A new comedic mystery TV series and video game are afoot, each designed to humor, surprise, and rouse mystery fans of all age groups.
The highly anticipated pilot episode of Sherlock Holmes-esque FOGTOWN© premieres 7:00 pm, Thursday August 22nd at a special event in Portland, Ore. hosted by PAMCUT at The Tomorrow Theater. Cast and creators will also take the stage then to describe FOGTOWN’s decade-long journey — from its incarnation to pandemic-influenced transformation along with its breakthrough foray into the gaming world, the latter of which eager attendees of the event will get to experience firsthand.
This FOGTOWN Grand Showcase will present Hapstance Films’ handcrafted, comedic mystery-adventure series made entirely with miniature sets, immersive 3D-rendered backgrounds, and quirky puppets supported by equally professional sound design, voiceover artists, and an original score by local composer Bryan Christopher Saylor (Behind the Bullet, Word on the Street, Vicious).
Find out more info on the screening and showcase here.
Created and directed by Austin Hillebrecht and Sean Parker (Coup de Cinema, Word on the Street) FOGTOWN sees the insightful yet easily distracted Sherblock and his caring, stalwart best friend Blockson cracking bizarre crimes perpetrated by eccentric criminals throughout the cardboard city of Fogtown. In the pilot episode, Sherblock yearns for recognition, all the while matching wits with a mysterious, dreaded Moth Napper (voiced by Thief and Skyrim’s Stephen Russell) in true Holmesian fashion where everyone, of course, is a suspect.
Devon Rawlings (The Rehearsal, The Birch, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die) dons the many hats of co-writer of the pilot and game content, lead puppet fabricator and costumer as well as a puppeteer. Bolstering the cast are Rizwan Manji (Schitt’s Creek, Peacemaker, The Magicians) voicing soft-hearted, animal-loving Inspector LeFraude, as well as rising star Chris Yamez (Redwood, 15 to Sunrise, The Chinatown Diner) as Sherblock. Hillebrecht plays Blockson and Tricia Brioux (The Witch) plays the lovable and savvy landlady/pub owner Mrs. Hud.
Parker says, “FOGTOWN is made through a blend of cutting-edge virtual production techniques and old-school puppetry. We’re bringing the timeless art of puppet-based storytelling into the modern world by filming our handcrafted characters against real-time 3D backgrounds — similar to the way The Mandalorian was filmed, but on a really small DIY scale.”
Meanwhile, FOGTOWN’s first installment of its interactive videogame franchise, A RUM CASE IN FOGTOWN©, is due to be released as a demo later this year. A public hands-on version was showcased at The Adventure Game Fan Fair on July 26-28th with much acclaim. With a theme set back in the puppet detectives’ early days, FOGTOWN players must help resolve a string of mysterious sabotage against Fogtown’s most beloved pubs.
Players control the story in this madcap comedy joyride with wacky ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ gameplay. The result is a raucous adventure that aims to feel like an interactive, replayable episode of a comedy TV series, with all the production value of the FOGTOWN pilot. At the FOGTOWN premiere, the audience will get to collectively play the game on the big screen by shouting out suggestions.
FOGTOWN received fiscal sponsorship from the Portland Art Museum Center for an Untold Tomorrow (PAMCUT), which allows tax-deductible fundraising for multimedia artists employed in such areas as film, TV, gaming, interactive media, animation, and podcasts.
The series is on the lookout for partners and ready to bring several full seasons of puppetry antics to screens across the globe after achieving a Seed & Spark campaign goal that covered $51,100 to develop a compelling pitch for the half-hour comedy series. Parker says, “With a finished pilot and the game demo under out belts, hopes are high about pitching FOGTOWN to streaming networks and game companies next like Hulu, Netflix, Apple TV+ or HBO.”
Filmed and produced exclusively in Portland, Ore., FOGTOWN was conceived by Hillebrecht and Parker who met in 2001 at Da Vinci Arts Middle School in Northeast Portland. The creative duo co-produced/directed two feature films in high school and actively collaborated on numerous projects since then. Hillebrecht says, “I imagine Sean and I will always be creative partners because frankly, we just balance each other out well.”
Parker says, “I’m eternally grateful to our audience, the Portland Art Museum, and our many generous Seed & Spark backers for their belief in the project. It’s been truly wonderful to be part of something that’s been so enthusiastically received by the world, and I’m especially thankful to our talented cast and crew who give all of their creative might to make this possible.”
Tomorrow Theater
3530 SE Division St., Portland, OR
Thu, Aug 22, 7:00 pm
Tickets $15.00
More information on FOGTOWN can be found at www.fogtownseries.com or on the show’s Instagram and Facebook pages under @fogtownseries.
