Amy Taylor is expanding her thesis into a web series called Jess Archer Versus, whose first season will be filmed in Athens this summer.
For her thesis project in the Ohio University MFA film production program, Amy Taylor paid homage to two of her favorite things: teen detectives and Edgar Wright films.
The short film, Jess Archer Vs. the Ex, is exactly that, as it is the likely result of what would come from combining Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Veronica Mars.
Jess Archer was played at Dragon Con in August 2012 where Taylor said it got a “really positive response” and that audiences “wanted to see more of the characters.”
Now, Taylor and many of the original cast and crew are bringing Jess Archer back to life. The team is coming to Athens this June to make the first season of a web series.
“If you want (a project) you really believe in, you have to make it yourself,” said Taylor, who graduated from the MFA program in 2011.
Benjamin Guenther is a producer for the upcoming web series and was the line producer on the original short film. He said he’s excited to revisit this project on a new medium.
“With how technology has advanced in the last 10 years and the accessibility to affordable equipment, I really think web series are just sort of taking off,” said Guenther, a 2012 alumnus of the MFA film program.
The goal, Taylor said, is to film the 12-episode first season and use it as a way to pitch the series to potential funders.
The first season will feature Jess helping an all-star athlete who has been framed for stealing the answers to a midterm. Her best friend, Chase Pollard, will assist her in uncovering the mystery while their nemesis Officer Turner will still do his best to hinder them as much as possible.
The team is returning to Athens because it’s easier financially to produce the series here than in Los Angeles, where Taylor and Guenther are based. Both also said they are eager to reunite with everyone in Athens.
“Originally, I wrote the short script for these particular actors,” Taylor said. “L.A., yes, has a ton of actors, but I just think the OU theater kids are really well trained and super hardworking and just a pleasure to work with.”
Taylor ran a Kickstarter for one month and received $15,246 to fund the project.
Emily Williams, who originated Jess Archer and will reprise her role this summer, said she is very excited to work on the project again.
“I was like, ‘It’s about time,’ ” Williams, who graduated from the OU BFA theater program in 2012, said with a laugh. “After we filmed the first one, I was like, ‘This can’t be it. There’s got to be more.’”
In particular, Williams said she enjoys how well written the material is and the fact that the show stems from a female perspective and is about a strong female character.
“Jess is a lot like me. She’s kind of an asshole. She doesn’t placate anyone,” Williams said. “She’s all about justice. … She’s just trying to make the world a little better in her own nerdy way.”
Filming for the web series begins June 21 and will last for one week. Taylor said she plans for each episode to be about five minutes.
Just like in the original short, the web series will be filmed in locations OU students will recognize.
“A lot of it takes place in a bathroom in Glidden,” Taylor said. “We’ll be going back to that same bathroom and we’ll shoot a lot in Glidden, which is a little new because we shot a lot in Seigfred Hall last time.”
@buzzlightmeryl
mg986611@ohio.edu
