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Sandy Collora first made a name for himself when his fan film Batman: Dead End was released way back in 2003. Since then, Collora has worked mostly on his own, self-producing impressive independent genre fare including the sci-fi film Hunter Prey and now the creature feature Shallow Water. Shallow Water clocks in at a whopping 18 minutes, which seems to fly in the face of the popular sentiment that shorter is always better for films distributed online. While I'm not sure the content supports the lengthy run time, I do recommend saving this one to play on a big screen when you have the time to spare as it features some stunning jungle cinematography and practical effects work that will please fans of classic monster fare...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Sandy Collora, the director of the legendary Batman: Dead End short film, has made an awesome creature feature short film called Shallow Water. I had the opportunity to watch Shallow Water earlier this year and I loved it! I was so impressed that I even wrote a review for it. The full short film has been released online so now you can all watch it for yourselves and experience the greatness!

If you're a fan of old-school practical effects and gritty hardcore filmmaking, you're not going to want to miss this. I'm a big fan of creature features and I loved watching these kinds of films when I was growing up. Seeing someone like Collora tap into that kind of filmmaking badassery to create something fresh and new is inspiring and I hope Hollywood takes note. Check it out!

Sandy Collora, the director of Batman: Dead End, recently completed shooting his horror adventure short film "Shallow Water." This is a film that he was able to make with the help of his fans through Kickstarter. He is currently in post-production, and as a fan of Collora's work and his art, I can't wait to see how the film turns out!

As the filmmaker is completing his project, he has launched a new Kickstarter campaign for a book he's put together featuring a ton of awesome development art for the film! It's called The Art of Shallow Water: A Short Book About a Short Film. If you're like me and you enjoy seeing the concept art, key art, maquettes, costumes, storyboards, and other forms of development art for movies, this is a must have book because it contains art from one of the most talented guys in the industry.

"Mother nature, mate. She can be a real bitch."

A few weeks ago, Batman: Dead End and Hunter Prey director Sandy Collora launched a Kickstarter campaign for a short film called Shallow Water, which will be the first part of a retro horror/sci-fi anthology feature film he plans on making.

There are only a few days left to get this thing funded and every little bit will help. It's so damn close, and it would be a complete and utter shame if this movie didn't get made. We've really gotta support the talented indie filmmakers out there who are trying to bring something new, different, cool, and unique into the world — especially when it involves genres that we love like this.

I included a proof of concept trailer for the film Collora released last year and it looks great! This is a film I could totally get behind, and...

Sandy Collora is a longtime special effects artist who helped create some of the more renowned and revered creatures in modern cinema. He produced and directed the fan film Batman: Dead End, hailed by filmmaker Kevin Smith as “possibly the truest, best Batman movie ever made”. Collora has announced his long-awaited return behind the camera with an […]...

Sandy Collora, the man behind Batman: Dead End, one of the greatest fan films ever made, is developing an awesome-sounding new short film project called "Shallow Water." The movie is described as a “gritty, intense short film, introducing a new and terrifying aquatic creature.” This will be the first short in a retro horror/sci-fi anthology feature film that he will be developing over the next couple of years, and he's started a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the project.

I’m a huge fan of anthology films, and this sounds like it will be amazing! This is the kind of stuff I love to see get made, and with the level of talent that’s behind it, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s going to deliver something incredible! Below you'll find a synopsis and more information on the project:

An innocent adventure: a fishing trip...

I’ve already gone on record saying that Ben Affleck’s version of Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is my favorite version so far. I loved the darkness and intensity of the character, and I also loved that classic look of the Dark Knight being brought to life on the big screen. But that’s not the first time we’ve seen this version of Batman in a film.

In 2003, Sandy Collora shook the geek world when he unveiled his badass short film Batman: Dead End, and there are a lot of similarities between that version of Batman (played by Clark Bartram) and Affleck’s version of the character. The costume in Batman v Superman has more detail to it, but the concept of it and how the character was portrayed is exactly the same as what Collora and his team created all those years ago.

Other...

Forget your $250 million budgets and A-list megastars, sometimes all you need to make a good film is a bit of creative thinking and passion for your characters (intellectual property rights optional).

With feature-length fan film Star Trek: Renegades setting fandom abuzz, here's a host of unauthorised movies that put Hollywood to shame.

1. Batman battles Predator

Back in the Dark Knight's movie wilderness years (thanks for that, George Clooney!), short Batman: Dead End made waves online thanks to a mega-twist that saw the Caped Crusader in a rain-soaked showdown against a Predator. If it bleeds, Batman can kill it.

2. A Judge gets back in the saddle

A tepid box office showing from 2012's Dredd means a sequel is probably never going to happen. However, hardcore fans had their thirst quenched by the moody Judge Minty, about an ageing Mega City One Judge striding through the Cursed Earth. Think of this as...

Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher, Christopher Nolan, and Zack Snyder have all done what most superhero junkies could only dream of doing: direct a Batman movie. But there was one other filmmaker privileged enough to have suited up the masked manhunter for cinema, achieving almost overnight success in 2003 and a cult classic amongst Batman fans—without the “superpowers” of a million dollar budget or the tyranny of studio executives. The director: Sandy Collora. The film: Batman: Dead End.

“Behind The Mask”, a 90-minute documentary on the life and career of Sandy Collora, was shown recently at Monsterpalooza in Burbank, CA, telling the story of the indie filmmaker’s refusal to “sell out” to major studios and finding satisfaction in directing his own films.

For those unfamiliar with the super-hero/horror movie, Batman: Dead End (available for free online) is an 8-minute fan film made by director and creature creator Sandy Collora...

Sandy Collora, the man behind the classic fan film Batman: Dead End, World's Finest and the indie sci-fi Hunter Prey, is kickstarting an art book called The Art of Creature and Design. Collora not only created these awesome film projects, but he also has worked as a character and creature designer for films such as Men in Black, The Crow, Predator 2, Little Monsters, The Abyss and more. They guy is very talented, and he brought together several of his talented friends and associates to help provide content for this book. Some of those people include Jordu Schell, Steve Wang, Joel Harlow, and Aris Kolokontes.

If you're a regular visitor of the site, then you already know how much I love art. Fan art, concept art, comic art, fine art, and more. I enjoy it all! I also have a large collection of film and TV concept art books that I've bought over the years,...

During the latest Fat Man on Batman, Kevin Smith described the new Batsuit that will be featured in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (once again). While most of the description was filled with bits fans noticed from the released picture, Smith did drop another new detail about the suit. "They're doing that one for the next movie.", Said Smith as he pointed to a statue from The Dark Knight Returns: Hunt For The Dark Knight (below), "Like he looks like that.". When Neal Adams brought up the fan film Batman: Dead End (video below), Smith said, "I'm telling you, that’s what they're doing in this new movie Batman movie. It's him in material. None of this body armor shit.". This new bit is something that some fans have speculated since the release of the image, as wrinkles in the "cloth" are visible in the suit. During the podcast,...

Welcome to Issue 27 of ‘The Marvelous Da7e!’

Real quick mission statement: this column is for discussion of superhero movie news and superhero movies…Or Is It?

This week: A bad comic fan film is in the news for blatant theft. Let’s not let that tarnish fan films.

This Shia Labeouf thing is getting weird.

Mr. Labeouf, for those who don’t know, released a short film that ended up being a word-for-word visual version of Daniel Clowes’ 2007 comic, “Justin M. Damiano”, just with names and a few props changed. No where in the film is Clowes acknowledged and the artist and his editor are super-pissed at the plagiarism at hand.

This is all a little surreal, because I had seen this comic pop up on Tumblr during Cannes when Shia Labeouf’s short HowardCantour.com had premiered. Someone had blogged it with a caption like: ust saw a live action version of this.

Over the past few months, we witnessed amazing fan-generated content rack up millions of views and get national attention. From the recent Wonder Woman fan film to the latest episode of Super Hero Beat Down, creators are spending large amounts of time and money working on intellectual property that they cannot monetize. And that fan-driven content has always done incredibly well on YouTube. One of the first big hits of the genre on the platform was Batman: Dead End, released in 2003. One of the next was Kevin Tancharoen’s Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, which Warner Bros. and Machinima then turned into a official web series. Mk:r is actually one of the few examples of fan-created content that made the transition into an officially approved and financed series. That trajectory has seldom been repeated. Content created by fans with the use of intellectual property they don't own generally has a very limited shelf life on YouTube.

Welcome to Issue 17 of ‘The Marvelous Da7e!’

This weekend is New York Comic Con, and I don’t think I’ll be as present on the floor as I was last year and the year before. There just aren’t a ton of movies representing themselves and as much as I want a plush Rocket Raccoon, I made a pledge to myself earlier this year to stop putting large chunks of my finances into the various collections of toys I have at home and the office.

So, unlike Nycc’s San Diego counterpart, we’re not expecting a ton of news on the superhero movie front. That means I’m not expecting anything groundbreaking out of the Con. Well, not officially. El Mayimbe usually does some worth-while partying that becomes fruitful. Little mustache-clad me will be supporting the industry by catching up on the half-dozen Marvel crossover events currently running.

Between this and the recently released Pacific Rim footage, we're all hot and bothered around here. Speaking of heat, get ready for your wallet to start burning once you feast your eyes upon what Neca is unleashing at this year's San Diego Comic-Con!

Below you'll find your first look at the Albino Predator courtesy of Action Figure Insider. Seen briefly at the end of the brilliant short film from Sandy Collora known as Batman: Dead End, the Albino Predator features over 25 points of articulation including ball jointed hips and double knee joints. He has brand new shoulder armor and unique Albino deco along with tribal markings/tattoos.

No word yet on the exact scale of the figure, but really... just wow.

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Welcome back to another edition of Kickstart This, FirstShowing's weekly column dedicated to spreading the word about cool indie projects that need your help to become a reality. If you've been following the film blog community for a long time, you've probably come across a link to Sandy Collora's iconic fan film Batman: Dead End, which debuted at Comic-Con back in 2003. Now Collora and his team are putting together a documentary about the making of that project for its ten year anniversary, so take a look at their pitch video below and don't forget to toss these filmmakers a few extra bucks if you can. Check this one out! If you were at Comic-Con ten years ago, you probably remember hearing crazy buzz about a fan film that combined Batman, Predator & Aliens all in the same universe. For reference, watch Batman: Dead End: Pretty impressive stuff. Clerks director...

I enjoy watching fan-made films, hell I've made a few fan-made films myself with my friends over the years! They're just fun to make, and it's great practice for anyone interested in getting into a filmmaking. One of the first fan-films I ever saw that just blew me away was Sandy Collora's Batman: Dead End. I still watch it from time to time, and think how awesome of a movie that would make. Since then we've seen a ton of great fan-films over the years. People spend their own hard earned money and time to make something because they love it, not because they expect to make a profit from it. 

John E. Hudgens has made a great looking documentary called Backyard Blockbusters that explores the history and world of fan-films. It dives into the passion of the fans, and how some Hollywood studios have tried to shut them down.

Batman fans will remember Sandy Collora's fantastic mini-epic Batman: Dead End.  Sandy is auctioning off a production sketch from Dead End to help a friend's child that has brain cancer.  Time to step-up Bat-Fans.  My friend and fellow diver's son Monty, is fighting for his life against brain cancer. He's 5 years old and I'm auctioning this original Batman sketch from "Batman Dead End", to raise funds for Monty, to get him an ipad and some other things that will bring him some happiness and put a smile on his little face. Bidding starts at 200 dollars. Highest bid by the end of the weekend wins, and the money will be sent directly to a Paypal account set up for the little guy.   To bid on the auction, check out Sandy's facebook page. You can read more about Monty here; http://www.spearboard.com/showthread.php?t=149654...

The concept art below by artist Miles Teves shows off several versions of a much sexier Batgirl costume that would could have been worn by Alicia Silverstone in Joel Schumacker’s Batman & Robin.

I knew as I drew this that it could never work on Alicia Silverstone. Though she was sweet and adorable, she was also not 9 feet tall, and had rather more realistic proportions.

Bob Ringwood, the costume designer, always asked me to draw my figures to be about 9 heads tall like they do in the fashion world. He didn’t seem to mind that what would work as a concept on someone with those impossible proportions, would not work on a person with real-world human measurements. However, it did make for more heroic and ‘sexy’ drawings that could sell a design to a fussy director or nervous studio head.

I regret that my idea of the cut-out Bat symbol window on the chest,...

Fan films are a very mixed bag, both blessing and befouling the internet with their treatment of the source material that inspires them. Sometimes you luck out and get pieces like Sandy Collora's Batman: Dead End, a short that pits the Dark Knight against the Joker, a pack of Aliens, and a tribe of Predators. Other times, you get pieces like the Star Wars-inspired Dark Betrayal…well, just watch for yourself. Now we've got Resident Evil: First Hour, a prequel miniseries detailing the events that led up to the Raccoon City incident that took place during Resident Evil 2, presented by the folks at Machinima. Check out the first episode, and my impressions, after the break. The first...

It's the weekend Cbm community and you know what that means! It's time to kick back, relax, and have a little fun as we bring you ideas and content from outside the box. Previously,we had a ton of fun looking at all the superhero cartoon openings of the '90s. I wasn't surprised by the winner but I was surprised by the winning margin. Batman: The Animated Series was a runaway winner, taking out strong contenders such as X-Men and Spider-Man. Now we'll take a look at fan films, some of which have a cult following bigger than you can probably imagine. Films such as Grayson, World's Finest, Batman: Dead End, and Troops show that you don't necessarily need a big budget and costly SFX to make a film that will appeal to the nerd enthusiasts of the world. Some fan film productions go on...

Batman: The Last Laugh Fan Film. Walter Garcia‘s Batman: The Last Laugh Fan Film is “a high intensity, action packed fan film that was created in the partnership of Enso Productions and Gotham City FX. See how The Joker and Batman go head to head in this fan film like no other.”

Much like Batman: Dead End and The Rat, we have a fan’s take on Batman, Batman-lore and segments of Batman’s past and future. Batman: The Last Laugh takes The Joker and Batman from Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight and runs with it. Since it is produced by a stunt team, the choreography and fight scenes are far more high-end than you would normally see in a fan film.

Watch the Batman: The Last Laugh fan film below and leave your thoughts on it in the comments section. For more short films, check out our Short Film Page.

Fan favorite Batman: Dead End and Hunter Prey director Sandy Collera is developing a great sounding new monster movie project called Shallow Water, and he's giving the fans an opportunity to get in on the action. For those of you who have enjoyed the work of Sandy Collera over the years, then this sounds like a project you can get excited about.

The film is set in Baja Mexico around the Sea of Cortez, and the story follows group of adventurers who set out on a journey to find a mystical place known as Lago de Sangre... the Lake of Blood. Of course things go horribly wrong when a prehistoric creature starts to hunt them down taking the group out one by one.

Collera is giving his fans a chance to be a part of this film production. He is working with Kickstarter.com to raise the funds for his film project.

One of the cooler fan-made films you’ll ever see is Batman: Dead End (here). Since that short debuted, I’ve been interested in what director Sandy Collora would do next, and just a bit ago (well, more like 6 months ago), he and Maya Entertainment released Hunter Prey (review here), a kick-ass little sci-fi tale that seriously needs your love and attention.

Lucky for us, he’s gearing up for another feature film in Shallow Water and is going the route of Kickstarter for its funding. He’s kindly asked Killer Film to help, and so we are.

“Like my last film Hunter Prey, it is my intention with this project to harken back stylistically to the old-school genre films of the 70’s and 80’s — the very movies that inspired me as a kid to become a director — classics like Halloween, Alien, and John Carpenter’s The Thing… Films that...

The Film:

For the ideas and concepts director Sandy Collora has, and for the couple of dollars he has to do them, I don’t think there’s anyone else better in no budget execution than him. Who is he? You might remember him not by name, but by his amazing short film called Batman: Dead End (here), which not only gave us one of the better on-screen versions of Batman, but a true Aliens vs. Predator story than neither of the 20th Century Fox films did. Hunter Prey is an original idea, executed for less than $0.5 million and is one of the coolest sci-fi films you’re not seeing. That should change.

Clearly, Collora wears his influences close, as Hunter Prey feels like Star Wars and Planet of the Apes, with a little Enemy Mine thrown into the structure of a great Star Trek episode (the original crew, folks). The plot is simple,...

*Full disclosure: a DVD screener of this film was provided by Maya Entertainment and Mprm.

**Here be some spoilers.

Director/writer: Sandy Collora.

First off, this reviewer freely admits that the science fiction genre is a real blind spot in this writer's expertise. After listening to director Sandy Collora's ("Batman: Dead End") commentary on Hunter Prey, there are some comparable anchoring points. Collora pulled some of his influences from the '70s Buck Rogers, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars and others for this December, 2010 release. Collora is also influenced by westerns, but Hunter Prey feels like an extended version of Star Trek's 1967 "Arena."

In this feature, a captive escapes from a downed spacecraft, known as the Prometheus. A three man military trained crew moves in to chase, while initially pinned down by accurate plasma fire. Did this reviewer just say "plasma fire?" Anyways, a cat and...

The likes of Inception and Toy Story 3 got all the acclaim last year, but which movies will you really watch again and again?

Wading through the endless lists of best and worst films of 2010 it quickly became obvious that all you needed to compile them was a pair of rubber stamps; Inception, Toy Story 3, Winter's Bone, etc for the best, The Last Airbender, Jonah Hex, Sex and the City 2, etc for the worst. All well and good, but these consensus selections give a distorted view of the year in film. There are hundreds of films that don't get a mention in such binary best/worst selections, films that are ignored for committing the crimes of not being either bold statements that approach "perfection" or for being so bad they're virtually unwatchable. These films in the critical no man's land are often the ones that become favourites, the sort...

There's no question that the biggest DVD and Blu-ray release this week is Christopher Nolan's Inception (with Shrek Forever After also likely to sell a ton of copies), but if you're looking to get some last-minute Christmas gift ideas, you might find a few other odds and ends hitting stores this week as well. Sandy Collora, director of popular fan films Batman: Dead End and World's Finest, has his first feature film Hunter Prey finally out on DVD today, plus the indie comedy Barry Munday starring Patrick Wilson and The Year of Getting to Know Us starring Jimmy Fallon. Some interesting non-fiction releases include Restrepo, Big River Man and Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel, plus the first volume of the Espn 30 for 30 series. All this plus Criterion Bd releases for Cronos and Videodrome, and for Reed Farrington, it's Trek Stars Go West! What will you be buying or renting this week?...

Got some great first run releases hitting DVD and bluray today as well as a few genre classics hitting Bluray for the first time, so without any more preamble let's just dive right in.

First up we have Inception, Chris Nolan's dream-hoping, mind-bending, psuedo scifi romp that blew the roof off the box office to, I think, many people's surprise. Hell, when a mainstream movie with Leo Dicaprio impresses even quietearth, you know you've got something different on your hands. Is it perfect? No. I personally think Nolan's brick and mortar obsession with keeping a "reality" aesthetic hurt the film. I mean, it's about dreams. Let loose a little! But there is so much to love about this film that I would rate it a must-buy release.

Next up we have Sandy Collora's first original scifi feature Hunter Prey (trailer). In case you forgot, Collora's the dude who made the fan film,...

From the Writer/Director of Batman: Dead End

Loaded with Exclusive Extras Including Behind-the-Scenes Featurette and Commentary by Director Sandy Collora

Hunter Prey, the highly-anticipated sci-fi film from writer/director Sandy Collora (Batman: Dead End), arrives on DVD December 7 from Maya Entertainment. When their spaceship crash-lands on an unknown planet, a group of elite intergalactic commandos must capture their escaped alien prisoner and bring it in Alive.But as their mission drags on and proves more difficult then anticipated, the question soon becomes who’s hunting who? Packed with out-of-this-world bonus features, including a comprehensive behind-the-scenes featurette and commentary by director Sandy Collora,Hunter Prey will be available on DVD for $24.98 Srp.

“Hunter Prey is sure to be a new sci-fi classic,” said David Rand, Executive Vice President of Home Entertainment. “Sandy Collora has been touted as a sci-fi genius and we’re excited to bring his first feature film to fans.

Cruising the internet today I found this wicked Batman fan film that has surpassed the best fan film of the character to date, Batman: Dead End. This 30 minute movie is called Batman: City of Scars.

The short film’s premise tells a singular story of Batman when the Joker escapes from Arkham and murders the parents of a young boy. Now Batman recalls the pain of losing his own parents as a child. He is pushed past his limits to the point where his focus becomes revenge on all who stand in his way, including many of Gotham’s underworld. Finally, Batman is forced to look at the psychological profile of his own mind and except the consequences of his life to find resolve.

I thought the film was pretty cool as it really had some style to it. I thought it was a lot darker than expected. All in...

Sandy Collora is perhaps best known as the man who directed the cult short film Batman: Dead End, praised by Kevin Smith as “possibly the truest, best Batman movie ever made”, albeit before the Nolan era.

Now, seven years later, Collora has thrown off the shackles of his short film career with the release of his debut feature film Hunter Prey, a science fiction spectacular with the same heart and soul as the glorious Sci-fi of the mid 1980’s.

HeyUGuys were fortunate enough to grab some time with the much-celebrated director and FX designer to talk about his new film, working with bigger budgets and the state of science fiction films today.

This interview was conducted by James Wright.

You’re perhaps best known as the man whose created not one, but two cult comic book short films in Batman: Dead End and World’s Finest. Have you ever found...

Sandy Collora is going to be huge. Yes, that’s purely my opinion, but it’s one a lot of studios shared after seeing what he could do in his eight minute short Batman film, Batman: Dead End.

Starting out at Stan Winston Studios, he went on to work with practical effects legends like Rick Baker and Rob Bottin and did concept design on Men in Black, The Crow and Predator 2. With his vision and talent for creature design he certainly has a touch of Guillermo Del Toro about him, and once the suits saw Batman: Dead End, they circled eagerly.

Unfortunately Collora fought an uphill battle with the aforementioned studios in getting his debut Hollywood feature sorted. This was incredibly frustrating for those waiting to see what he could do with a full feature and a healthy budget, and can’t have been a lot of fun for the man himself either.

After writing off their spaceship, the crew of the Prometheus are stranded on a desolate, desert planet and the prisoner they had on board has escaped. Can they catch their intergalactic jail breaker and is everything what it seems? Who is the hunter and who is the prey?

What a shame. This film is written, directed and pretty much everything elsed by Sandy Collora. If that name means nothing to you check out Batman: Dead End and I’ll see you in eight minutes and four seconds… Pretty great right? It’d be nice to see what that guy could do with some money and a full feature right? Yep, I agree – hence my disappointment.

I think if Hunter Prey was a short, say 30-odd minutes long it would probably be a lot more palatable. Unfortunately at 90 minutes it really drags. There’s some interesting central ideas, a tricksy manipulation...

Hey gang! We've been talking about and following Sandy Collora's Hunter Prey since we first heard it was being made, and if your going to Comic-Con this year it looks like your going to get the chance to finally see it!

The sci-fi film Hunter Prey will be shown on Saturday night, 6:25Pm July 24th at the Marriot Hotel in Hall 2. The cast of the film will join director Sandy Collora for a Q&A session after the movie. If your a fan of sci-fi films then your definitely going to want to go to this.

Sandy Collora is the man behind one of the greatest fan films ever made, Batman: Dead End. I had the opportunity to watch the film and I thought it was great. The movie was shot on a low budget, but it has that great original classic 1970's sci-fi film vibe that we...

Are you one of those who loves to get their film festival on? Are you attending this year's Comic-Con? If you answered yes to those two then you better be aware that there's a film festival that's been happening at the Con for the past couple of years. There's no if not, it's impossible to go to the Con and not hear about it.The sixth annual Comic-Con International Film Festival will be underway throughout all four days of the massive pop culture event. You'll get a chance to see films pertaining not only to comics but all other genres to your liking. Of course we wouldn't be talking about this at all if we didn't have one specifically in mind.On Saturday, July 24th there'll be a screening for "Hunter Prey" from filmmaker Sandy Collora. If you recall, there was a bit of talk about how awesome this science...

For all intents and purposes the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum and the short film Batman: Dead End featured Gotham's hero tackling not only the Joker but also Aliens and Predators. What's cool about the character of Batman and why he fits into the genre so well is that he's a bit of a psychopath himself. In this latest fan film City of Scars that really dark side is explored once again even further.

City of Scars is a gritty, dark Batman fan film that will be running on Dailymotion exclusively for one month. The City of Scars' exclusive premiere on Dailymotion is also a fundraising event for Redeye Inc., a charity for underprivileged kids.

Synopsis

When the Joker escapes from Arkham and murders the parents of a young boy, Batman recalls the pain of losing his own parents as a child. He is pushed past his limits to the...

What's the appeal to amateur filmmakers to invest their manpower and money to make Batman fan films? Remember Batman: Dead End, the short film that Sandy Collora made back in 2003? Or what about John Fiorella's Grayson, the Robin wish-it-could-have-been trailer? If you thought that you had seen the best of what could be done with Batman on a microbudget, this brand new short may make you reevaluate your opinion. It doesn't even have the word "Batman" in its title.

Welcome to City of Scars.

Directed and co-written by Aaron Schoenke, it's another fan production. However, unlike earlier Batman fan-films, City of Scars runs at an impressive 26-minutes in length (30 mins and change if you could the end credits.) Created by Bat in the Sun, a Los Angeles-based film and music production created by Schoenke and his brother Sean (who also composed the music for City of Scars), the film has high production values,...

Hey Gang! A fun new fan-made Batman short film has been released online called City of Scars. The 30 minute movie focuses on Batman as he is pushed past his psychological limits to the point of focusing only on revenge on all who stand in his way.

When the Joker escapes from Arkham and murders the parents of a young boy, Batman recalls the pain of losing his own parents as a child. He is pushed past his limits to the point where his focus becomes revenge on all who stand in his way, including many of Gotham’s underworld. Finally, Batman is forced to look at the psychological profile of his own mind and except the consequences of his life to find resolve.

The short was written and directed by Aaron Schoenke. He shot the movie on 21 day schedule using HD cameras, and a $27,000 budget. You can tell this film...

click the above title to read the full story

 I wanted to wait a bit of time before reporting this news to give the Koenig family some respect.   Andrew portrayed the character 'Boner Stabone' on the Growing Pains tv show back in the 1980s.  He later was cast as the Joker in the cult fan-film Batman: Dead End.  He did an amazing job in that short film, so I made contact with him back when Legions of Gotham was a pretty new site and we emailed back and forth for awhile.  He was a very friendly guy and gave us a great interview.   Andrew's father Walter is best known for his role as Chekov in the original Star Trek tv show. 

Andrew was found, having taken his own life.   We offer our condolences to the family in this impossible time.  If you know someone in your life that suffers from depression,...

While the main purpose of Secret Identity is to discuss the possibilities of future comic book movie casting, it's also worth dwelling on the perfect casting of the past. One particular character has changed through many different but equally capable hands over the years — and while everyone has his or her favorite interpretation, there is no question that The Joker has always been a fan favorite.

As today is April Fools' Day — the one day of the year where endlessly pranking people is the societal norm — it feels appropriate to look back on the various actors that have caused mischief as the Clown Prince of Crime.

Cesar Romero: Adam West's portrayal of Batman is certainly iconic, but it would have lacked some serious biff-bang-pow without the inclusion of an excellent rogues gallery — and thankfully, Cesar Romero was there to do the job as The Joker in the 1960s...

Yes we announced the partial lineup a ittle while back, and now we have the exclusive full lineup to share, and boy, is it a doozy. The festival runs April 28th to May 3rd so get your tickets now!

Opening night film: Splice by Vincenzo Natali.

Cosing night film: Cargo (which we loved, review)

TiMER (UK Premier)

Hunter Prey (International Premier) (teaser)

2033 (UK Premier) (Another film we loved, review)

1 The Stanislaw Lem adaptation (UK Premier) (Yes, we loved this too review)

Transmission (A Ballardian telecom malfunction, UK Premier) (review)

Drones

Eraser Children (International Premier, finally I get to see this tonight!) (trailer)

Radio Free Albemuth (Sneak Preview of this Philip K. Dick adaptation! We should have a trailer soon)

Earthling (International Premier) (review)

Depositarios (International Premier, more Mexican scifi) (teaser)

Plug & Pray (UK Premier, documentary)

8th Wonderland (UK Premier)

and much more! You can head over to the festival website for more details and tickets,...

Andrew Koenig was best known for his recurring role as Richard ‘Boner’ Stabone, Kirk Cameron’s best friend, on the ABC sitcom Growing Pains from 1985 to 1989. He was also the son of Walter Koenig, the actor who played Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek series.

The younger Koenig was born in Los Angeles, California, on August 17, 1968. He began appearing on television as a child in the early 1970s, and guest-starred in episodes of several sitcoms in the 1980s. He provided the voices for the characters Ambush and Night Creeper Leading for the animated G.I. Joe series in the early 1990s. He was also featured as Tumak in the Sanctuary episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1993.

He worked mainly in independent films from the early 2000’s, and starred as the Joker in the fan-film Batman: Dead End, which debuted at the San Diego Comic-Con International in 2003. Koenig also...

There's been a lot of excitement from fans over the new Predators film - especially after a first look at footage and concept artwork - and a similar sense of anticipation over a third Batman movie now that it's been confirmed by Christopher Nolan.

But what if the two worlds collided?

As fanboys will know, it's already happened in the comics. A crossover series called Batman versus Predator, written by Dave Gibbons (the artist on Watchmen) was published in 1991 and saw the caped crusader investigating grisly murders in Gotham.

A sequel, Batman versus Predator II: Bloodmatch, followed in 1995 and a third series, Batman versus Predator III: Blood Ties, in 1997.

The two characters have also encountered each other on celluloid. In 2003, Sandy Collora released a short film called Batman: Dead End.

The eight-minute story sees Batman (Clark Bartram) pursuing the Joker (played by the late actor Andrew Koenig, who passed away...

Star Trek actor Walter Koenig has paid tribute to his son Andrew, who has been found dead in a Vancouver park.

Andrew, who lived in California, was visiting friends in Canada when he went missing on Valentine's Day and missed a flight home two days later.

His father Walter, 73, who played Chekov in the original Star Trek TV series, said on his website that Andrew had "a long battle with depression."

He described him as "a funny, caring, gifted, passionate and multi-talented young man."

Mr Koenig wrote: "Andrew's disappearance caused a worldwide campaign of support and search efforts by those who were lucky to be his friends and by those whose lives he touched.

"A beautiful human being, Andrew died in his favourite city, filled with friends, in a park he loved. The family is truly touched by the outpouring of support and love."

Walter had earlier said in a...

Marvel Studios' choice of an actor to play Captain America is expected to be announced any day now (and we're a little surprised the news didn't hit last night, to be honest), and a potential (but in no way official) list of the five leading candidates found its way to the 'Net this week. All of this anticipation surrounding the star-spangled hero was reflected in the headlines, with much of the week's top stories involving Cap or the rumored contenders for the role.

However, ol' Steve Rogers wasn't the only draw this week, with buzz surrounding a potential sequel to M. Night Shyamalan's "Unreakable" getting people talking (and clicking), and the record-breaking sale of "Action Comics" #1 (featuring Superman's first appearance) leaving its mark on the comics landscape. Our chat with the "Penny Arcade" creators carved out a nice little niche for itself among the week's biggest headlines, too — so three cheers for webcomics!

For nearly a week now, the online world has been following the search for "Growing Pains" actor Andrew Koenig, whose body was discovered in Vancouver yesterday, according to various reports.

While most people recognize the 41-year-old Koenig as Richard "Boner" Stabone, the troublemaking buddy of Kirk Cameron in the ABC sitcom "Growing Pains," comics fans might know him better as the actor who played The Joker in the wildly popular fan-made film "Batman: Dead End." Made by Sandy Collora, "Dead End" starred Koenig as The Joker and Clark Bartram as Batman, and received high praise from critics and comic creators alike (including Kevin Smith and Alex Ross).

Along with his work on "Batman: Dead End," Koenig also provided several voices in the "G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero" animated series.

Check out "Batman: Dead End" below:

Let us know what you think in the comment section or on Twitter!

Andrew Koenig, star of Growing Pains and son of Star Trek actor Walter Koenig, committed suicide. His boy was found in Vancouver, Canada on Thursday afternoon after being missing for almost two weeks.

Vancouver authorities held a press conference on Thursday just hours after the discovery, during which a police spokesperson revealed they had no reason to believe foul play was involved in Koenig's death.

Walter fears his son's battle with depression led him to take his own life. He and his wife Judy want to use the tragic news to warn other parents to seek help if they believe their child is struggling with their personal demons.

From 1985 to 1989, Koenig played a recurring role as Richard "Boner" Stabone, best friend to Kirk Cameron's character Mike Seaver in the first four seasons of the sitcom Growing Pains. During the same period, he guest starred on episodes of the sitcoms...

Actor Andrew Koenig was found dead in Vancouver, British Columbia’s Stanley Park. Despite a three-team search-and-rescue effort that covered the park last Tuesday, his body was recovered by an independent search organized by a group of the actor’s friends Thursday. According to Koenig’s father, actor Walter Koenig, Andrew’s cause of death was suicide. Koenig’s father further said that his son suffered from depression and had stopped taking his medication. The actor had been missing since February 14.

Koenig was perhaps best known for his role as “Boner,” friend to star Kirk Cameron’s character “Mike Seaver” on the ’80s sitcom Growing Pains. The actor also appeared in various roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 21 Jump Street, and My Two Dads. He was 41.

One of our favorite roles portrayed by Andrew was that of The Joker in the original fan film Batman: Dead End from 2003. Check...

More than a week after "Growing Pains" actor Andrew Koenig went missing, his body has been found in Vancouver, CNN is reporting.

An unnamed source, who reportedly spoke to Koenig's father, told CNN that the body found in Vancouver's Stanley Park on Thursday (February 25) at around noon is the 41-year-old. A news conference is expected for later Thursday, and various reports are saying that his parents — including "Star Trek" icon Walter Koenig — may attend.

Fans, media and authorities alike had all come together over the last week in search of Koenig, who vanished on Valentine's Day and then missed a flight home to Los Angeles two days later. Reports later leaked that Vancouver police classified the actor as being "despondent" upon his disappearance, that he had suffered from depression,...