WonderCon 2025 platformed the stars, director, and producers of Legion M’s newest film, Fade to Black. The comedic thriller follows a lonely screenwriter (Karan Soni of Deadpool) who tries to break into Hollywood by committing murders to generate IP. Comps include Robert Altman’s The Player, HBO’s Entourage, Charlie Kaufman’s Adaptation, and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood.
David Baxter, VP of Development at Legion M, likened the film to Seth Rogen’s new buzzy Apple TV show, The Studio. Baxter said, “It’s been so long since anyone has taken the piss out of Hollywood.” He wants to distinguish their film from everything “borrowed” nowadays, mentioning comic book franchises specifically. To Baxter, the differentiating element of their films is the blending of genres, saying “If we’re going to do horror or thriller, it has to be elevated.”
The Legion M executive spoke of its innovative business model: “Our super power is the community.” He beamed with pride as he explained how the currency of their company is financial and emotional. The investment model simply relies on people continuing to reinvest because they receive their money back.
Baxter works with Legion M’s co-founders Paul Scanlan and Jeff Annison. Described as a fan-owned entertainment company and “the first studio built to be OWNED BY FANS,” investors can provide input at each stage of the film-making process. The website includes an option to invest now with a share price of $2.10. Scanlan serves as CEO with Annison as President. The two co-founded and presided over MobiTV earning an Emmy for Innovation in Television.
The leadership team includes advisors like Dean Devlin (Independence Day, Godzilla) and William Shatner (Star Trek, The Twilight Zone). The innovative idea even caught the attention of industry giant Stan Lee who offered the company a testimonial: “The idea of starting a company that will be owned by fans – I think that is a wonderful idea. So good, I wish I’d thought of it myself.”
Fade to Black is not the first genre-mixing film for Legion M. Their film, My Dead Friend Zoe received the Audience Award at SXSW. The comedy-drama earned a 95% from 91 reviews on the Tomatometer and over 250 reviews on the Popcornmeter.
The team, including Soni, director Andrew Sandler, Bernard White (The Matrix, Big Sky), Max Carver (The Batman), and producer/actor Danny Hamouie, showed a sizzle reel at WonderCon. It followed Soni’s character as he faces endless inhumane rejection while attempting to pitch his screenplay. Highlighting the tension, horror, and humor of trying to make it, Soni’s character is driven to a murderous spree. “It’s a very ugly look at L.A.” Soni says.
Producer Hamouie who sat with the project for six years, was drawn to it because of Brandon Cohen’s writing. Carver felt the same way: “The characters are dynamic and expressive and I related to all of them.”
Sandler is making his feature directorial debut shifting from music videos. He identified the Coen brothers’ Fargo as the film which most resembles his direction because it masters a difficult tone.
Sandler, Hamouie, and Baxter emphasized the importance of filming in Los Angeles. Not only did they want to stay true to the location, they felt the magic of filming in a city when so many aren’t anymore.
Fade to Black is currently in post-production.
