Song of the Starslayer

For perhaps as long as I have been making films, I have aspired to create an epic-scale fantasy movie. The production of "Song of the Starslayer" was a 3 year undertaking filled with challenges that would trouble even the most well funded Hollywood production. Ray Niemira, the actor who played King Myklos, passed away in the middle of production, forcing a rewrite of several parts of the first 2 acts. The film features his last performance. Ben Kullman, who played the film's main villain, was actually stabbed and ended up in the ER after a climactic sword fight. But none of us even knew he was injured before the word "cut" was heard, as the hardcore actor continued the scene without flinching to the very end. Despite these and other challenges sure to come with a film of this scale, a volunteer cast and crew came together with a coalition of dedicated nerds from across the southwest US to pull off a legendary quest. The story may fall into a genre often marked by Hollywood blockbusters, but the making of it was about as indie as it gets. It's the type of film made for fans of comic books, video games, conventions, and pulp-fantasy and science fiction novels. Except this wasn't made by Hollywood, it was made by the fans.