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"Since The Bannen Way leapt into our monthly webisodes chart and was nominated for several Streamy Awards, we decided it would be a good idea to find out what the fuss is about.\nWe caught up with The Bannen Way's executive producer and star Mark Gantt \u2014 who co-created the project with director Jesse Warren \u2014 to discuss the drama, the deal, and the next steps for Bannen. \nSince its January 6 premiere, the action web series The Bannen Way has raked in more than 13 million streams, making it the fastest growing property on Sony\u2019s Crackle digital video network. Loaded with crime, gadgets, sexy cars, salacious scenarios and high production costs, the 16-episode series is intended as a vehicle for Crackle to reach a demographic of men 18-34 years old.\n\u201CWe were tired of waiting for agents to give us a call,\u201D said Gantt. \u201CThe web allowed us to stretch the boundaries. We got to create a cool show that we wanted to be in that could allow studios to recoup their money.\u201D\nThe show's producers opted to shoot each seven-minute episode with a high-end RED camera to set a new bar for quality production in the web video revolution. But at the end of the day, all that gloss and glitter would go wasted without strong story lines and compelling characters.\nThe Partnership and the Protagonist\nLike many Hollywood matches made in heaven, Gantt and Warren met in acting class, where Warren told Gantt that he was developing a character who bared a striking resemblance to Gantt. Over time, the two discussed making a short film, but ultimately the way of the web became clear.\n\u201CWe decided to make webisodes, where potentially millions of people could see our work versus the 40 or so people who would see our work at a film festival,\u201D said Gantt. \u201CWe took some of my personal life and merged it with this character, who\u2019s a thief that wants to quit committing crime but doesn\u2019t know how. He wants to quit smoking, yet you see him smoking in a nicotine anonymous meeting.\u201D\nThe Premise\n\n\n\n\nEnter Neal Bannen: the smooth-talking flagrantly flawed tragic hero whom audiences love to root for, women love to pounce, and thugs love to pound. Possessing the same exceptional ability to attract women as David Duchovny\u2019s Hank Moody in Californication, Bannen is jam-packed with addictions that include gambling, alcohol and sex.\nThe series begins with Bannen wanting to leave his laborious life of crime for good.  However, like most high rollers he\u2019s unable to get up from underneath himself, mostly because he owes the infamous prison gangster Sonny Carr (Ski Carr) $150,000. With only $50,000 in his possession, Bannen decides to put all his cards on the table in a game of poker, which renders him penniless. So he heads off into the great abyss to do one last job for his mobster employer and uncle Mr. B (Robert Forster).\nWith his own geek/hacker Zeke (Gabriel Tigerman \u2014 think quirky male version of Jack Bauer\u2019s Chloe) in his ear and watching his every move, Bannen discloses his weakness for beautiful women and loses focus of the task at hand.\nGantt says he and Warren wanted to make Bannen as flawed as possible \u201Cso that that people could relate to him.\u201D\nAfter Bannen pulls off the job, Mr. B makes him an enticing offer \u2013 a million dollars to procure a special box from The Mensch (Michael Lerner). Bannen\u2019s aspirations of leaving his criminal lifestyle behind quickly become a thing of the past, and several more episodes display his unraveling.\nSqueezing that much plot and staging into seven-minute increments is no easy feat. Narration by Gantt, some backwards and forwards editing effects, dual screens and tight dialogue help package the product.\nThe Production and the Pretty People\nGantt would not disclose production costs, but he did say the series was made for \u201Cmuch less than $1 million.\u201D So how did Gantt and Warren execute such high production quality before Sony entered the picture?\n\u201CWe used credit cards to make it happen,\u201D explained Gantt. \u201CActually, we used Jesse\u2019s credit card and contacts and friends I made when I used to work in production.\u201D\nGantt said it took the filmmakers five to six months to complete the pilot with satisfactory color correction, sound design and editing. The time, teamwork, and sacrifice paid off, and Gantt and Warren landed a deal with Sony, which helped them score some top Hollywood talent.\n\u201CIt came to the point when we realized having names in the project was necessary to recoup the money,\u201D said Gantt. \u201CSo a casting director with Sony helped us create a list of actors that would be good fits. We realized that one of our producers knew Robert Forster. Our agent at the time knew Vanessa Marcil and Michael Lerner. We went through Sony\u2019s casting department and we pitched the show to them.\u201D\nGantt says that in addition to helping The Bannen Way attract well-known actors, the executives at Sony are interested in developing the show into a television series.\n\u201CIf it\u2019s up to us, we\u2019ll have a web presence to accompany the TV show,\u201D said Gantt.  \u201CWe want to do this new kind of trans media and cross storytelling with the web, iPhone apps, the whole nine yards.\u201D\nIn the meantime, The Bannen Way has already been made into a full feature. Sony is working on selling a 93-minute version in foreign markets, while an 84-minute rendition is already set to air on TV.  The DVD of the feature will be released when the movie is broadcast on the small screen. A network has not yet been chosen.  \nThe Praise\nNominated for seven Streamy Awards including Best New Web Series, Best Drama, Best Directing, Best Writing, and Best Actor The Bannen Way team has much to strive for and celebrate this year. Gantt says he and Warren joke around that they want to be the \"Project Greenlight of the web,\u201D hoping to do for web video what Jon Favreau and Vince Vaugn did for independent film with Swingers.\nAs for recognition from their peers, Gantt says he and Warren have had it in sight for some time. \u201CWe went to the Streamys last year while we were in talks with Sony, and we thought, \u2018Aww man, wouldn\u2019t it be great to be here next year?\u2019\u201D shared Gantt.\nLooks like The Bannen Way is a good way to come full circle. It's also an example of what people have been saying is possible for web-based television. If The Bannen Way and series like it are successful, we'll have proof that YouTube clowns like Fred aren't the only viable products."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2010/04/01/the-bannen-way/>