I (Chris) did an interview with IndyCast, the Indiana Jones podcast, which was released the day of the Mercury Men premiere.  Unfortunately it kind of got lost in the shuffle so I wanted to post it here.  If you want to hear how the Indiana Jones films were a big influence on the Mercury Men, give it a listen!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO INDYCAST

During the interview I admitted that I like Temple of Doom more than The Last Crusade.  What is YOUR favorite Indiana Jones movie?

Make sure to get your Early Bird Certificate Package now because Mercury Men action figures are coming!  Well, digital action figures that is ;)

TheForce.net (the #1 Star Wars news site) has an early preview of a few upcoming digital props, which model Mercury Men characters in the style of vintage Star Wars figures, including card backs.

Visit TheForce.net to see the figures now!

To celebrate today's news of The Mercury Men coming to Syfy.com, we put together a fun throw back to a time when you actually had to open a newspaper to see when your favorite movie or show was going to be on!  And man, what a weekend at the movies THAT would be :)

We're (FINALLY) proud to announce that The Mercury Men will be coming to Syfy.com!  You'll soon be able to watch the entire series for FREE at http://www.syfy.com/mercurymen.  They're also going to be running short promotional spots for the series on the Syfy Channel which is cool beyond words.

I cannot tell you how incredibly excited we are to be able to share the great news and be another step closer to releasing this really fun story.  From day one, Syfy is the place we ultimately wanted Mercury Men to land.  Syfy is the home for sci-fi fans and, after meeting their team, it's run BY sci-fi fans.  Couldn't think of a better home for The Mercury Men.

While we haven't announced the airdate yet, it won't be much longer.  In the meantime, if you're a fan of the series, please share a link on your Facebook or Twitter page to help spread the word about the fun new Syfy series!  And for those of you who have been following The Mercury Men for a WHILE, thanks SO much for being a part of the journey.  We're thrilled to finally be able to share this fun story with you.

Here's the official press release:

NEW YORK - January 21, 2011 - Following the enormous success of the series Riese: Kingdom Falling - which generated 1.2 million streams in only two months - Syfy.com will expand its original digital content slate with the 10-part The Mercury Men, it was announced today by Craig Engler, Senior Vice President/General Manager, Syfy Digital.

Created by acclaimed director Christopher Preksta (Captain Blasto), The Mercury Men (each episode runs approximately seven minutes) will premiere exclusively in early 2011.

Said Engler: "Mercury Men is a phenomenal project and I think sci-fi fans and Syfy viewers are going to absolutely love it. We've been following the series since Chris (Preksta) posted the first trailer online, and we're thrilled to be able to work with him and host Mercury Men's worldwide debut on Syfy.com."

Drawing on the same retro serials that inspired films such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones, The Mercury Men is set in Pittsburgh in 1975. Edward Borman (Mark Tierno/Day of the Dead), a lowly government office drone, finds himself trapped when the deadly Men of Mercury seize the building as a staging ground for their nefarious plot.

Aided by Jack Yaeger (Curt Wootton/Captain Blasto), a daring aerospace engineer from a mysterious organization known as "The League," and Grace (Amy Staggs/Friday Night Lights, Death Proof), who was only at the building to get a government form stamped, Edward must stop the invaders and their Doomsday Device, the Gravity Engine.

The Mercury Men is written and directed by Christopher Preksta, best known as the writer/director of Captain Blasto, for which he was nominated for two Streamy Awards. His work has been showcased at prestigious events including the Tribeca Film Festival and Comic-Con. Producer is Kati Lightholder.

Riese: Kingdom Falling, narrated by Sanctuary star Amanda Tapping, premiered on Syfy.com on October 26.

A few days ago I was part of the web series industry podcast New Mediacracy discussing the future of storytelling, along with the talented group of Mark Gantt, Bernie Su, Nicholas J. Robinson, and series regulars Steve Woolf, Zadi Diaz, and Chris McCaleb. We discussed the possibilities and limitations of storytelling on the web. While much of the conversation was aimed at the untapped potential of the medium, there was one advantage I personally feel very passionate about: the story and people behind the story. New media, more so than say TV or film, fosters both a greater look behind-the-scenes and a deeper relationship between creator and viewer. I'll elaborate on the example I used on the podcast.

Click to read more ...

We're in print! Sci-fi Magazine to be exact. Make sure to pick up this month's issue (labeled April, which I'll never understand) which features a small article on our black-and-white adventure. It even has a few pics and reveals a bit of plot which hasn't previously been released.

You can find Sci-fi Magazine at Borders and Barnes and Noble. And a special thanks to writer Jeff Berkwits for helping to draw attention to our series.

Two great sites posted some great coverage of The Mercury Men today. First up, The Sci-fi Block, which I did a lengthy interview for (5 pages!). Lots of info about the series in there. And lastly, Celtx, the software company I mentioned in our storyboard production journal, did a quick write-up of the video on their blog. If you're an indie filmmaker and don't already know about Celtx, you should give their site a visit.

Sci-fi Block Interview
Celtx Blog Post