really, like, an embarrassingly low amount of data. They all go on gut instinct — and some of them are better than others at it.” “We find that we have what we call a virtuous cycle where our community wants to have a vote,” he adds. “We’re not asking them to do something they don’t want to do; we're delivering on a promise we made to them.” The Scout data prompted Scanlan and Annison to throw Legion M’s support behind Memory, a documentary on the origin of the classic film Alien. They plan to release more details at Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), but for now the duo just thanks the community for guiding them toward the Dan O’Bannon-written documentary. “Leading into that, we may have said, ‘look, I don’t know if our community is supportive of documentaries,’” Scanlan says. “It’s great to know that information. What’s really nice about it is that we don’t have to guess what they want because they tell us.” Legion M also taps into the wisdom of the hive for other projects, via M-Pulse, which enables the company to literally take the pulse of members by asking them a variety of questions about any and everything, offering them yet another way to use their voices to influence content decisions. In fact, the company is invested in an upcoming Jay & Silent Bob reboot (slated for release this year) because members expressed an overwhelming interest in Kevin Smith. Legion M asked the M-Pulse community members which Hollywood director was their favorite, and Smith was at the top of the list. Whether or not the members are getting precisely what they want, Scanlan says they are pretty trusting and open-minded when it comes to projects. “We don’t expect people in our community to like every project that we do,” Scanlan says. “I think what we’ve learned is that we’ve got latitude from them, and that’s an ongoing thing.” “It’s in their best interest to be supportive; although, we do hear from them if there’s something they don’t like. And we’re sensitive to that, too,” he adds.
different way, the team decided to create a comic book instead of a more traditional storyboard. Wexler joins Tula Lotay, Dani Strips, and Dave Elliott on the comic book, which, like the movie, tells the story of the mysterious, gunslinging heroine, Girl. Think Western meets badass feminist. “As we developed the comic book, we of course told everyone we were doing this, and then when we put it up into Kickstarter to see how many we should print, for publishing, and to do some rewards based on it, I think we guessed that we would get $10,00020,000 worth of comic presales,” Scanlan says. “We ended up with more than $130,000 in presales.” “For a comic book to sell that many comics of a brand-new title that no one has ever heard of is actually kind of unheard of,” he adds. “But at the same time, it’s giving them exclusive access to something and an opportunity to interact and have a voice with the director.”
Coming Soon
Fueling the Fandoms
Memory and the Jay & Silent Bob reboot are far from the only projects in the Legion M pipeline. The company is also working on Girl with No Name, in conjunction with Co-Op Entertainment, a feature film set in the 1869era Wild West. The film boasts an all-female creative team and will be produced by Laura Ivey and directed Tanya Wexler. Wanting to tackle the visual imagery in a
The Kickstarter campaign for the Girl with No Name comic book, based on the upcoming film of the same name, reached nearly 3,000 backers, with monetary pledges far exceeding the $6,000 goal.
At the end of the day, it all comes back to fans, including Legion M’s co-founders. Scanlan is a Guillermo del Toro superfan. While he leans toward independent films in general — unsurprising considering he studied film in college — he counts del Toro among his film heroes and is lowkey obsessed in the best, geekiest way.
“I would say, if I have a strong fandom, it’s Guillermo,” he says. “I just think he’s amazing; I love everything he’s done. His first film, Cronos, solidified my love of entertainment early. He’s just got a heart of gold and is the most generous person. I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like Guillermo, but I would say we have a special affinity for him, or I do, anyway — a man crush if you will.” Annison on the other hand is loyal to the fandoms he forged in the fires of childhood: Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. “Those were the three properties that I really, really loved growing up and have a special place in my heart,” Annison says. “So it was really special and very cool for me to be involved in this Tolkien project and to learn more about the author.” “So I’ve got one down; now we’ve just got to do something with Star Wars and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and I can die a happy man,” he adds. Be on the lookout, kids. ✪
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Sierra McCleary-Harris is a senior editor at Adventure Media & Events, editing and producing content for the Toy Book, the Toy Insider, and the Pop Insider. You can find her fangirling over LOTR and Disney princesses, or falling into every thirst trap the internet sets.
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