Photo left courtesy Warner Bros.; right courtesy Pendragon Pictures.
Above: Chrome defies her cruel masters in Chrome: the Series on Amazon Prime.
With the coronavirus pandemic having closed and limited theaters across the globe pushing back release dates of major Hollywood female superhero films Wonder Woman 1984, Black Widow and Mulan, a fresh female superhero Chrome: The Series landed on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+ on schedule this May 30, 2020. Moving into its 6th week with strong viewership and positive reviews, the superhero fantasy Chrome: The Series is filling a void left by the absent Hollywood blockbusters.
Above: Wonder Woman, courtesy Warner Bros.
Nearly 20 years in the making, Chrome with cliffhanger zeal continues to draw large audiences on Amazon Prime. The Pilot Episode titled "Death Wish" (each episode is named after a classic film) is being lauded by audiences and critics alike for its fresh take on the comic book movie genre.
Luke Barnes, critic at Another Millennial Reviewer said, "I just watched the first episode of Chrome, I couldn't stop, I couldn't look away, it was just too good. Super cool and had a Xena like vibe to it."
Above left: Xena Warrior Princess. Above right: Robot Superhero Chrome.
"So I just watched the first episode of Chrome, I couldn't stop, I couldn't look away, it was just too good. Right now only the first episode seems to be on Prime, but it is definitely one you should check out; super cool and had a Xena like vibe to it." - Luke Barnes, Another Millennial Reviewer
Female superhero mini-series Chrome: The Series is streaming on Amazon Prime in its 6th strong week with an audience of 150 million viewers. Chrome is an escapist fantasy adventure about a female robot slave Chrome (Katie Erin Tomlinson) who defies her cruel masters with the help of a repairbot named Perdix (Natasha Coppola-Shalom) to right injustices of the world. Chrome draws its inspiration from classic era science fiction and fantasy serial cliffhangers.
Josh MacPhearson of NJ4K Channel said of Chrome: The Series, “I can’t think of a better time when its message against the bully and tyranny could have been released. I love this kind of look to a film. It’s films like this that keep my attention.”
Susan Goforth as EL the Reclaimer in Chrome: The Series on Amazon Prime from Pendragon Pictures.
MacPhearson added, “There is so much coming at you from so many surroundings, it’s like an information overload that I would normally criticize in less deliberate films, yet here it all has purpose."
Chrome: The Series which takes place in the dystopian future of 2131 is an escapist superhero fantasy adventure about a female robot slave who defies her cruel masters with the help of a repairbot named Perdix (Natasha Coppola-Shalom) to fight injustice and bring light to a dystopian world. Created as a serialized movie with each standalone chapter a different episode named after a famous movie, a new Episode of Chrome: The Series will be released every 3 months (next episode on August 30), until all five episodes of the first series is completed.
Chrome: The Series is not an exploitative male fantasy view of women. Coming from feminist director Timothy Hines who adapted Nellie Bly’s book and directed the movie 10 Days in a Madhouse, Chrome is, unapologetically, a hyper action fantasy female superhero adventure mini series.
Above: Chrome (Katie Erin Tomlinson) and Colonel Zet (Anthony Piana) in Chrome: The Series on Amazon Prime.
In creating a story of a female superhero, Hines points out that few among the general public may know that Wonder Woman was created by a man.
“My gender is irrelevant. You don’t have to be a woman to support and believe in women’s equal rights. Woman’s rights are as absolute as the right for all to breath air as I see it and I am an unapologetic feminist. I work with mostly female crews and creators and tell stories that don’t make the woman character a set piece or a talisman for the male character to act out his destiny."
Above: Timothy Hines' 10 Days in a Madhouse - Mrs. Stanard, (Susan Goforth), escorts Nellie Bly (Caroline Barry), to the proper authorities to get her committed for insanity. Universal Home Entertainment, Pendragon Pictures.
"One of Hines’ former movies 10 Days in a Madhouse, starring Caroline Barry and Christopher Lambert, was the chosen opening night movie at Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Festival Celebrating Women and Diversity, which was sponsored by every major studio and many corporations including Walmart.”
Above: Timothy Hines' 10 Days in a Madhouse - E.C. Dent (Christopher Lambert) decides the fate of Nellie Bly. Universal Home Entertainment, Pendragon Pictures.
“Chrome is a story of gender and human injustice, set in the comic book movie genre of screen superheroes. It is breathless and meant to be dizzying in it’s pacing and intensity, while also follow-able," Hines continues with enthusiasm, “And when I saw Wonder Woman, I was struck as by joy and also deeply jealousy. It’s a movie that I would have loved to make! Patty Jenkins and her team are geniuses at narrative, completely inspiring me to finish Chrome: The Series. When Diana Prince pulls off her coat revealing her armor and shield, and steps out onto no man’s land from the trenches of World War I, well, to me, it was one of the best superhero moments ever put on screen. And I knew I had scenes similar to that sitting in the can waiting to breath life into Chrome. On a side note, seeing the truth and intensity of Jenkins' movie, Monster, gave me the courage to make the often emotionally wrenching, 10 Days in a Madhouse.”
Above: Wonder Woman, courtesy Warner Bros.
Chrome: The Series on Amazon Prime.
“We are very proud that we are partnered with Amazon Prime as our principle platform,” says Chrome: The Series producer Susan Goforth, "And now you can find us on Vimeo, Roku TV, and Apple TV+ as well.
Chrome director Timothy Hines adds, “Times have changed. Major theatrical films are left with one of two choices, postpone or stream. In our case Chrome: The Series was ready to go when the pandemic hit and we were fully geared for the streaming universe.”
Above: The birth of Chrome in Chrome: The Series, and Metropolis 1927, the birth of the robot.
Chrome: The Series which was designed as a serialized superhero movie ending each episode with a cliffhanger, with a new episode appearing every 3 months. Each chapter, or episode, is designed to be watched again and again while encouraging anticipation, contemplation and discussion for the next episode.
Previously director Timothy Hines and producers Susan Goforth and Donovan Le, have enjoyed success with two films competing in the Academy Awards. War of the Worlds the True Story has sold over 7 million DVDs through Walmart alone. 10 Days in a Madhouse played 19 weeks in AMC Theaters and is distributed through NBC Universal Home Entertainment.
Chrome draws its style from classic era science fiction and fantasy serials like Flash Gordon (the same source George Lucas used for Star Wars) and intellectual science fiction films like the 1927 Metropolis.
Timothy Hines’ female superhero fantasy adventure, Chrome: The Series (Above Left) was partly inspired by golden age classic science fiction films like Metropolis 1927, (Above Right). Photos: From Pendragon Pictures - Chrome: The Series on Amazon Prime, Fritz Lang’s 1927 film, Metropolis.
The Saturday morning serials were a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, advancing weekly, until the series was completed. Like the modern mini series the stories were edited into chapters.
Each chapter was screened at a movie theater for one week, and ended with a cliffhanger, in which characters found themselves in perilous situations with little apparent chance of escape. Viewers had to return again to the theater next time to see the cliffhanger resolved and to follow the continuing story.
Chrome in peril in Chrome: The Series on Amazon Prime.
The Flash Gordon serial and its sequels were major productions in their time that were action-packed stories where the villain would continually place the hero into inescapable deathtraps at the end of episodes before the hero ultimately triumphed.
Nearly 20 years in the making the long awaited giant homage to classic era serialized cliffhangers and classic science fiction Chrome: The Series’ streaming debut on Amazon Prime and Amazon Prime UK brings the miniseries to an audience of 150 million viewers, who get the opportunity to screen the pilot episode for free with Prime. Non Prime viewers can also watch the epic hyper action pilot with Amazon Pay Per View and on Vimeo VOD. Roku TV, and Apple TV+ worldwide.
Above and below: Chrome: The Series, Amazon Prime.
Amazon Prime viewer comments have been equally glowing with comments like, "Gritty CyberPunk with capital P. Feels and looks like it was torn from the pages a 1980s dystopian comic book. Lots flying by really fast, sometimes literally, so I plan to re-watch it to figure out exactly what I missed," and, "I liked how it moved so fast. It was as if this world they live in is on constant sensory overload. The actors seamed to carry that energy with them. The design was out of a graphic novel comic book hybrid. Knowing that so much of it was filmed using miniatures and old school filming techniques, it's quite remarkable to watch. Can't wait for more!"
Media Contact
Company Name: Pendragon Pictures
Contact Person: Susan Goforth
Email:Send Email
Phone: 1+ 310-480-0837
City: Los Angeles
State: CA
Country: United States
Website: www.pendragonpictures.com
