FUTURE SHOCK! THE STORY OF 2000AD
THE ANARCHIC AND UNRULY HISTORY OF THE GALAXY'S GREATEST COMIC
In 1977, IPC Magazines began publishing 2000AD, a science-fiction comic that would come to change the face of the industry. Not only did it introduce seminal creators such as Alan Moore (WATCHMEN) and Grant Morrison (ALL-STAR SUPERMAN) to the comics world, it also had a profound influence on pop culture at large. Cult fan-favourites such as ROBOCOP and SPACED owe a clear debt to the magazine, with even perennial TV mainstay DOCTOR WHO paying homage to it in recent years.
Originally intended to cash in on the success of STAR WARS, 2000AD proved wildly popular with readers, but quickly forged its own distinct identity, light years away from the clear-cut heroes and villains of George Lucas' space operatics. 2000AD was violent, edgy, anti-authoritarian, blackly funny and above all, idiosyncratically British, and the recent UK success of DREDD demonstrates that there is a continued audience appetite for the brand of gritty futurism still to be found within the pages of the comic every week.
But yet, the definitive documentary account of 2000AD remains to be told. STANTON MEDIA are therefore proud to announce the start of production on FUTURE SHOCK! THE STORY OF 2000AD – the comprehensive story of how the comic came to be, how it's survived for 36 years, and how it continues to be an innovator and game-changer in both comics and the wider cultural world beyond. FUTURE SHOCK! will offer an lluminating overview of the magazine's history: a warts and all look at the various highs and lows, a peek inside the creative process of some of its most legendary creators, and a funny, moving and passionate chronicle of how a disparate band of talented eccentrics came together to create
something both visionary and extraordinary.
According to producers SEAN HOGAN (writer/director of last year's UK indie horror hit THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS) and HELEN MULLANE, "2000AD is the scrappy comics upstart that is all too often overlooked amongst the constant waves of Marvel/DC corporate hype. And yet it's more vital than either of them – independent, cutting edge and still punk after all these years. It's time it was given its due."
Director PAUL GOODWIN says: "2000AD is the comic that people don't know they like. Its pop cultural influence is massive – it's been referenced, homaged and outright ripped off in everything from other comics to films to television tomusic – and yet too many people are unaware of it. So many of us owe a debt to 2000AD – both as fans and creators – and FUTURE SHOCK! is our attempt to acknowledge that."
Featuring interviews with legendary fan-favourites and unsung behind the scenes heroes, plus dynamic visual sequences that pay tribute to the groundbreaking artwork published in the comic throughout the years, FUTURE SHOCK! will be the exhaustive final word on the current chapter of 2000AD's history.
PAT MILLS (writer, creator of 2000AD):"A 2000AD film documentary is long overdue. And this one sounds like it'll be brilliant. I'm delighted they're going to feature some of the famous actors, directors, writers and artists who have been inspired by 2000AD. Don't know how they'll fit them all in."
MATT SMITH (2000AD Editor): "The birth, development, and legacy of an important British institution like 2000 AD is a tale worthy of a feature-length presentation - and I'm very excited to have it told in this documentary project. The SF anthology broke the mould when it was launched in February 1977, and over the past 36 years it has been responsible for publishing some of the most groundbreaking, influential comics in the world, created by a roster of amazing writers and artists that have gone on to change the face of contemporary graphic storytelling. This doc is an epic undertaking, three and a half decades in the making, and I can't wait to see the history of the Galaxy's Greatest Comic unfurl on screen."