When the cartoon series concluded in 1998, the plot involved Spider-Man meeting his creator, Stan Lee. The ending was a fitting tribute to the person most responsible for Spider-Man's enduring legacy. However, it left one key character trapped in another dimension - Mary Jane Watson! The idea for the new fan film would be to conclude Mary Jane Watson's unresolved arc in the story. It was from this idea, the film "Spider-Man: The Search for Mary Jane Watson - The Lost Episode" was born. Before sitting down to write the script, Damian and Welsh spent countless hours watching the cartoon series and searching the Internet  to see what plot ideas the producer and story editor for the show John Semper Jr., and the other writers planned to develop to conclude this part of the story. Once they had accomplished this task and understood the direction the show would have gone, the script was written. Damian and Welsh toyed with the idea of having the fan film be a cartoon. However, they quickly decided the plot would be much more dynamic on film. With the final draft of the script written, the next step was casting. 

The director Jason Damian quickly reached out to Sara Ballantine for the role of Mary Jane Watson. She provided the voice of the character on the cartoon show and her vocal performance of Mary Jane Watson is a fan favorite. Damian was thrilled Ballantine joined the cast, and she was equally excited to reprise her role by recording new vocals for the beloved character.  Damian then cast Mike Vaughn as the voice for the title character, Spider-Man. Vaughn had previously voiced Spider-Man in the popular video game, "Spider-Man: Web of Shadows" and in the 2009 Influence Films fan film, "The Death of Spider-Man." 

           
(From left to right: the lead vocal acting talent: Sara Ballantine and Mike Vaughn)

With the lead cast vocals recorded, Jason Damian then cast the model who would provide the visual performance for Mary Jane Watson on film. For this role, Damian cast Jessi B. The actress has a history of working with Damian on his past projects including: "Tinker Bell & The Michael Jackson Fan," "The Boy Who Cried Alien," and most recently, "Grim Reaper." Damian then cast the actor, Rick Haymes in the role of The Kingpin. Haymes' past work includes Jason Damian's short film, "The Flash: The Brave & The Bold" and the notable film, "Moment of Truth: The Andy Meyers Story," directed by Steven Crowley. For the role of Carnage, Damian cast actor, model, and costume designer, John Clark. Clark had previously worked on Jason Damian's film, "The Flash: The Brave & The Bold" in the role of Green Lantern. For the role of Carnage, Clark designed an exclusive costume for the film. The visual performance of Spider-Man in the film was done by storyboard artist and producer, Mason Welsh. Damian also enlisted Michael Haze and his company, IBOT: Iron Brothers of Topeka for the cameo roles of Iron Man and War Machine. Rounding out the cast are the Kansas City based actors: Chris Bylsma and Adam Mckeith. 

        

(From left to right: Jessi B., Rick Haymes, and John Clark)



(IBOT: Iron Brothers of Topeka)

Primary shooting of the film took place between March 2011 and November 2011. The film is currently being edited and some pick-up shots are currently scheduled to be filmed in March 2012. "Spider-Man: The Search for Mary Jane Watson - The Lost Episode" is currently scheduled to be released online in June 2012.  The fan film is dedicated to the producer and story editor of "Spider-Man: The Animated Series,"  John Semper Jr., the creators of Spider-Man: Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and to the cast, crew, and especially the fans of the 1990s cartoon. 

You can watch the trailer for "Spider-Man: The Search for Mary Jane Watson  - The Lost Episode" here:



Please bookmark this page and keep checking back for updates.  This page will soon have more exclusive content including: On-set photos taken by Kevin Bingham, video diaries from the crew and cast, exclusive blogs, exclusive computer wallpapers, downloads, and much more.

For futher press inquries about "Spider-Man: The Search for Mary Jane Watson - The Lost Episode" please direct all e-mail to Jason Damian at influencefilms2008@gmail.com Thank you for supporting Influence Films, Inc.


CONTACT:

JASON DAMIAN
INFLUENCEFILMS2008@GMAIL.COM
INFLUENCEFILMS.COM