Les Miserables Fan Community

So, basically our theatre company (its a non-profit group with a difference) had a roaring success with a non-musical stage adaptation of Les Mis (that we wrote) - we did our initial show run, and then ended up getting funding from London, to do a second run, and things went from strength to strength.

Then, last winter, some of our members and key people involved in the stage show, started talking about a film. As I have two (long disused, I dived headlong into theatre instead) degrees in film and TV production, and am an unabashed Les Mis addict (and the director of the stage show), I got hauled in. (okay, I would have been very annoyed if I wasn't, hehe). What we decided pretty early is that there is absolutely no point in doing yet another Les Misérables feature film. There are half a million already out there. What instead made a lot more sense is the fact that the whole book, has never been dramatised. Every single stage / feature film adaptation has to miss stuff out. So, we developed the plan to make an internet film series (well, at the minimum it will be available globally on Youtube, Vimeo and similar platforms, though we have already got a TV broadcast company making tentative inquiries as well, so you never know)
The plan is to crowdfund the series, but what we have also discovered is that very few people have believed that the project is a serious plan. We advertised castings, had hundreds of people say they were attending, and then over 90% no-shows on the day, and when followed up, feedback was they thought the casting would be a joke, and were amazed to hear it had actually taken place!!!!!! Some then begged for roles without auditioning (Sorry!)

We hoped to have the whole thing cast by the end of the summer, and to have filmed the promo trailer, which introduces the visuals, main cast members, and some of the locations, last month. As it is, with delays caused by casting it, we have only just cast the main characters whom we want for the trailer, a week ago, which is now pushed back to filming in the early Spring.
In a way, this is good. This is letting the two of us who are funding the filming of the trailer, hit ebay, selling stuff to fundraise for the trailer. We have a huge load of stunning costumes already, both saved from the stage show, and bought from a theatre period costume clearance sale in October.
Once we have the trailer (to prove it is serious!) then we will go ahead with the crowdfunding.

If you want to get involved, there will be several ways. Helping with the crowdfunding, when that is set up, is one way. You could come and be an extra or even a supporting actor with some lines, in the series, and we will have sponsored events, carnival entries, and themed-events, to fundraise and publicize the project - which will be posted here and on our social networks.

To follow our group and be the first to find out what is going on, there are various links below.

Theatre Company main links
Website: http://www.southdevonlayers.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sdevonplayers
Facebook public group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/southdevonplayers/
Twitter: @sdevonplayers
Email mailing list: http://www.southdevonplayers.com/join-mailing-list.html

Les Mis film series main links
Website (in development) http://lesmiserablesfilm.weebly.com
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lesmiswebseries

Back in the summer I posted about the production of Les Miserables - a new, non-musical production I wrote from the unabridged book, and directed... I havent updated with the latest as I have been swamped up to the eyeballs with good things happening from it.
During the main show run in September, a chap from London came to see it, and was so blown away by it, he instantly, 24 hours later had emailed me to offer us sponsorship to do the show again in a bigger professional theatre than we could ever have afforded. Needless to say we accepted! That went even more amazingly, we now have a web-film series in the offing - shooting the pilots in Spring 2014 - follow my theatre company online website HERE and Facebook HERE, if you want to get in on that, or to follow news, as those are our main points of news release.

And here are some stills from the barricade scene of the London sponsored production of Les Miserables last month (of which I am rabidly proud since I wrote the script, and directed it, and then someone from London came and saw  our first run of it and they instantly sponsored it to go into one of the big professional theatres because they were so blown away by it, plus there is a film in the offing, plus I rabidly love all things Les Mis anyway) I have just been editing film clips (we had the show filmed) for peoples showreels, and nabbed a few screen grabs from the barricade scene of that performance while doing so..
Not in chronological order.

Enjolras and Grantaire, in the final moments of the battle. Thats me dead in the right hand corner of the pic, lol.


Enjolras and Grantaire, as the cannons fall silent....


Enjolras
( More photos here )