Earth Sector is the newest internet series that is currently underway. Two episodes have already been filmed, with the third to begin shooting in February. Episodes one and two are currently in post production. However, we thought it would be nice for you to see a few screenshots from the first episode. As of this post, there is no premiere date yet for the series to showcase on the website. Although, it’s looking like the episodes will start debuting this fall. So, take a look at a few screenshots from the first episode:
Agent Janet Rigby picks up her partner, Lara C’Stillo for a fugitive extraction mission. The planet Cimera; a warm dry wasteland with no life sustaining on it.The task force approaching the planet Cimera through an asteroid field.Agents Rigby, C’Stillo, Barrett, and Ajax prepare for a hostile reception.Earth Sector station which hovers in space outside of Earth’s orbit, but still nearby.Agent Janet Rigby with a lot on her mind.Agent Ajax and Barrett in the cockpit of an Earth Sector jump ship that is about to head into a light jump.
When I set out to do Star Wars – Scramble on Uylara with Chris Fuchs and Michael Gibson, I had no idea where we would end up. We knew that we wanted a trilogy and we knew it was going to be an uphill battle. What we didn’t know is how many roadblocks we would run into once we got started. The project has been put on an indefinite hold and I think we owe it to our followers to understand why.
The movie premiered on May 19th and the excitement was definitely high in the theater. We knew that we wanted to keep the good vibes going into the sequel. We would introduce new characters, meaning that we would need new actors for the film. So, we did another round of auditions and found some fantastic new talent. Between the new talent and the original cast, we were finally ready to get the read through started and a shooting schedule in place.
And then we hit our first roadblock. The original actor that we had playing Commander San Relvic had to step down. I understood his reasons. One thing that we sometimes forget is that we are all normal people with full time jobs. And we make films on the side as a hobby. And sometimes, it gets to be too much. Ultimately, this put us in a position to search for another Relvic. The second actor was chosen and we were back on track and shooting was scheduled to begin October of 2019. Again, when life gets in the way, it’s our hobbies that take a back seat. And, so, we lost another actor to play Relvic.
Now, it’s officially the holiday season of 2019 and it’s near impossible to get anything going. Personally, shooting anything after Thanksgiving is just something that I don’t like to do. But we had to get started and we decided to start shooting the weekend of December 3, 2019. Believe it or not, we got a full weekend’s worth of shooting done and we still had no Relvic. However, we got a lot done and we would just need to shoot the scenes with Relvic in 2020. You know where I’m going with this.
So, January 2020 rolls in and our search for a new Relvic continued and we finally settled on another actor to play Relvic. We are now finally ready to go to production with our new Relvic and shooting would continue in March. You know what’s next. March 10, 2020 is when we resumed shooting the film. We got a full evening of shooting done. Then, the pandemic decided that we shouldn’t shoot anymore. So, this put the film on an indefinite hold. And has been since.
So what’s the future of this film? Or the trilogy, for that matter? To be honest, I’m not sure. We may decide to walk away from this trilogy. And that would be okay. I feel like it may be time to move on anyway. And with Earth Sector finishing up filming for 2021, you’ll be seeing original content from Tatum Pictures for the first time since 2009. What a ride it’s been already. And we look forward to bringing it to you!
It may actually surprise you. We were definitely surprised when we looked at the data. We’re not going to talk numbers here and before we reveal the most watched of our films, let’s take a look back at the most viewed in previous years.
2016 – 2018 Indiana Jones and the Legend of Bimini
In 2014, we released our second Indiana Jones adventure. The film premiered at the Cinema Theater in Rochester, NY in September of that year. We premiered the film online in October of that year. And since then, this has been the most popular movie on our website. But that’s no surprise. Usually, the newest film gets the most views. But this film is a lot of fun. And, yes, we’re biased of course! But when you see the characters brought to life so vividly by the actors in this film, it becomes a very fun ride. So this became the top viewed until…
A Star Wars fan film had been something that we have wanted to do for a long time. But we didn’t for a few reasons. First, we didn’t have the ability to create similar special effects. Second, props and costumes for this become very expensive. And, lastly, the internet was already flooded with so many Star Wars fan films already so we didn’t really want to contribute to it. However, the time came and we released the film in 2019; which ultimately knocked Indiana Jones and the Legend of Bimini out of the top spot. Again, this is expected for new films and this continued through 2020. But what is the most watched Tatum Pictures film of 2021?
2021 – Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Apalachee
Yes! You read that right. It seems that both Star Wars and Bimini have been knocked out of the top spot by an oldie but goodie. Why? We’re surprised too. This film hasn’t held the top spot since 2014. And the only reason it bested Bimini that year was because Bimini was released towards the end of the year. This film was our first Indiana Jones adventure. So, there was a lot of experimentation here. It seemed to work. Now, granted, the year isn’t over yet and Bimini still has a chance (although the numbers aren’t trending that way).
Overall, what this really tells us is that we’re entertaining you. And that’s all that we really want to do. We make films to entertain. And as long as you feel entertained, we’ve done what we set out to do. So, thank you all for your support over the years!
Jeannie Clinton's blog is about documenting what one goes through when change happens. Jeannie is a teaching artist who brings Theatre down to is Core. Don't let reality dictate your dreams. Make your dreams a reality!