I see that "With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story" is available to watch on YouTube (Free, with ads) at the time of this post. I have mixed feelings whenever I think of that film. On the one hand, it's a great documentary about Stan and his wife Joan, and awesome that I was involved with its making and have a credit on the only full-length feature film about Stan Lee during his lifetime. But, on the other hand, the producers made promises to me that -- Surprise!! -- they didn't keep.
I often say about this experience that I have been used by Hollywood without even having visited the West Coast. LOL!
Here's a summary of my story about "With Great Power":
In late 2006 I edited a video using audio from a 1960s' Marvel Comics fan club recording by Stan Lee and the Marvel Bullpen. Both my video and the fan club recording were titled, "The Voices of Marvel." I culled images of the various Marvel staffers that were mentioned or took part in the audio recording, and edited them into my video. I dedicated the video to the original Marvel Bullpen, never really expecting that any surviving member would see my YouTube video. But... one did:
Stan Lee, himself!
I was contacted sometime in 2007 by POW Entertainment, Stan Lee's company, by a representative on Stan's behalf. I was told Stan saw they video and enjoyed it, and was curious where I got all the old pictures of him and his old crew. I explained how I found many in the comics and publications, as well as online, and asked others on a message board I frequented to help find more. I told the rep that if Stan wanted, I could send him the image files I had of the Bullpen. The rep said Stan would like that and provided me an email address.
Not long after that, I received a very cool photograph of Stan Lee and Spider-Man that Stan had personalized to me, with him and Spidey speaking in captions, as thanks for sending the pictures.
Now, I am not clear on how Stan Lee was made aware of my video. Thinking on the matter, in later years, I had assumed that maybe Stan found out about it from TV and comic books writer Mark Evanier (a former assistant to Jack Kirby, by the way), who I had recalled found a video of mine and featured it in an entry to his online blog. I had mistakenly recalled the video he share as having been the "Voices of Marvel" video, but apparently it was another I had uploaded around the time time, "The Merry Marvel Marching Society". Not only was I misremembering the video Evanier posted, but his blog was in 2008, and I was actually contacted before that by a woman named Nikki Frakes.
Ms. Frakes told me Stan had spoken with her about the video, and that she was a producer on a documentary being made about his life. She asked if I would mind if they used my video. She was aware I was a comic shop owner and also wanted to know if I'd be willing to help provide scans of comic books Stan gad worked on for use in the film. She pointed out that while Marvel was working with them, it could take a long time for the publsiher to send photos and such. She and her associates wanted a network of other comic book people to help provide resources to use in the film. I agreed and helped in whatever way I could.
The documentary was initially titled "True Believer", but would eventually become "With Great Power". For about a couple of years I was in contact with Ms. Frakes about this documentary. To a lesser degree I also was in contact with her co-producer and director William Hess. I was told more than once by them that this was a "passion project", which was their way of telling me there was no money in this for my involvement. Fair enough, but I was promised more than once that I would receive multiple copies of the film once it was released on DVD.
I was sent promotional materials from time to time, even a couple more items that Stan signed, though not personalized. I was being kept abreast on the progress for most of the time. After it was completed, there was a period of it being screened at film festivals across the country, and eventually it was distributed by Epix and shown online and on TV.
Finally, a DVD release was scheduled. I never got a single copy for the filmmakers. In fact, I had to order my first copy from Diamond Comic Distributors, for myself through my comics shop.
Towards the end of my contact with the film's producers, as the documentary being screened, I had heard less and less from them. For a time, I was "friends" on Facebook with Will Hess, the director/co-producer, but he eventually unfriended me for inquiring about my complimentary DVDs that never came my way.
Oh well.
At least, I still got my credit on the film. I can't help but check whenever I see it online to make sure they didn't remove that. In a way, I was actually credited TWICE!! My shop's name ("Comics Unlimited") appears ahead of my own name, as if we were two different contributors! LOL! I wonder why the shop name wasn't in parenthesis as was done with Chuck Rozanski of Mile High Comics?
I still am happy to have the experience and have been involved in the documentary. Despite the broken promises of the producers, I do think they did a fine job with the telling of Stan's life.
No, my actual YouTube video does not appear in the final cut, but they took snippets of that fan club audio I had used and did a fancier and more animated version of what I had done in my video. Knowing that I am somehow in small part linked to something about Stan Lee and his life's story is a very cool thing, no matter the more disappointing aspects of working with the producers.
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| Will Hess, Nikki Frakes, and "With Great Power" associates at San Diego Comiccon 2009 screening. |
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| Stan Lee and Michael Uslan ("Batman" movie producer), 2009 |
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| Stan Lee and Mark Evanier, 2009 |
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| Terry Douglas, Will Hess, Stan Lee, Nikki Frake, San Diego Comicon 2009 |
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| San Diego Comicon 2009, displaying "Stan on A Stick"s! |
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| Stan Lee at San Diego Comicon 2009 screening with Michael Uslan. |
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| San Diego Comicon 2009, standing: Mark Evanier, Stan Lee, Nikki Frakes, unidentified, Terry Douglas, and Michael Uslan; kneeling: Will Hess and Paul Levitz. #StanLee #WithGreatPower #Marvel #marvelcomics #TrueBeliever |
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