It’s not every day that an Web series takes off, fills theaters with fans for episode releases, and finds its way onto TV. This happened with Pure Pwnage, a fictional show that followed around a professional gamer as he navigated through life and love with all the stereotypical quirks typically associated with gamers. Now, the show’s makers are aiming a bit higher. They want to make a movie, and need your help to make it happen.
What started as a one-off video project in 2004 made with a borrowed camera and a budget of $10 eventually grew into an international sensation. Two seasons of the show were produced for a Web audience in the millions, which spawned popular gaming terms like “Boom, headshot!” and “I can dance all day! Try to hit me!”
Eventually, the show was picked up by Showcase in Canada and given a much larger budget while still maintaining much of the spirit that made the original Web series popular. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled after the network underwent rebranding. During its initial season, the Pure Pwnage show received critical acclaim and was nominated for a number of awards.
Now, the makers of Pure Pwnage are at it again. And this time, they want to make a movie.
About the Series and the Indiegogo Project
Pure Pwnage (as it is known by the fans of the Web series) has always been a guerrilla-style, low-budget production. Music, shooting, acting, and editing was done largely by a team numbering in the handful. It was a grass roots thing, and that’s what Jarett Cale and Geoff Lapaire are hoping the movie will allow them to come back to.
Pure Pwnage is the story of Jeremy (played by Jarett Cale), a professional gamer who was basically brought up in and around the world of video games. His mannerisms and speech are so influenced by the gaming world that it’s almost as though he was raised by forum trolls and in-game chat. His game style of choice is real-time strategy (RTS), though he plays virtually every game flawlessly.
His brother, Kyle (played by Geoff Lapaire), is a film student with aspirations of turning his documentary about Jeremy into a TV series. Joined by Doug (fps_doug), Dave (Dawei), Anastasia (Tagi), and a strange fellow wearing a ninja costume who goes by the name “Teh_Masterer,” Jeremy sets forth to claim his place as a professional gamer. Unfortunately, the life of luxury and legend doesn’t come very easy.
The series itself is split into two strangely alternate sub-plots. There’s one that’s totally realistic and believable where everyone involved is really just your average gamer. The other grants these characters powers far beyond those of mere noob mortals as part of an underground gamer mafia. It’s really one of those series you have to see to get the full picture.
Why This is Important
It’s hard to say that a single movie or television series is important, but bear with me. Pure Pwnage has been on the front lines of Web media since before the days of YouTube. It’s an example of how a series born on the Internet with no real budget can become a success in the face of mass media and multimillion dollar productions. To me, Pure Pwnage represents a new way of thinking in media.
The show itself is incredibly fun to watch and almost timeless in its humor. The characters are original and quite humorous, and the quality of the production has increased dramatically as the show’s creators have learned more about the art of making good television.
If anything, I’d say that supporting this type of project in important. It legitimizes independent fictional media and proves that you don’t have to be in Hollywood to make something that clicks with a large audience. Not only that, but isn’t it high time that gamers had a movie they could call their own?
Image: PurePwnage.com
