While attending the Chicago Steampunk Exposition, I came across a table with guest host Bishop Stevens. For those who are unfamiliar with him, he has film credits going back to 2014 and is a former pro-wrestler with such groups as WWE and WCW.
Bishop was at the convention to promote and seek funding (Fan Sourcing) for his new project called “The Steampunk Adventures of Salem Tusk.” He was greeting and talking up the project with the patrons and promoting the chance to land a role as an extra, as they were looking for henchmen to their villain. He came armed with a couple of trailers and a scheduled panel where he debuted them while talking further on the film. I was invited by Bishop to attend that panel and was glad I did.
Bishop stars in the film alongside Steampunk-famed Doc Phineas, who plays the director of CI-6, and WWE wrestler Trevor Murdoch, who plays a thug by the name of Sebastian Crane. The movie, according to Bishop, when completed will be targeted for Netflix or Hulu, not something for the big screen. He is also credited for helping write and produce the project.
The premise is set in the late 19th century, the hero is the leader of a covert organization forged in cooperation between the United States and the United Kingdom called CI-6. The agents of CI-6 all possess unique skill sets and are tasked with the protection of the world. The first trailer starts out with Salem Tusk in a few action shots in which he’s taking out the bad guys. Then it cuts to some decent CGI of a futuristic, but steampunkish, airship firing weapons upon some unseen enemy. From there, the trailer cuts to brief action shots of the supporting cast along with an artists rendering of their likeness and the character’s name.
In the second trailer, we are introduced to the main villain and some of the henchpeople working for him. Then, the villain states that Tusk is just bait and they knock him unconscious and take him prisoner.
On the whole, I enjoyed the panel and the trailers looked pretty good. I’m very interested to see the finished product when completed. I just hope that it does not turn out to be one of these over-hyped projects that lead to a dismal disaster of a film. I feel the Steampunk community as a whole deserve much better than what Hollywood or any of the big production companies have provided so far. So I hope you are listening, Mr. Stevens and crew, and you don’t let this fandom down.
If you are interested, here is the link to their Indiegogo page where you can donate, if you wish. They are offering some premiums that look kind of cool if you are a collector, along with more information on this project.
I give this Panel/Trailer Debut 3.5 Stars out of 5.
PopCultHQ Rating – 3.5 Stars
This has been a Reptile’s Random Review Special Edition.
