Here’s 10 things you need to know about The Bannen Way:

1. The Bannen Way is a series of webisodes following a slick, conflicted con man (the aforementioned Bannen), torn between his dad (who is police chief – of course he is) and his uncle (who is king of the con men – of course he is). Classic angel/devil, good versus evil. With a trampy girl sprinkled in whenever possible.
2. Bannen is riddled with not one, not two, but at least three addictions (alcohol, gambling & sex). Of course he is.
3. The show’s star, Mark Gantt (who is a dead ringer for Community’s Joel McHale) wrote the story with Jesse Warren. Which makes sense given the number of sex scenes he’s written for himself.
4. Killer supporting cast with Robert Forster & Michael Ironside (both of which you’ll recognize when you see them). They do their best to make the most of the lean dialog and silly plot twists revolving around a mysterious “box”. Killing me with the innuendo.
5. Vanessa Marcil does her very best Vanessa Marcil. Read: sassy, snarky, silly….

Big Screening ‘The Bannen Way’, Crackle Goes American Cinematheque

Still nothing like the big screen when web series look this good. Seriously, at the risk of selling out my 640 pixel comrades, there is something that happens when you sit back and watch some of these web series we all get excited about in their full uncompressed HD glory. And The Bannen Way, the high octane thrill ride shot on the RED One camera, is well worthy of some cinematic screen time. That and sharing the experience with a few hundred fellow vicarious adrenaline junkies.

Gantt’s Way

Mark Gantt has always been a smooth talker. In high school, he could get out of almost any situation. Speeding. Underage drinking. Smoking weed in his ’74 Chevy Camaro in the Lincoln High School parking lot.

The 41-year-old Stockton native who worked at Salisbury’s Market in Lodi, is still that cool, confident guy with dark eyes, strong facial features and a way with words. Only now, the bad-boy persona is channeled into the role of the lead character in Sony Picture Entertainment’s Web series, “The Bannen Way.”

After a CW sized break, Webisode Clack is back, and will now resume its weekly editions. I thought I would start the new year off with something big, and The Bannen Way certainly qualifies. There are a lot of interesting angles to the show. First, and foremost, it’s just a really cool story. It also has a great cast, and is beautifully made. But before any of us saw any of those things, the story behind the show is almost as good. And really, could probably make a pretty interesting show on its own.

Rumblings about The Bannen Way go back to early 2008. And those rumblings were soon followed by a whole lot of waiting. At least, for those of us eager to see the end result. Behind the scenes, creators Jesse Warren and Mark Gantt were working away securing deals that ultimately led to a partnership with Sony and the show appearing on Crackle.com. There is a great rundown of that, and the Streamy’s kerfuffle that followed, on Taryn O’Neill’s website if you want to know more.

The Bannen Way Interview Part 1 of 3

Jesse Warren and Mark Gantt the Executive Produers of Hit Web Series The Bannen Way gave me an insider’s view as to how they took their idea, shot a trailer and two episodes, got ICM as their agent and then sold it to a major Hollywood Studio. This is part 1 of 3 segments.

The Bannen Way Interview Part 2 of 3

So here is the long awaited part 2 of 3 interview with Jesse Warren and Mark Gantt the creators of the Hit Web Series The Bannen Way who talk about the business of creating web video Internet series and how they put their package together and got car manufacturer Jaguar to do a product placement in the pilot episodes and place a 2010 Jaguar xkr in the final feature film.

The Bannen Way Interview Part 3 of 3

Jesse Warren and Mark Gantt the Executive Producers of the hot, new, hip, Hit Web series / Feature Film The Bannen Way talk about product placement, brand integration and how to sell a web series to a Hollywood studio. They also share some great advice for Independent Filmmakers.

‘The Bannen Way’ Opens Wide on Crackle, PlayStation, Bravia TVs
by Marc Hustvedt on January 6th, 2010

Today The Bannen Way rolled out with a wide release today of its first four episodes across a number of distribution outlets including Sony’s online video network Crackle, on its gaming system through the PlayStation Store and through internet-enabled Sony BRAVIA TVs. Though three episodes were released early to US viewers on Crackle last week, presumably for awards consideration, the wider release is the first that has synced up all three of its broadband outlets—web site, gaming consoles, and Sony’s built-in internet video network on its new TVs.

‘The Web.Files’ Go ‘Bannen Way’, More Behind-the-Scenes Goodness
by Marc Hustvedt on January 15th, 2010

The Bannen Way has now released 11 of its 16 episodes in its debut season on Crackle, and we have some more video extras from the series. Above is a behind the scenes segment from creators Mark Gantt and Jesse Warren along with producer Bailey Williams on creating the celebrated ‘Bannen Style.’

Episode #1 The Criminal Lifestyle
Neal Bannen wants to get out of the criminal lifestyle forever… but he owes $150,000 to the notorious prison gangster Sonny Carr. After failing to triple his money and losing all his money in a poker game, Bannen’s forced to do one more job.
Starring Mark Gantt, Vanessa Marcil, Gabriel Tigerman, Robert Forster, Briana Lane, Ski Carr, Jim Dowd, Dean Kreyling, Jeff Newman