A 1st attempt at a major film (that is now being set aside)
I haven’t posted a new comic or animations for a bit and I wanted to share one reason why.
For the last 2 years I’ve been trying to get a film into production and honestly it came very close! I had a major producer attached, a major writer, and reps setting up meetings with many major studios. Unfortunately it’s now officially dead after not finding a buyer.
The idea was an animated musical that was The Nutcracker meets Dante’s Inferno with a glass ballerina braving the floors of a large toy store to rescue the love of her life from rats in the basement.
Everyone, this was Broken Down Ballerina
While there as excitement for this project, it met with push back from the last line to get it into production. It was considered too dark and not enough for kids.
I wanted a Nightmare Before Christmas / Coraline aesthetic with epic set pieces. I was told to avoid negative words like “Broken” and make it more positive and not as dangerous so it wouldn’t scare children.
I was really hoping to bring the same sensibilities and relatable character stories I’ve done with my comics to the big screen. This was a knight saving the princess story, but like my comics, it wasn’t that simple. Everyone had a story, depth, and paths meant to pull you in. I really wanted to make something exciting, fun and pull at your heart at the same time.
This was also a story with a diverse cast of characters. Another thing that came as an issue. I was told to think about replacing them with talking cups or shoes to make them more marketable.
In the end, though there was excitement for this and I had a team really wanting to get this into production, The studios all passed on it. For it not being a kid’s comedy and for being an original story. A number of studios said they’re not looking for original things and really want ideas that use the characters they already own.
So my first go at getting a film made isn’t happening for now. It was 2 years of meetings and trying to get there, but now I’m packing this idea into a flash drive to hopefully come out some years down the line.
I’m definitely not giving up. I appreciate the lessons I learned through this process and I really hope to eventually get something into production and tell a story that feels like something I would create. It’s hard to get your stuff out there, and the experience of having studios tell me how to make this story sell made me start to question my storytelling skills. There were moments where I could have said yes to what they said and had the film made as a generic kids film, but I knew I couldn’t live with that.
And honestly, seeing all of your reactions to my comics gave me confidence to stick by my idea. My following may be small, but I really do appreciate all of you.
So this film isn’t happening, but I’m still trying. I also want to stress how important it is to support the work you enjoy. Seeing something like Lackadaisy and Helluva Boss is so inspiring. Without fans, those shows may not be possible. Those are ideas studios seem to be oppose to until they’re made and they can simply place their name on a finished project.
It’s all of you who show what you want with your support, shares, and spreading the word.
I’m hoping to reach a point where I can get Broken Down Ballerina into some kind of production and also create a show for something like Doris Doodle (I already shared how that went.) I’ll keep trying for all of my life to get there.
For now, I’m trying to build animations and a graphic novel to push these ideas.
I hope you’ll help by sharing my work with others and consider becoming a patron.
https://www.patreon.com/Hasanistudios
https://www.hasanistudios.com/
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