Nov 1: Some Major Broken Saints News - and so much more!

www.BrokenSaints.com

From: "Broken Saints"
Subject: Nov 1: Some Major Broken Saints News - and so much more!
Date: Tue, 01 Nov 2005

In this edition of what is fast becoming the BI-MONTHLY ‘Saintly Scribe’ newsletter (we don’t jam inboxes if we don’t really have to!):

- HUGE NEWS: International DVD distribution deal is signed!!!
- LIMITED EDITION: Only 2 months left to snag one of the Originals!!!
- FAN FILM Permission needed ASAP!!!
- SPREAD THE WORD: Join the Broken Saints Street Team!!!
- RIP – ‘Broken Links’ & ‘Best of the Guest’ get retired!!!
- 2000 DEATHS – an UNSUBSCRIBE CALL TO PROTEST!!!

We’ve been holding off on sending a mailer for weeks and weeks - hoping to have some cool news to share - and finally we do! Read on, dear friends…and know that you’re all a part of this as the path unfolds beneath our collective feet ...

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SAINTS DVD SET SIGNED FOR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION IN SPRING 2006!!!

Well folks, it was our quiet hope all along – to somehow get our homemade Special Edition DVD set of the series into the retail limelight – to share the story beyond the Flash-walled boundaries where it was born - but it was certainly a monumental test of faith and patience. After
our experience at the Sundance Film Festival in 2003, we’ve had countless carrots dangled regarding the ‘potential’ of the series, but most of the ‘interest’ amounted to nothing more than shifty schemes and Hollywood smoke-blowing…
But then Telefilm Canada came along and funded our scheme. And then some incredibly talented helping hands from far and wide joined forces to bring BS to new life. And then – after 9 months of slowly chipping away with web sales and underground promo – after another slew of good reviews and post-production awards – after finally reaching a place of ‘acceptance’ with the quiet conclusion of our journey – after all of this…
…we went to Comicon.
In our modest booth at the San Diego Convention Centre, we had the chance to meet long-time fans in the flesh, and to spread our unique
‘gospel’ a little further. The opening day panel with Brooke and Andrew was like spiked Kool-Aid to the eager AM thirsty. The earnest enthusiasm of Kim (DVD producer) and Susan (Fallen Angel of Fan Forum fame) hooked passersby like wayward fish. And our unique set-up – crowned by gorgeous new character banners with the taglines “FAITH. LOVE. HOPE. WILL.” – lured the curious from all corners of the hall, eager to know if there truly was a soulful beacon in the turbulent San Diego sea of cookie-cutter comic commerce.
And some of those people worked for distributors. Big ones. And they liked what they saw.
Sooooooo…for two months, we were in negotiations with the best of the bunch - trying to determine the seriousness of intent, the level of
passion for the material, and specific plans for promotion – and weeded out all but one contender. A month later, and the dangling legal bits were sorted out. Two weeks ago, we began the daunting process of converting every piece of digital content to traditional ‘studio formats’ (ie: damn expensive videotape!). And, if our goodies get the official A-OK – we’ll be available WORLDWIDE NEXT SPRING!!!
Now…we can’t tell you who the studio is – at least not YET. But we CAN share what’s being ADDED for saintly pleasure:

- WICKED SPECIAL EDITION SLEEVE PACKAGING!!!
- HOT NEW ART FOR CHAPTER 13!!!
- NEW PANEL DISCUSSIONS, NEWS STORIES, AND INTERVIEWS!!!
- MORE AWESOME FAN FILMS!!!
- AUDIO COMMENTARIES FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES!!!
- NEW FRENCH, GERMAN and ITALIAN SUBTITLES!!!

Yeah…needless to say, we’re pretty damn jazzed – and that’s not even taking into consideration the fact that they want to discuss LIVE ACTION versions next(!!!)
But…because of licensing concerns, a few things will have to change…or even be removed (“Bush is the Devil” and Benefit Concerts, anyone?). Ah well - ya gotta give a little to get a little, as they so. So, with that said…

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TWO MONTHS LEFT TO GET THE ORIGINAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION DVD!!!

With the new shadow of studio muscle looming large above us, we had to be a bit scrappy in order to make sure the current version could have a ‘noble death’ – so we assured our new behemothic new benefactors of the following:

• we would NOT do another run of our own copies to sell ‘underground’
• we would STOP selling the current DVD as of JANUARY 2006
• we would CAP remaining sales at 5000 units

When all was said and done, we could live with it…mainly due to the fact we have less than 1000 COPIES left from our first run!!! =)
Consider this a chance to pick up a truly LIMITED edition of what may well become a collector’s item in the years ahead. Or maybe you’ve got some good souls on your holiday shopping list that’d get some inspiration from the series? Either way, we’re just happy to know that we still have time to share our original creation with anyone who wants it!!!
http://bs.brokensaints.com/dvd - scope it out, saints…it might not be too long before you see a version of that trailer on the big screen ;)
And speaking of the ‘original’…

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CALLING ALL FAN FILM CREATORS FROM THE ORIGINAL DVD!!!

We need you all to sign off on your flick for the usual legal reasons and junk. Seriously. Like...now.
So drop us a line asap at info@brokensaints.com , and we can get you an e-waiver – we’d hate to lose your contributions to the BS universe, or the chance to share your stuff with thousands more around the world!
It’s all about spreading the good word, which segues nicely into…

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WANNA HELP FORM AN UNOFFICIAL BROKEN SAINTS ‘STREET TEAM’???

Google BS and you’ll see that we’ve already plastered digital graffiti on electric walls (and if you have a site or Forum tag, our nifty Flash
banner still welcomes more loving homes - http://bs.brokensaints.com/dvd/bannercode.htm ).

We even have a nice little following over on MySpace!

http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.groupProfile&groupID=100088974&Mytoken=1013D852-152D-A272-CA7E13BB96A275EA11123228 – the BS FAN PAGE!!!

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=32093859&Mytoken=3FCE2D86-F455-4129-A84A62BAE44C88BC526574046 – series composer TOBIAS TINKER’s page!!!

But with the schoolkids back in session, and the Spring release of the set closer than you think, we’re jonesing to make a mark on the ‘real’
world – and to show them distribber types that our fans actually CARE!

http://bs.brokensaints.com/dvd/downloads/the-four.pdf
http://bs.brokensaints.com/dvd/downloads/shan-island.pdf
http://bs.brokensaints.com/dvd/downloads/bsdvd.pdf
http://bs.brokensaints.com/av/downloads/bs-eye-bw.pdf
http://bs.brokensaints.com/av/downloads/bs-shan-oran.pdf

These are direct links to our printable posters – all except the third are black and white, so it shouldn’t be too taxing on your printer.
The main goal is to get the ‘What Would You Give…to Know the Truth?” tagline out there – so if you have other/better ideas, then run with ‘em! And if you send us picture proof of your public pursuits, we'll mail out some saintly swag for the most creative (or prolific) efforts…and then post your handiwork on the BS BLOG!!!

Blog…? Did someone say BLOG…?

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GOODBYE ‘BROKEN LINKS’ and ‘BEST OF THE GUEST’…HELLO BS BLOG!!!

Those of you who’ve been hangin’ with the Saints since the early days will likely recall that we peppered our mailers with entertaining and thought-provoking links, as well as the most supportive and critical posts from the BS Guestbook. Well, thanks in part to cruddy bots and evil spammers, and since it makes little sense to focus on newsletter links and random fan posts when we have our daily photoblog up and running, it just makes sense to retire our Guestbook and the ‘Broken Links’ feature too.
(you can leave your condolences in style at www.brokensaints.com/guestbook - thanks to all for over 4 YEARS - and 25000+ posts - of praise and passion that kept us going when our bank accounts and energy levels screamed otherwise!)
That said, there’s TONS of great links, news, contests, and ranty style stuff happening over at the main site every week, and now you’ve got
the ability to respond to each and every post with your thoughts and contributions!
Some recent goodness includes:

http://brokensaints.com/blog/?p=208 – a haiku prayer for Pakistan. We continued the BS haiku tradition…now with photos for inspiration!
http://brokensaints.com/blog/?p=218 – the voice of Raimi Matthews surprises his girlfriend with a staged video proposal!
http://brokensaints.com/blog/?p=214 – BS pal Taylor Moll is working in Australia for 6 months – any Aussie saints want to make her feel more at ‘home’?
http://brokensaints.com/blog/?p=205 - a Blog-EXCLUSIVE contest to win a copy of PIRATES for X-Box! Congratulations to Forumhead and Blog regular ADHESIVE (send us your address, mate) for the awesome detective work, including a call to 2K’s switchboard for verification! ANIMAL!!!
And remember – if blogs aren’t ‘communal’ enough for you, there’s always the hardcore FAN FORUM! Current ‘hot button topics’ (Bwahahaha...I couldn't resist) include:
http://brokensaints.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5358 – a nice return to ‘Forum Form’ for resident composer Tobias T – time to look at The Cost of War!
http://brokensaints.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5353 – Uhh…you’ll just need to click this one and see for yourself. Master of One’s ‘domain’, indeed…
http://brokensaints.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5195 – this one’s entitled “Spoilers that will make you cry: The BS Easter Egg List”. Not the worst of topics when indulging in that new DVD, hmm? ;)

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A CALL TO ACTION: “WITH 2000 DEATHS – HAVEN’T WE FINALLY HAD ENOUGH???”

Since we started this saintly venture, there was always an air of ‘rebellion’ around the work…and it seemed to permeate every corner of the BS universe. From the heated daily updates and haikus, to the scathing weekly rants, to the social and politically-charged themes of the series itself – we felt compelled to shine our small light on many troubling facets of modern life.
And never was this ‘testy’ streak more apparent than in our regular ‘Newsletter Unsubscribe’ blurbs – the tongue-jutted, middle-fingered,
‘fully-cocked-and-aiming-to-shock’ closing statements of our monthly mailers. If someone wanted off our newsletter list for whatever reason, they had to wade through these thought minefields, word cluster-bombs, and sledgehammer social commentary, just to ensure the proper removal link was being clicked.
Scan a few, and you’ll see that the seemingly satirical volleys of reverse psychology had a way of fusing jest, current events, and more than
a little personal reflection into tiny gaseous balls of discontent that we hoped would ignite and burn long afterwards…like little, distant
stars in the cold urban sky - http://bs.brokensaints.com/bs/quotes.htm#2

Shopping Habits. Spam. Blockbuster Entertainment. Hypersexualization. Economics. War Mongering. Mad Cow. Health scares. The Royal
Family. Canadian identity. Global poverty. Literacy. The Religious Right. The Middle East. The Bush Mob. The Excited States of America.

So clever. So ‘rebellious’.
Bullshit.
What GOOD is in this? What USE is rambling rhetoric when the seeds are too slow to germinate? What PURPOSE do the words serve when we continue to allow injustice and tyranny to fester and infect every cell of the modern geo-political body? What BURNS when the small match is lit?
Laziness. Apathy. Impotence. Fear. We’re all guilty of these sins and more. Each of us sits cushioned in our glass and steel towers…Princes of the Air, casting milky eyes to the suffering in the streets…a willing deafness to the rantings of the wicked - sucking (as Lear would insist) at the twin teats of War and Commerce.
We ALLOWED them to shackle and silence us.
We GAVE them our rights in exchange for the illusions of ‘threat’ and ‘protection’.
We LET them fool us into waging a sequel-war that had already cost over 1 MILLION INNOCENTS their lives.
And now - in the rising, continuous, and undeniable waves of scandal, deception, manipulation, prejudice, fascism, and greed - in the pilfered wallets, and bloody, tear-stained realizations of their RAPING of us:

Iraq, Afghanistan, Enron, Hurricane Katrina, Wartime Torture, Public Education, Health Care, the National Debt, the Patriot Act, Human Rights, Climate Change, the Death of Honor (the CIA leak), Oil gouging, and the coming War in Iran – in the face of all that has transpired, and all that is yet to come…

WHY ARE WE NOT STANDING UP?
Why are we SILENT…paralyzed in the MADNESS of it?
Why aren’t we taking to the streets and STORMING the gates of power?
THIS is what ‘rebellion’ IS – to REFUSE a corrupt and cancerous force the privilege of another day’s breath.
The voices of hundreds can become thousands. The thousands can become millions…but with one voice.
We are LEGION if we wish to be. By the end of this year, our words and our voices and our footsteps and our thunder could strike at the heart
of it, and help to bring into being a truly better day.
All we have to do…is everything we’re afraid to do.
All we have to do is raise a new flag…
And burn like the sun.

Love and Respect in the days and months ahead
THE BS CREW
www.brokensaints.com
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You want to leave? We ain't stopping you?
You want to strike us down? We'll only get stronger.
Word is Bond.