The Doomed Journal

A tell-all journal of the making of the feature-length documentary, Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four!

Publisher Marketing: Dedication Foreword Introduction My Fantastic Four Journal The Doomed Journal Afterword About the Author Publisher Marketing : In December 1992-January 1993, Roger Corman produced the first ever live-action film version of Marvel's comic book, The Fantastic Four. Mark Sikes worked on that original film. Marvel bought the film up from Corman and co-producer, New Constantin Films. It has never been released anywhere in the world. Twenty years later Sikes and film director Marty Langford produced a feature-length documentary about the film. This journal is a day by day diary of the making of the documentary from conception to fund-raising and production as well as distribution and the eventual exhibition at San Diego Comicon. In addition to the diary is a full telling of the many roles Sikes played in the original production like casting assistant, projectionist, and even a night on screen inside The Thing costume for pick-ups! Anyone interested in how to make a documentary will enjoy this book. It will appeal to comic book fans and filmmaking buffs alike. No one should try to make a documentary without first reading this book. Why did Marvel refuse to let anyone see this film? How did Sikes and Langford complete principal photography without spending a dime of their own money? Why did Corman sell the film back to Marvel instead of releasing it? Where is the negative of the original film? When did the cast and crew learn that the film they had all worked so hard on was never going to see the light of day? And why did Academy Award-winning producer Roger Corman walk out of the screening of the documentary when it had its world premiere in Santa Monica, California? These questions and many more will be answered in...The Doomed Journal! Contributor Bio: Sikes, Mark Mark Sikes has been a Casting Director in Los Angeles since 1993. He began his Hollywood career with Academy Award-winning producer, Roger Corman. Sikes was a casting assistant on Corman's production of The Fantastic Four. He has been one of the busiest casting directors in Los Angeles for the past 27 years and has cast films that have shot all over the United States as well as all over the world. In addition to his credits in casting he has also served as producer on 8 films, including his Executive Producer role on Doomed: The Untold Story of Roger Corman's The Fantastic Four. Sikes has also been a professional blogger for 15 years, writing for acting websites like The Casting Frontier, offering actors advice on how to navigate their careers in Hollywood. A former high school drama coach and summer camp director, he has taught at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles and been a guest lecturer at UCLA, UC Irvine and AMDA. He has taught an on-going acting class in Los Angeles for the past 20 years.

Format: Paperback | Pages: 232 | Publication Date: 2019-10-28