serenity” universe with 100% of the donations from the DVD, outside of covering the cost of production to be donated to five charities supported, or created, by Joss Whedon and the cast of Firefly/Serenity. Don’t miss the first official trailer for “Redemption” at the end of my interview!
SciFi Mafia: Calling yourself a ‘Browncoat’ is more than just saying that you are a fan of the sci-fi universe of “Firefly” and “Serenity”, isn’t it? Can you explain the Browncoat movement to those who aren’t familiar with ‘being a Browncoat’?
Mike Dougherty: I’m not sure it’s a movement, but it’s definitely a very rabid, friendly, and large group of people who love “Firefly”/”Serenity”. This group of fans is more than just that…they are a family. The best thing about them is that no matter where you are in the world, you can quote a line, mention an episode, or simply say “I’m a Browncoat” and you’ll get an instant positive reaction and a conversation.
SciFi Mafia: How is “Browncoats: Redemption” a unique fan-made production?
Mike Dougherty: It’s unique in the fact that we’ve raised the bar for ourselves as far as production quality. We also set our film apart by continuing the timeline of the ‘verse rather that than just playing it safe in a time we all know. The charity aspect of what we’re doing is also extremely unique. It’s a model that some public television channels take, giving the gift of a DVD for a donation, but we’ve taken it one step further. We aren’t just giving a DVD that means little to the charity you are supporting. The charities we chose are ones supported, or created, by Joss Whedon and the cast of Firefly/Serenity. So your donation and your gift are all tied to the fandom we love in one fashion or another. It didn’t make sense to have this project donate to charities that weren’t involved, in some way, with the Big Damn Heroes we have come to love.
SciFi Mafia: Since this is a film based on the “Firefly”/ “Serenity” universe, is Joss Whedon, himself, involved in “Redemption”? Does it have his blessing?
Mike Dougherty: Joss isn’t involved, but very early on Steven Fisher, one of our producers and co-creator, and I agreed that the only way to do this right was to go out and let the powers that be know what our intentions were. Joss being, to us, the most important. Some might argue that letting the studios know takes priority, but to me…if Joss wasn’t cool with the idea…I wasn’t comfortable moving forward. So a call was made to his office and we were asked to send an email outlining our plan and just over a month later we got a simple email back that stated “Joss says you have his blessing and it’s cool as far as he is concerned…but is unable to say that for Universal or anyone else who might take issue with it.” To me, that was the signal to go and get all the other ducks in a row we needed to make this happen. We worked with the idea that we could not let the Browncoats, or Joss, down for this opportunity.
SFM: Help us orient our readers as far as time and place in the ‘verse’ – How does “Redemption” tie into the Firefly/Serenity storyline?
M.D.: “Browncoats: Redemption” takes place three months after Mal sends out the Signal at the end of the film, “Serenity”. The idea is that far off on the other side of the ‘verse these people who’ve never met the crew of Serenity, and maybe only heard of them in passing, has now had their lives, and the lives of everyone in the ‘verse, changed because of the actions of our Big Damn Heroes.
SFM: Of all the fans who love the Whedon “Firefly” universe, how did you find your cast and crew?
M.D.: We went through an audition process for all of our actors. No one was just given their role. We did a first round of traditional auditions, but for the people we called back we put them together with the people who might be their counterparts in the film to read off each other. The reason for doing that is the crew of Redemption needed to have that lived in feel like the crew of Serenity has. The best way to find that is to see who, of the top choices, naturally just blended well together visually and as their characters.
As for the crew, we had started a Facebook group about three months before casting, because we wanted to do a table read of the script to make sure what was on paper would translate well. We had thirty people, 80% of them from the Facebook group, come in and read. Every single person stayed on board in some capacity. The rest came to us organically- people who were fans that wanted to get involved, friends of friends who introduced us, and so on. If it wasn’t for the connected network of Browncoats and Social Media tools, like Facebook and Twitter, we would not have come as far as we had.
SFM: As far as the characters of “Redemption”, did you stick with the established archetypes from the “Firefly” series and “Serenity” movie?
M.D.: More like established archetypes from the Whedon Universe. No character in ours is carbon copy of someone from the Whedon Universe, but you’ll see a few elements that stay true to Joss’ storytelling style.
SFM: Now, I have to ask this question. How does having a female captain change the dynamic of this film versus Captain Mal and his crew?
M.D.: A little. There are moments to show that Laura, our captain, doesn’t have it any easier as a female, but she’s a little more transparent about her desire to protect her crew. Having the captain as a woman gave a few more opportunities for storytelling that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.
SFM: You mentioned that the charities that benefit from this film are supported or created by Joss Whedon and the actors of “Firefly”/”Serenity”. Can you elaborate on this point? Can fans donate directly to these causes?
M.D.: Equality Now is supported by Joss Whedon, Kids Need to Read was co-founded by Nathan Fillion, Dyslexia Foundation is supported by Jewel Staite, the Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center is supported by Ron Glass, and the Marine Corps – Law Enforcement Foundation is supported by Adam Baldwin. While we’re going to be collecting donations when the film comes out, I highly encourage all the Browncoats to donate directly to each charity that resonates with them. We are also doing our own fund raising efforts for each of the charities. We raised $1,600 for Equality Now by holding the first “Can’t Stop the Serenity” in Baltimore, MD, a charity showing of the Universal film “Serenity”, and $1,600 to get Kids Need to Read their first booth at Dragon Con last year. We have some charity auctions/fundraisers for the remaining charities coming up this year before the film comes out. The idea being that we raise a little awareness of them before the film comes out so they can see why they are important charities to support.
SFM: Will you be able to make your deadline for Dragon Con 2010 in Atlanta? What is the status of the film now?
M.D.: We are completely on track to make Dragon Con 2010. We are still editing right now, but it’s taking a bit longer than usual because we shot on a RED ONE camera. The file output isn’t something a lot of people are familiar with yet so, just like the film, there’s a learning curve that we planned ahead for.
SFM: And lastly for a bit of fun, if you could be a character in the “Firefly” universe, who would you be?
M.D.: Oh…good question. Well, I’ve been told that I’d fit Mal better than anyone else, and not just ‘cause we’re both ruggedly handsome, but…frankly I don’t know why they do. You should ask the cast. I think I lean more towards Wash than Mal. I tend to use humor as a great deflection from what I’m really thinking.
Well…Wash up until getting all stabbity in the chest. Ok…so maybe not Wash.
What about Crowe, Niska’s henchman? He had the cool tattoos and knife and a silly accent. No…no, he get’s kicked into an engine. Well, since I seem to be on a roll with picking people who inevitably die…I’ll stick with Wash.
A big thank you goes out to Mike Dougherty, writer and director of “Browncoats: Redemption” for taking the time to do this interview. Stay tuned here on SciFi Mafia for more coverage of this fan-made film!
Trailer: Browncoats: Redemption
“Browncoats: Redemption” stars Heather Fagan as Captain Laura Matthews, Kevin Troy as Lux Lucre, Guy Wellman as Cameron Alan, John Patrick Barry as James Banks, PJ Megaw as Jack Haddington, Michael Levy as Brett Gray, and Miriam Pultro as Petra Jo Chen. The film is created by Michael C. Dougherty and Steven J. Fisher and directed by Michael C. Dougherty. Producers behind the project include Michael C. Dougherty, Steven J. Fisher, and Tara Harrelson with associate producer Brian Wiser.
Synopsis:
“Captain Laura Matthews and the crew of the ship Redemption try to do one simple job in the beginnings of a potential war.”
Stay tuned to SciFiMafia.com for the continuation of our exclusive look behind-the-scenes of “Browncoats: Redemption” – Coming Soon!
