Grayson (film)

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Grayson
Directed by John Fiorella
Produced by John Fiorella
Gabriel Sabloff
Written by John Fiorella
Starring John Fiorella
Distributed by Untamed Cinema
TheForce.Net
Release date(s) July 20, 2004
Running time 6 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

Grayson is a 2004 fan film made by John Fiorella featuring DC Comics character Dick Grayson along with several other DC Universe characters. Since it is a fan film, it was not allowed to be sold at a profit and was thus distributed for free on the internet.

The film is a mock trailer for a Grayson movie; however, no such movie exists. Currently, there are also no plans for a full-length feature film also because the filmmakers have no possibility to produce such a film without support of Warner Brothers.[1] The film has been generally well-received by fans and downloaded in enormous numbers.[2]

After the publicity generated by the film's online release at TheForce.net and subsequent showings at the San Diego Comic Con, DC Comics announced that there were to be no more fan made films to be shown at conventions. Any persons found displaying fanfilms depicting any of their characters would be contacted by their legal department.[3]

The trailer's music comes most entirely from Don Davis' score for The Matrix Revolutions. The themes used are the love theme (Trinity Definetely) and the final showdown (Neodammerung), although they were edited shorter to fit the trailer.

The trailer won several awards such as the Universal Studios Judges Award 2005 and is the recipient of praise from comic book legends including Neal Adams, Jim Lee and Alex Ross. [4]

The original screenplay for a full-length picture is available for download at the Untamed Cinema official website.

Contents

[edit] Production

The project began when Fiorella was searching, along with his director of photography Gabriel Sabloff, for a suitable subject for a demo reel that would showcase their filmmaking abilities. When Fiorella raised the idea of a film about Robin, Sabloff was skeptical at first, but soon convinced.[5] The objective of Fiorella was to "tell a new and exciting story about the former boy wonder that leaves audiences wanting more" and let the viewer be the judge to decide if he hit the mark.[6]

With a budget of $18,000[7] the filmmakers created a five-and-a-half minute trailer complete with motorcycle chases, underwater escapes, pyrotechnics and feats of strength. Most of the production budget went to 16mm film stock, production equipment, processing and transfers, leaving little for anything else. According to the behind the scenes video of Grayson, their budget didn't allow for daily film transfers, so the filmmakers only saw developed footage in batches every three months. The two employed guerilla filmmaking tactics, filming mainly on weekends and at whatever locations they could find, often without permission.

[edit] Plot summary

Despite the fact that a full-length "Grayson" film will (likely) never be made, miscellaneous information about the story can be derived from the trailer:

  • The golden age of superheroes has passed. Batman is shown apparently dead and the identity of his killer is presumably the central mystery of the film. Dick Grayson emerges from retirement to investigate.
  • Remarkably, Dick Grayson takes up the Robin mantle once again instead of just using the Nightwing costume. The filmmakers said about this choice that many people outside the comic book community are unfamiliar with Nightwing, Sabloff and Fiorella wanted to appeal to a wider audience. Sabloff added that this is not necessarily a conflict with Robin as Nightwing, because he is retired from crimefighting including from his days as Nightwing.[8]
  • Dick Grayson is married to Barbara Gordon and they have a young daughter. When Barbara learns he is resurrecting the Robin costume, she leaves him. Brief scenes appear of her fighting a ski-masked criminal as Batgirl, possibly flashbacks of, or a return to, her earlier crimefighting career.
  • It is unclear if Commissioner Gordon is still an active member of the Gotham City Police Department. He clearly knows Grayson's secret identity and assists him by supplying official documents. In addition, Gordon provides the voiceover narration at the beginning of the trailer.
  • The head of the investigation into Batman's death is implied to be Chief O'Hara, a character from the 1960s Batman television series. Other influences of that series appear, including a photograph of Batman and Robin that resembles actors Adam West and Burt Ward. O'Hara apparently also knows Grayson's identity ("Your crimefighting days are over") and strongly wants Grayson to not become involved, even to the point of aligning with Selina Kyle/Catwoman to eliminate Robin and shouting at reporter Clark Kent (whether or not O'Hara knows he is also addressing Superman is unclear) that he wants "him [presumably Grayson] out of the equation!" O'Hara is also seen rolling up his sleeves, preparing to assault an angry captive Gordon. The extent of O'Hara's apparent corruption is left unclear.
  • Dick Grayson is aware of Superman's secret identity; he refers to him as "Clark". Superman apparently is also motivated to discourage Grayson's return to crimefighting and three angry confrontations between the characters are shown, in and out of costume. Grayson is also angered to violence by the sight of a Superman comic-book, suggesting a strongly negative history between the two. Curiously, other comic books also appear of characters from the film, including Wonder Woman and Catwoman. Fiorella used his own comic book collection for this scene.
  • The Joker the possible main villain plays an important role, and he has a gang of thugs assisting him. His appearance, coupled with a warning to Grayson from Gordon, suggests that Robin's return has triggered the Joker's. A brief scene adapted from The Killing Joke appears, with Barbara Gordon crawling away from a door as the Joker breaks in. Afterwards, the Joker is seen walking through the park with the Graysons' daughter, suggesting that she has been kidnapped. We later see Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, despite her previous refusal to get involved: "I won't be a part of it Dick, not again."
  • The Penguin and the Riddler also briefly appear.
  • Other members of the Justice League appear. In three brief appearances, Wonder Woman, Minnesota actress Kate Clarke, is shown deflecting bullets from her bracelets, snaring Robin in her golden lasso, and mourning over what appears to be the body of Superman. The Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) also has a momentary cameo, standing next to a fallen Robin, though the context is unexplained. The filmmakers clarified that it was never their intention to portray the other superheroes as villains. They might be rather ordered to stop Dick because he is heading down a dangerous road.[9]

Since no complete film exists, it is impossible to determine exactly how the many short clips in the trailer could have fit into a cohesive whole. It is even implied that Batman may not actually be dead and Fiorella's commentary on the "Behind the Scenes" video confirms that this ambiguity was his goal: "I wanted to make people wonder if in fact Batman had really been killed."

The screenplay for the non-existent motion picture is available for viewing at the Untamed Cinema website, and features most of the events shown in the trailer, although with some differences, as well as a full explanation of all questions raised by the trailer.

[edit] Making of

A behind the scenes documentary of Grayson is also available for download. GRAYSON: PIECES OF THE PUZZLE is a 30-minute featurette with unseen footage, bloopers, alternate takes, production stills, and commentary by John Fiorella.

[edit] Cast

Stars' Characters'
John Fiorella Dick Grayson/Robin
Brian C. Bethel The Joker
Paul Hasenyager Clark Kent/Superman
Anthony Heartley Chief O'Hara
Kate Clarke Wonder Woman
Kimberly Page Selina Kyle/Catwoman
Gloria Payne Barbara Grayson/Batgirl
Mark Brodkin Commissioner Gordon

[edit] References

  1. ^ BATMANIA REVISITED, PART 2: ROBIN RETURNS
  2. ^ IMDb Trivia
  3. ^ IMDb Trivia
  4. ^ http://www.untamedcinema.com/ see Press
  5. ^ BATMANIA REVISITED, PART 2: ROBIN RETURNS
  6. ^ A Word from John Fiorella Director of "GRAYSON"
  7. ^ BATMANIA REVISITED, PART 2: ROBIN RETURNS
  8. ^ BATMANIA REVISITED, PART 2: ROBIN RETURNS
  9. ^ BATMANIA REVISITED, PART 2: ROBIN RETURNS

[edit] External links

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