While not as well-known as Comic-Con, Dragon*Con is still a widely-known genre film convention in Atlanta, Ga., that brought in almost 35,000 people this year.
Among those thousands was Amy Taylor, a 2011 Ohio University School of Film alumna whose short film and thesis project, Jess Archer vs. The Ex, was featured in the festival.
“Jess Archer was very influenced by the sci-fi/fantasy genre and comic books so the audience at Dragon*Con was an ideal one for the film,” Taylor said. “They got all the jokes ... And of course this gave me an excuse to attend Dragon*Con, which was fantastic.”
The film festival took place from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 and featured a combination of short films, independent feature films, panels, celebrity guests, concerts, seminars and contests.
“There is a niche audience for this kind of movie. It’s very fast-paced, based in comic book pop culture, and uses humor in a very strange, esoteric way,” said Cody Vandenberg, the editor.
Taylor said she felt that audiences at Dragon*Con responded well to her work, laughing throughout the entire
presentation.
“I am pumped that Jess got accepted into another film festival,” said Emily Williams, who starred as the title character, Jess Archer, in the short. “Amy is an incredible writer who writes strong women with a sense of humor.”
Taylor said that the project was inspired by a variety of different materials, from strong female heroines like Veronica Mars to pulpy ’30s heroes like The Shadow and The Phantom.
Ultimately, she wanted to make a film that spoke to her inner geek.
Taylor wrote the film with each actor in mind for his or her roles. The combination of their acting talents and the visual style that Josh Young, the director of photography, and Vandenberg were able to add made the film a blast, she said.
“Having a crew that communicates well and works efficiently makes a huge difference in the finished product,” said Chris Haak, the producer.
Since moving to L.A., Taylor has sold several short scripts and is currently working as a director on a new PBS show called Just Seen It, which covers reviews of movies and TV shows.
She said she also hopes to one day work on her passion project, a pilot for a steam-punk, time-traveling western called Infinity Justice, which she is currently shopping around networks like SyFy and HBO, and to return to Jess Archer, possibly as a web series.
“The film was so much fun to work on,” said Taylor. “It was a very collaborative process and ultimately, when it came to shooting, I was able to sit back and just let everyone do their thing.”
wa054010@ohiou.edu
