Updated with comment from Crackle: For a few months now, plenty of buzz has been circulating about the Crackle-produced The Bannen Way, a gritty noir web series created by Mark Gantt and Jesse Warren that was set to launch on Jan. 6 (a date proudly plastered on the official site). That’s a pretty easy date to remember — the first week in January. So color me surprised when today I got a tip that the first three episodes of the series were live on Sony’s web video portal.

Hollywood Adding Money, Talent to Made-For-Web Shows

Pictured: Mark Gantt & Vanessa Marcil

By RYAN NAKASHIMA (AP) – Dec 20, 2009
LOS ANGELES — Web sites that buy original video clips often pay so little that “The Bannen Way,” a flashy crime thriller debuting online, looked destined to be made poorly if it could be made at all. Yet budding filmmakers Jesse Warren and Mark Gantt managed to hire 40-odd staff, including a boom operator, camerapeople — yes, more than one — and even production assistants on hand to offer sunscreen and sandwiches…

The Offer
Bannen successfully pulls off the “Loft Job” with a $100,000 payday, only to be tracked down by his former employer, the mobster, Mr. B. He offers Bannen a million dollars to retrieve a mysterious box that the was stolen from him.
Starring Mark Gantt, Vanessa Marcil, Gabriel Tigerman, Robert Forster, Michael Ironside, Michael Lerner, Briana Lane, Ski Carr, Jim Dowd, Dean Kreyling, Jeff Newman

Third Strike
Zeke tries to convince Bannen to find a partner to do the job for Mr. B, he refuses until he sees the beautiful street thief Madison. Breaking the law to show off for her, puts Bannen right into the hands of  the Chief of Police.

LIVE from the Tubefilter Meetup – Go Pro, Seduce Studios, Right Now!

December 15, 2009

The Most Important Viral Videos of 2009
The most important viral videos of 2009 were few and far between but I did mange to pick 5 videos that for one reason or another brought real value to the independent production and distribution of web video.

3rd – The Bannen Way Trailer
From Crackle: Trailer
Actor, co-writer and executive producer, Mark Gantt teamed up with writer, director and executive producer, Jesse Warren to create The Bannen Way (Launching Jan 6th, 2010 on Sony’s Crackle) but before they sold their idea to Sony they created a online trailer and “Pitch Site” that created buzz, got them a fancy Hollywood agent at ICM, helped then sell their show idea to Sony and they got to act, write and direct their project. The studio didn’t take Mark and Jesse’s football away from them and give it to someone else…

Sneak Peek of Vanessa Marcil’s Sizzling New Web Series, The Bannen Way!

Submitted by Jamey Giddens on December 8, 2009 – 8:01am
Uh, wow! Check out this ridiculously-hot trailer for The Bannen Way, an upcoming web series from Crackle. com, costarring General Hospital alum Vanessa Marcil! The series stars Mark Gantt (who also serves as co-writer and executive producer) as Neal Bannen, a “charming con-man with a police chief for a father, a mob boss for an uncle and a weakness for fine women…

‘Bannen Way’ Trailer Launch Fuels Web TV Meetup Buzz

December 2, 2009
It’s funny how The Bannen Way has come full circle, so to speak. The long-awaited action series after all started its buzz-filled journey from spec indie to Sony-backed studio project with just a flashy trailer over a year ago. Of course the full series wasn’t actually shot back then, so the release of the actual HD trailer on Crackle.com this week is getting quite a stir going.

As Streamy-winning Pink director Blake Calhoun joked today on Twitter, “I didn’t realize Guy Ritchie was now directing web series ;)”

Seduce the Studios with ‘Going Pro’ at the Hollywood Web Television Meetup

November 25, 2009
In Summer 2008 Mark Gantt and Jesse Warren shot and released a short, sexy and slick trailer for a high-concept indie action web series that hadn’t yet been produced. Hollywood took notice, and after getting signed by International Creative Management they landed a 13-episode deal with Sony Pictures Television to produce The Bannen Way for Crackle.com, debuting early 2010.