Fresno City College had the distinct honor of welcoming Dan Forcey to campus to speak at “From Concept to Comic and Beyond” on April 9.
Forcey is an accomplished film producer and stunt man, and has been all over the globe working as a fight choreographer. His stunt work and fight choreography can be seen in films including “Cowboys and Aliens,” Venom in ”Spider-Man 3,” “Pirates of the Carribean” and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.”
Forcey’s stunt work led him to a thriving career in the comic book industry where he serves as an independent producer for Arcana, which he states began in a very random fashion.
A man in a comic book store convinced him to run his website for a TV show called “Jeremiah,” which used to air on Showtime.
According to Forcey, “Comics led to producing and filmmaking because there was a real boom in about 2002 or 2003, when everyone was grabbing up comics left and right and center.”
At the time, Forcey was working for Platinum Studios, where he said they “managed a huge library of comic book content,” with titles such as “Witchblade,” “Darkness” and “Cowboys and Aliens.”
Producers from various studios would consult them about their comic book content. Forcey says they would “go into these meetings with at least five comic books to choose from, and leave with at least three chosen to go into film production.”
The most recent title was “Cowboys and Aliens,” which was a nine year production process.
Forcey brings his film producing savvy to his work at Arcana, where he “takes comic book content and tries to find the right partners, the right financiers or studios, or writers and directors, and kind of put together pieces that will eventually make a TV series.”
Forcey’s visit to FCC proved to be an excellent learning experience for comic book fans, as he gave students an in depth look into what it takes to be in the industry and how anyone can achieve their goals.
For the full interview and to learn about Dan Forcey’s insights into the “4 C’s of Comics,” visit elBthehero.blogspot.com.
