Fan films are commonplace now, even higher quality than some studio productions (as with Star Trek: Phase II). But, in 1998, distribution of your fan film was limited to conventions and trade shows. Then came Kevin Rubio’s TROOPS, a mashup of Cops and Star Wars, it was funny, clever and well produced. Not to mention, widely distributed via the internet.

Over at the official host of TROOPS, TheForce.Net, they have a letter from director Kevin Rubio remembering the anniversary:

I don’t think most people ever plan on being the first in anything. I like to think that, as with TROOPS, it happens by accident more often than we realize. And while I have done other things in the entertainment industry, including the up coming new series: THE CLONE WARS, But TROOPS is still by far my most recognized and well known contribution in the world of entertainment. And I think it is so because so many other talented people contributed to it.

I’m told that TROOPS inspired a lot of people to make their own film of “fan film”, and that I’m happy to share in the thanks and blame for that. but I’ve always though that the medium of film is at its best when there is a collaboration between many talented individuals - each adding to the whole, making it better than it was before.

It took me days to get the entire 10 minute to download back then, but it was worth it (in a day when most people didn’t know what the internet was). If you have never seen TROOPS, what are you waiting for? It was a huge achievement for its day, and still stands up to today.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 1st, 2008 at 7:43 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.