“March 19. 2007
Jeskid Productions
“Drawn By Pain”
http://www.drawnbypain.com
Young Emily once watched the world through blinders so the only thing she saw was the page on which she drew. Isolated, she tried to look away as her father gave her mother lessons in brutality from which she could only hide in her mind. But that rage, that fear growing deep within her would surface and once unleashed – could never be re-contained.
Drawn by Pain, The story of a little girl turned fierce woman with the power to manifest strong anime characters onto herself has finally been brought to the web, and beyond! Fusing animation with live action, Emily Waters slices an animated sword through all that stands before her as she struggles to deal with her real life, inner (and outer) demons and the person she fears the most: herself!
“I figured why tell a pre-existing anti-hero story that’s been told through comics and books when I can just make my own. Isn’t the very point of storytelling to try and be original?” Tired of seeing the same unoriginal remakes, sequels and adaptations made by Hollywood, Writer/Director Jesse Cowell, who already has a huge fan base under the pseudo-name “Jeskid”, embraces the idea of people finding the new wave in entertainment themselves via the internet and choosing what they want to see.
Currently, the level of content online is mostly relegated to funny web cam moments and police chases, but Cowell thinks it’s time for a change from someone outside the studio system. “I feel like it’s filling a void,” says Cowell who has poured every resource he has–many credit cards–into making something, not typical of web quality, but a piece that reflects cinematic style, creativity and heart. “For the most part, Hollywood only repurposes its content and puts snippets online for us to see what we have already seen everywhere else. What I wanted to do was give my online friends (Cowell hates the word Fans) a chance to have content that was made just for them.”
And Cowell has done it in dramatic style. A 12-part series shot on the streets of New York with a state of the art High Definition camera, and teamed up with cutting edge animator Erica Langworthy and blossoming actress Marissa Parness, Cowell has made a film of psychological intensity, action and storytelling in a way that lets the audience choose what pieces they want to see next.
With the first two installments free and the subsequent episodes costing only $1.99 each, Cowell lets the user decide if the film is for them and asks them to stop at any time it isn’t. “I felt ripped off for years and wanted to give people a way to say, ‘Hey this movie isn’t working for me. I’m not going to buy the next installment.’ If I could have stopped paying for 90 percent of the movies I’ve seen in the last ten years in the theater, I’d be a rich man with a lot more time on my hands.” Cowell believes that his “proof is in the pudding” attitude allows the audience to be the judge of what they like (before and during) and therefore what they support with their limited entertainment budgets. “I’d rather have word of mouth get the film seen than have a marketing blitz convince everyone of what the new hot thing is. It should be up to people, not a quote on a movie poster by some guy they've never met recommending it.”
Drawn by Pain is also easy to consume as each episode is fewer than ten minutes (released bi-weekly) for those who like to keep their stories short but entertaining. “I think people will be pleased with where the story takes them and it’s a real pleasure to not have to work in a traditional hour and a half filmmaking structure in showing a character’s journey. That mold is broken and those days are gone in my opinion. It’s time for something new.”
Is that new thing Drawn By Pain? Cowell says, “Please decide for yourself. Thankfully, the power now lies with the audience itself”
Drawn By Pain – Now playing at www.drawnbypain.com!
info@drawnbypain.com”
