have anything? And he’s willing to finance it, up to two million dollars!” My response was, “Well, no, haven’t written anything yet that fits, but if the money is real, then I can certainly get on it!”
He urged that I do so, as time was of the essence.
I decided it would be a teen girl and her grandfather that would drive the story, as I never met my own grandfathers and that relationship has always been one I wish I could have experienced. I also landed on a road trip movie, but what would be the “special sauce” that could distinguish it from the many road trip films we had already seen?” As I do sometimes, when I am looking for ideas and inspiration, I just began surfing online and came about a story that involved anime.
I was immediately drawn in and as my search continued, I found an after-school anime club that a teacher had founded with her students. They invited me to visit, interview them, and immerse myself in the anime, manga and cosplay world. It was incredible, artistic, visually stunning, and meaningful. The most profound aspect was that many of these kids and young adults were bullied at school and so introverted in “regular life”. But when they were at Otakon or any number of the conventions I would go to for interviews, they suddenly became larger than life wearing cosplay of their favorite anime characters, and unlike school, where people would barely acknowledge their existence, now people were lining up and clamoring to take their photos.
It was awe inspiring and I had my hook. I would have to let the oppor- tunity pass with the producer/father/daughter, because this was special, and I had to get it right. I had to live in this world for a while, and that other project was ticking midnight. Black Hat needed time to be developed, properly. And that’s what has been done.
This film will address family chasms, the sometimes tragic results of extensive bullying, family secrets, effects of substance abuse, and nods and cameos from some of our most cherished tv icons from the 70’s and 80’s, while still navigating these subjects, at times, with LOL humor.
But at its core, this film is a love letter to the many fans of anime, manga, cosplay, comic strip creators and all of those who are “wrong in all the right ways”, and to the literal millions of followers on my FBpage @blackhatanime, you all have my heart.
-Robbie Bryan
