This week we hear the inspiring story behind one of the most successful web shows of 2010, The Bannen Way, with filmmakers Jesse Warren and Mark Gantt. Zadi Diaz, Rick Rey, and Steve Woolf talk about their origins in new media and Jesse and Mark offer story after story about the door being closed on their project by other people and their refusal to accept it.

This one is not to be missed by creatives and filmmakers out there who are frustrated with the system and need to hear people talking about never taking no for an answer. Jesse and Mark tell stories that neither of them ever heard from each other before, and we get into gritty detail about the way The Bannen Way was conceived, created, packaged, and delivered.

The Bannen Way” Heats Up the Web
By Sandra Kofler
March 8, 2010

When an HBO-quality Web series with a notoriously butt-kicking cast gets 13 million views and leads this year’s Streamy Awards nominations, you know you want on that fast-moving caboose. “The Bannen Way” gives us a good-hearted bandit trying to leave the goon life behind, but not without some deadly hurdles to dodge, hop into bed with and escape from. We’re talking foxy assassins, a mob boss uncle (Robert Forster, Heroes), a lawman dad (Michael Ironside, Cold Case), a sex trafficker (Michael Lerner, Entourage) and a foxy accomplice (Vanessa Marcil, Las Vegas), all of whom make Neal Bannen’s (Mark Gantt) path to a normal life a sexy, painful and action-filled bombshell. You’re hereby warned that if strong language and mild nudity aren’t your office’s M.O., best save this one for your own viewing time. The first two episodes are free, with the rest downloadable from iTunes individually or as a full-length movie. Get a taste with the trailer below — and prepare not to blink.

Mark Gantt is the Executive Producer, and Star of Sony Pictures Television’s web series, The Bannen Way, created by Jesse Warren & Mark Gantt. He plays a character named Neal Bannen who is a womanizing, con man and small-time thief who wants to start his life over. All he has to do is pull off one more job to pay off his debts.

Originally from Stockton, California, Mark got his start in the business working in the Art Department, Props and Production on over 100 feature, TV and commercial projects, all the while training as an actor and director at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Before creating The Bannen Way, Mark wrote, directed, produced and/or edited over a dozen short films (including the award-winning Martine), and acted opposite Brad Pitt in Ocean’s Eleven, Burt Reynolds in The Hollywood Sign, as well as in many other films and TV shows.

OK GOOD  Review of The Bannen Way

The Top 10 Most Watched Web Series, February 2010

Each month, our partner Visible Measures compiles a list of the top ten most popular web video series, and we share those results with you and provide analysis. Visible Measures tracks views, comments and other data on web video, and has just made available a free public beta of a tool to benchmark online video ad campaign and content performance.

And if what you’re looking for is a more elaborately produced drama, similar to what you might see on network TV, The Bannen Way, which includes Oscar-nominated actor Michael Lerner, makes an appearance on the chart this month. It’s tied with The Guild in leading Streamy Award nominations this year.

Streamy Awards unveil Web TV nominees
‘Bannen Way,’ ‘Guild’ top online television noms
By CHRISTOPHER MORRIS

Con men and a hapless bunch of online gaming addicts got top nods from the International Academy of Web Television Monday morning as the list of Streamy Award nominees was unveiled.

Action-drama serial “The Bannen Way” and “The Guild,” a comedy about online gamers, led the noms with seven each. “Easy to Assemble,” another comedy about previously successful actors who now work at IKEA, earned six nods.

Winners will be announced April 11 at an event in Hollywood. The ceremony will, appropriately, be broadcast live online.

Crackle.com Garners Most Streamy Award Nominations for a Video Network or Production Company

‘The Bannen Way’ Surpasses 13 Million Views and Collects Most Nominations For Any Series

CULVER CITY, Calif., March 1 /PRNewswire/ — Crackle.com, Sony Picture Entertainment’s online video network, today received 13 nominations, the most nominations for any network or production company for the 2nd Annual Streamy Awards, honoring excellence in original web television programming.

Crackle’s THE BANNEN WAY, ANGEL OF DEATH, WOKE UP DEAD and MOMMY XXX received a combined total of 13 nominations. THE BANNEN WAY, which has surpassed 13 million views on Crackle.com, received a total of seven nominations, including Best New Web Series and Best New Drama Series, the most for any show. The winners will be announced by the International Academy of Web Television on April 7th and April 11th at two separate ceremonies in Hollywood, CA.

The Bannen Way Earns Seven Streamy Award Nominations…
March 1, 2010

The 2nd Annual Streamy Award Events Will be Held on April 11, 2010
The Bannen Way, a crime drama series, earned seven Streamy nominations, including Best Drama Web Series, Best New Web Series, Best Male Actor in a Drama Web Series (Mark Gantt), and Best Directing for a Drama Web Series (Jesse Warren, Mark Gantt)…

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