POPULAR MAGAZINE - The Sneak Peek (End of Summer Issue 2016) Jul. 2016 | Page 9

TH E F IN N ISH C OM PA NY BE H IND T HE CU LT N AZI S- F ROM- T HE- MOON FILM IS S UE
AN OP E N CAL L TO FA NS TO S U BMIT PR OJECTS SE T I N T HE SAME F ICTION A L
UNIVE R S E .
The filmmakers behind the Iron Sky films, which have reached cult status, will launch an online portal Saturday aimed at tapping the
energy of fan fiction and turning it into professional content.
The portal, called Fanchise, has an open call for would-be filmmakers, game developers or other creatives to pitch their ideas for
projects “set in the Iron Sky universe.” The first open call will run from May 14 to January 2017.
The ideas can be for anything from short films to games, graphic novels or VR content, but should be limited to experiences of 10
minutes or less. The best pitches will be put into Iron Sky‘s crowdfunding network and, if they attract sufficient support, be put into
production.
“The goal is to try and help people make their calling card for the industry,” said Iron Sky producer Tero Kaukomaa. “It’s to help funnel
the creativity of fan fiction into something more professional.”
Fan collaboration has been at the core of Iron Sky from the start. The first film, in 2012, not only used crowdfunding for around $1
million of its $10 million budget, but also crowdsourced much of the production, from getting fans to rate trailers and teaser
campaigns to getting tech-savvy followers to do routine post-production work on the SFX-heavy feature.
For Fanchise, Iron Sky director Timo Vuorensola say he isn’t just looking for versions of Nazis on the moon. “We are trying to be
flexible, but it should fit the pulp spirit of Iron Sky,” he explains. “So quirky, cool stuff.”
Vuorensola says that content produced via the Fanchise portal could be released over a variety of
online and traditional platforms, but that the real goal is to activate “the creativity of our fans.”
The second film in the Iron Sky franchise, Iron Sky: The Coming Race, is currently in
post production and is targeting a 2017 release.

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