I first learned about Legion M at New York Comic Con last October. It feels like ages ago at this point, but I’ll never forget the conversation I had with their booth representative. What drew me in at first was definitely the promotional swag I got for the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot but what I left with was so much more. I learned about their start, upcoming projects, and overall goals for the fan-owned entertainment company. With a community of over 25,000 investors and over 100,000 free members, Legion M gives fans an opportunity to shape the future of the entertainment industry and be a part of producing incredible content.
You may recognize some of the films that Legion M has funded, including but not limited to, Colossal, Mandy and the aforementioned Jay and Silent Bob Reboot – one of my favorite films of 2019. While we’re still realizing the effects that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on Hollywood, Legion M came to Comic-Con@Home to not only discuss upcoming projects but to talk about their plans in a post COVID world.
Leading the virtual panel was Paul Scanlan (Co-Founder/CEO), who spoke about the company’s strategic goals and his appreciation for all the members of the Legion. He followed up by talking about one of his favorite moments and creations, which was the recording of the late great Stan Lee placing his hand/footprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theater.
Legion M’s Dynamic App
Following a quick highlight video of the ceremony, Scanlan handed the mic to Jeff Annison (Co-Founder/President) to discuss their mobile app, Film Scout. First used at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, this tool allows fans as “scouts” the ability to rate, provide evaluations, and read the information available for each film. The ratings, when aggregated across all our scouts, provide valuable data that can be used to focus Legion M’s efforts and create a “watchlist” for the festival itself. Scanlan added that scouts played a large role in the discovery of Memory: The Origins Of Alien, a documentary focused on the impact and influence of the Ridley Scott masterpiece, Alien.
Legion M’s New Projects
Annison added how 2020’s Sundance Film Festival doubled Film Scout’s votes and led to partnering with Bleecker Street for Save Yourselves!, the number 1 ranked film with over 120,000 votes. The alien sci-fi comedy stars Sunita Mani (Mr. Robot, GLOW) and John Reynolds (Stranger Things, Horse Girl) and has a current release date of October 2, 2020. The premise is as follows:
A young Brooklyn couple heads upstate to disconnect from their phones and reconnect with each other. Sheltered from texts and push notifications, they are blissfully unaware when aliens attack the earth. As strange events unfold, the couple must figure out a way back to civilization — or what’s left of it.”
Annison proceeded to give the floor to the creators of some of their upcoming projects, including the directors of Save Yourselves! Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson and star Sunita Mani, where they each spoke about their excitement for the film, along with sharing their enjoyment about working with each other.
Next up for a preview was the Girl with No Name, a feature film produced by Co-Op Entertainment’s Laura Ivey and directed by Tanya Wexler (Hysteria). The highlight of this discussion wasn’t the film itself, but that it started as a comic book. Back in March of 2019, Legion launched a Kickstarter campaign to manage the pre-sales of the Girl With No Name comic book, and by the end of their campaign, they had raised over $135,000 and sold more than 3,000 copies of the comic book.
All About that Legion M Swag
The panel closed the only way panel goers at SDCC are familiar with most panels closing – swag. Only this time, there’s a twist. Fans got a virtual tour led by Mandy Bardisbanian (VP of Merchandising and Licensing) who guided us through some of the great swag available at shop.legionm.com. You can find Legion M items, along with an array of uniquely themed products that aren’t just the usual film merchandise you see, including signed scripts. These limited edition products are only available for a small amount of time. She also announced they have a partnership with Entertainment Earth for exclusive bundles for San Diego Comic-Con.
Along with swag, Legion M is all about unique experiences. Recently, they partnered with Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse to provide a Mooby’s Pop-Up shop in Los Angeles. To visit, you must make an appointment.
It’s hard to imagine a better way to kick off my 2020 San Diego Comic-Con@Home experience than by watching one of the most unique and up and coming companies in Hollywood continue to grow and lay the foundation in both fun content and unique experiences for fans. I can’t wait to see what else they do.
