Good News, Bad News (Okay, Mostly Good News)

All right, gang, let's get all the bad news out of the way first, shall we? I prefer to always end on a high note.

Word from series creator Sam Reich is that it is unlikely that SF:TLY will return as a web series, at least in the short term. There are many reasons for this, among them being Sam's and College Humor's commitment to a truckload of new videos and even a surprise new series (I know what it is and I already know at least a few of you who are going to pee yourselves with delight when you find out). Also, Sam would require a substantially increased budget for another season and sponsors of web series don't exactly shell out the kind of funds that they do for network and even syndicated TV series.

HOWEVER,...

Sam also points out that it is not beyond the realm of possibility that it could return in another form, possibly even as part of the new TV series CH is working on for MTV. I do know that Sam definitely wants to return to producing The Later Years but, realistically, it will probably be in a few years if it does happen and, as he pointed out yesterday, it'll make the older characters even older. I fully expect the white in Zangief's chin to have overtaken more of his beard by then.

NOW, HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS!

Where do I start? First, I've been called upon by Jose Lara (any of you who used to watch "Swordfish Presents" on television in the 1990s might recognize the name) has called upon me to help him develop some new TV series for a few of the production companies who have been requesting new ideas from him. I just finished writing the pilot script for his new show, "Chelsea", and will be ready to pitch that within the next week or two. Since I am now involved in program development, one of the new shows that I will be proposing is the Plan B project I told you about earlier that would be ready just in case SF:TLY doesn't get picked up fast enough to capitalize of the new Street Fighter 20th Anniversary hype that's siezed the world right now. Hyde Park Entertainment are planning the latest Street Fighter TV series which will, I have read, be based upon the new Street Fighter feature film coming out this year. As with Capcom's approval of The Later Years, we suspect that our new series will also not pose a conflict of interest in that Hyde Park's series would take place in the past while ours would deal with the characters in the present.

TJ Glenn and I had a wonderful meeting at CH Headquarters yesterday afternoon and got not only Sam's blessing to base this new series on Sam's Later Years concept but he's also reaching out to us to offer any assistance we may need from him. TJ and I are ecstatic about this as this is the first of three green lights we will need to get this new spin-off, well, spinning off.

ABOUT THE SHOW:

The original concept was to have had Zangief and Dhalsim continuing their newfound Ken & Ryu type of buddy situation with Zangief now rooming with Dhalsim and the Yoga Master's wife and daughter. It was to have been called "D&Z" and would have tapped into the almost Abbott & Costello comedy formula that these two have enormous potential for exploiting while getting into all kinds of trouble with other Street Fighters and the world around them.

This was dropped when Sean Krishnan announced that, because of his commitment to the new hit musical in which he's starring, "Rafta! Rafta!", he would be unable to be a regular on the show, although he'll be delighted to make regular guest appearances with us. Meanwhile TJ Glenn approached me with the idea of making Vega Zangief's new good buddy and so we explored that. It was decided that the chemistry and character dynamic would be completely different since Vega, lovable though he is, is a dangerous psychopath and goes out at night to participate in illegal cage death matches to continue to support his once lavish lifestyle which had been affected by his inability to secure acting roles due to his obsessive refusal to remove his mask on camera.

We resolved that these two would need at least two more "anchor" characters off which to bounce all of this craziness and stupidity. One to provide conflict with Zangief, one to provide conflict with Vega and both to balance out the main two.

The new series is now entitled, "Street Fighter VZ" and I'm pleased to announce that the other regular characters on the show will be Chun Li and Guile. I'm even more pleased to announce that both Ana Parsons and Nick Raio will be joining the cast in their unforgettable roles!

Naturally, all of the original cast members will be called upon to appear in episodes throughout the series.

The chief emphasis of the in-jokes on TLY was to send up the game itself as well as even those of you who grew up with it while VZ will pinpoint the humor more on the characters and their backstories themselves. Also, the aim of the new Hyde Park feature film centering on the origin of Chun Li is to avoid targeting Street Fighter fans at all and, instead, focus on a completely different demographic; people who have never even heard of Street Fighter. This allows them to take more liberties with the storyline such as having Chun Li's father actually working for M. Bison when he is killed by the general. TLY, on the other hand, was served up primarily to Street Fighter fans. SFVZ, conversely, will have a reach on both sides; we will play to and respect the most hardcore SF fans while letting the public at large in on the jokes. A daunting feat, yes, but we will pull it off. Another new twist is that we will, at least to some extent, start bringing in some of the other most requested characters such as Akuma, Cammy White, Mayor Mike Haggar and wait 'til you see what's happened to Sakura!

In an effort to preserve the continuity and feel of the Later Years series upon which it is based, Street Fighter VZ will be shot on location in New York City, go for the same general feel and even invite genius TLY writer and major SF fan Dan Gurewitch to write some episodes for us. The major difference is that this will be an hour long show packaged for syndication on TV. It may also be a feature film but we'll cover that later.

Negotiations will be ongoing for awhile what with licensing agreements with Capcom, budget approvals and distribution rights, etc. but we're working on this constantly.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

We are now also in talks with another producer to bring "Street Fighter: The Later Years" to the big screen as a feature film!

So much more of which to keep you abreast in the coming months and I promise you that we will.

BIG THANKS TO YOU!

I scarcely even know how to express my gratitude to all of you for the love and support you continue to give us. It is because of you that there is so much interest in keeping this series alive in whatever form possible (do I see a comic book series, too?).

All of us here at this forum and on the production team send you much, much love and we promise to do everything we can to keep your favorite Street Fighter characters in action, steeped in adventure and bringing you joy! That's what it's all about because YOU'RE what it's all about!

Spinning Piledriving hugs!