The Facebook notification said, “John Hudgens has invited you to like his page Backyard Blockbusters.” Knowing John’s history with fan films, I clicked “like” so I could learn more about it. John’s documentary-in-progress is called “Backyard Blockbusters: Adventures in Fan Filmmaking.” He posted the first trailer online this week.
A conversation with John last night prompted me to search for the fan film “Batman: Dead End” when I got home. I watched the eight-minute movie on my streaming video box. It was released in 2003, two years before “Batman Begins” and five years before “The Dark Knight.” As John pointed out, the late Andrew Koenig did a good job as the Joker years before Heath Ledger. Once the Koenig’s Joker leaves and other sci-fi icons show up, I lost some of my suspension of disbelief. When I am in more of a science-fiction mood, I plan to watch one of the “Star Trek New Voyages” episodes featured in John’s documentary.
