Browncoats: Redemption – Interview with Producer Michael Dougherty

By WorldofHiglet

Ever since Firefly, the short-lived “cowboys in space” series by Joss Whedon, was cancelled by Fox network in 2002, fans have been itching to get back to the ‘Verse. The release of the feature film, Serenity in 2005, was largely due to the massive DVD sales of the series and the determination of fans, who call themselves Browncoats, to demonstrate that they were willing to support more stories from this universe. Annual charity fundraising events, Can’t Stop The Serenity, have been held for five years so far, raising thousands of dollars, and PinkRaygun recently interviewed The One True b!X, the person behind the first CSTS.

There have been two comic mini-series, and a third, “Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale” is slated for release in November 2010. There are perennial rumours that a sequel to Serenity is about to be announced. Joss Whedon has always maintained that while he would love it to be true, the rumours are unfounded.

However, September 3rd, 2010 is the launch date for the brand new film set in the Firefly/Serenity ‘Verse. Browncoats: Redemption is a fan made film that introduces us to a new ship and crew and is poised to raise a lot of money for some very deserving charities. DVDs are on pre-sale now via the official Browncoats movie website and all proceeds raised from the sales will go to the charities.

I recently had the opportunity to talk to one of the producers, Michael Dougherty. I’ve interviewed Michael before about the film via email here and here, and this time we thought a video interview would be fun. And it was!

In Part One Michael tells us about how the film came about, the production challenges of making in a feature in two years from scratch, tales from the set and all about those Terrifyin’ Space Monkeys.

In Part Two we talk about the rough cut of the film that was shown at 10 Can’t Stop The Serenity events*, what is still to be done in terms of production and how the film is going to be released. Michael also reveals a poster that will soon be available as a competition prize here on PinkRaygun.com, so keep your eyes open for that.

Thank you for a great interview, Michael!

*I attended the Vancouver Can’t Stop The Serenity event and watched the rough cut of Browncoats: Redemption. I have seen some mixed views so here are my reactions to the screening.

For one, I understood that what I was watching was a rough cut – an uncompleted version of the film. Effects, sound and editing were not complete. Given that, I still enjoyed what I saw. There is an interesting story, some very good performances and it slots right into the ‘Verse. It remains true to the essence of Firefly and Serenity and the feel of the both the ship and the planet-side sets were spot on.

I have been waiting for this film for a long time and I am very excited about the prospect of seeing the finished product. Bringing a completed feature to life in such a short time is an achievement that deserves respect. It is mighty, indeed.

WorldofHiglet is the online persona of writer Mary R. Higgins, a born-again geek reclaiming her heritage bit by bit. A youth filled with sci-fi, horror and adventure in TV, films, computer games and books was crushed by years of office grind. Buffy brought her back into the fold after years of denial. Discovering Firefly sealed the deal. Now she geeks fulltime on her blog ‘the last geek bus home’ . Her first novel ‘Turning left at Albuquerque” is complete and she has just launched HigletFilms.com, a new webvideo entertainment site serving new, original videos every Monday.

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