Producers Dan Clifton and Jonathan Grace are happy to announce their film Living Legend, which just launched on Kickstarter earlier today. Living Legend is a short, live-action fan film based in the world of Super Mario Bros., arguably the most recognized video game franchise in the world. In taking what Bourne did to the spy genre and The Dark Knight did to the superhero genre, the filmmakers are introducing a dark, grounded, visceral take on a property we’ve all grown to love.
“We’ve taken the legend and mythology and twisted it, setting it in a modern, broken city with believably complex characters.” Says Grace.
Having directed several shorts, commercials and music videos as well garnered producing credits on “ATM,” “Hours” and most recently, “The Den,” director Dan Clifton feels up to the task.
“We’ve pushed the mythology forward (essentially following Mario’s son, Mark, 25 years after Mario saved the princess in the 1980s) and updated many aspects of the universe while still keeping the characters and iconic images you love (the original Mario still makes an appearance and there are of course, ‘coins’ and ‘mushrooms’.”
Jonathan Grace describes Living Legend as Mario: The Next Generation.
“We know the man. We know the journey. But this isn’t about Mario. It’s about his son, Mark. Years after the quests and adventures, worlds away from the castles and moats, Mark lives with his working class family in Brooklyn during a time where survival is a daily struggle. He’s volatile, passionate, and a petty criminal who’s constantly searching for his place in life until one night when life catches up with him. His girlfriend is kidnapped. With the love of his life taken, Mark rallies his brother, Lou, and degenerate group of friends to get her back. At all costs. But is this history repeating itself? Are legends born or made? Either way… This isn’t a game anymore.”
Clifton and Grace grew up together outside of Philadelphia, PA and have been collaborating for over a decade after attending New york University together. Clifton has previously directed the award-winning short “For All Mankind” as well as commercials for Zipcar, Monster.com, Nokia and Skype.
Putting together a team that includes cinematographer and usual Clifton collaborator Bernard Hunt, production designer Vivian Quaid, composer Evan Goldman and many more, the Living Legend Team aims to raise $30,000 over the next 45 days and shoot in New York City in the fall of 2013.
“I’m really excited about Living Legend because it allows me to develop and create a unique world and as a director, that’s the most important thing for me.”
