Note: This is a reposting of a Legion M Round 8 update originally posted July 15, 2022.

Legion M has been on a winning streak lately, but today I’m afraid we’ve got some disappointing news to report.

First, a story...

One of the earliest investors in MobiTV (the first startup Paul, myself, and Phillip Alvelda founded in 1999) was a highly distinguished individual named Bobby Ray Inman. Prior to becoming a venture capitalist, Bob was a 4 Star Admiral in the US Navy. He also served as Director of the NSA and Deputy Director of the CIA. 

As a career military man, Admiral Inman was an imposing figure who commanded respect. And as one of our nation's top intelligence officials, he was extraordinarily smart.  We're friendly with Bob now, but to be honest we were all a little afraid of him back then.

Bob taught us many things, and has had a huge influence on the entrepreneurs Paul and I are today. I recall during one of our first board meetings when he told us:

"Both good things and bad things are going to happen to this company - it's inevitable. You need to tell me both. I never get upset about bad things, but I get mad as hell when people don’t tell me about them."

This statement summarizes the way Paul and I feel about sharing news with our community. As managers of the company, we work for you. Part of that means sharing the news -- good, bad, and ugly. And while most of the time we post updates to celebrate the good news, today we need to share some of the ugly.

Now, the news:

In August of 2021 Legion M signed a deal with a major streaming company for the sale of our first TV series. Due to confidentiality agreements we have not been able to reveal the the name of the series or the partner, but we've promoted it with statements like the following from our StartEngine profile:

This project has been a big deal for Legion M. The long-form legal agreement took over 8 months to negotiate. The series was expected to contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to Legion M over the coming years, with an opportunity to grow over time. Most importantly, this deal represented a significant inflection point, as Legion M graduated from the immeasurable ranks of producers attempting to package and sell a TV series in Hollywood to the much more exclusive community of producers who have successfully packaged and sold a TV series in Hollywood. 

Since the deal was signed last August, the streamer has been working in earnest on the series. They staffed a writers’ room and completed two full seasons of episode outlines (our deal was for 2 seasons of the series). After the first season’s outlines were approved by the streamer, the writers completed the first full season of scripts. Everything seemed to be moving towards production starting later this year, with an expected release in 2023.

Until a few weeks ago when our streaming partner informed us that, in the course of making some difficult business decisions, they had to cut the project from their slate. Ugh.

They told us their decision was not due to any creative issues with the show, but because of a new mandate that changed the streamer’s overall content strategy. These sorts of situations are all too common in Hollywood. If you follow the news, there's no shortage of “strategic changes” and show cancellations (animated and otherwise) reported in recent months. While it's extremely frustrating for those that have invested months or years of their lives into these projects, this is simply part of doing business in Hollywood. Our show isn't the first to get shelved due to a change in company strategy, and it certainly won't be the last. 

What does this mean for Legion M?

While this is a disappointing setback for Legion M, we don't expect the impact to be too severe in the overall scheme of things. This is just one project -- we have dozens of others on our slate. The expected revenue would have been nice, but only represents a small portion of our overall run rate. As a company focused primarily on the long-term growth of our community and building competitive advantages, this feels more like a missed opportunity than a blow to our core business. And as we mentioned, these setbacks are all too common in Hollywood -- to be successful we must build a company capable of withstanding them. 

It’s also worth noting that while this particular deal with this particular streamer is dead, there is still reason to be hopeful about the project. Our creative and producing teams continue to be excited and committed to pushing the project forward. Our former streaming partner has indicated a willingness to negotiate a "turnaround agreement" that would allow us to take back the project (including the outlines and scripts) so we can try to sell it elsewhere. Since this series was not previously shopped (it was part of a “first look” deal that allowed our former streaming partner to lock it up before anyone else had a chance to see it), we believe there are other potential buyers in the marketplace. 

No matter what happens from here, we feel like this project has already been instrumental in allowing Legion M to "level up" within the industry. We have a large number of new projects in development that we're hoping to sell. The milestone we reached with this deal – closing a deal for a series with a top streamer – still stands. We’ve proven that we can package and sell IP. 

Bad luck may have scuttled this deal, but that will always be a risk outside our control. If we can continue executing on the things within our control, we’re confident our breaks will come. 

Onward and Upward,

Jeff, Paul, and the team at Legion M

Note: This is a reposting of a Legion M Round 8 update originally posted July 12, 2021.

Legion M's first TED talk is now available to watch! Legion M co-founder and CEO Paul Scanlan took to the TEDx stage in Soho (London, UK) to discuss the power of digital communities. His full talk, “Digital Communities: Our Salvation Or Downfall?” discusses how innovations in technology, social media, and rapid globalization are impacting entertainment. Can one million fans change the face of Hollywood?

WATCH NOW

Thank you Paul for making us all proud and representing Legion M on the prestigious TEDx stage!

Onward and upward,

🍿 Legion M team

Note: This is a reposting of a Legion M Round 8 update originally posted June 30, 2022.

Lot's of news coming out today! We'll follow up with some analysis later, but for now we're just going to share the press release. This just hit the wire at 8AM PST, and already has been covered by Variety, Deadline, TheWrap, and Indiewire.

DEFINITIVE WILLIAM SHATNER DOCUMENTARY IN THE WORKS FROM LEGION M AND EXHIBIT A PICTURES

Fans to Have an Unprecedented Opportunity to Participate in Feature Film About the Life of the Celebrated Icon with Footage to Debut During Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con

For more information, or to make a non-binding reservation, please go to https://join.legionm.com/william-shatner-documentary/

San Francisco, CA - June 30, 2022 - Today Legion M and Exhibit A Pictures are announcing a new documentary directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, in which William Shatner takes off the countless masks he's worn throughout his storied career, to reveal the man behind one of the most recognizable faces in the world.

In truly unique fashion, Legion M, the world's first fan-owned entertainment company, is allowing fans to invest directly in the project. Unlike a Kickstarter or IndieGogo campaign, these investors are doing more than just providing the funds to produce the film -- they also own a share of any potential profits the documentary earns. Investment terms have not been released yet, but beginning today fans can sign up to make a non-binding, no-obligation reservation HERE. Reservation holders will be the first to know when the offering opens, and will be given priority if it sells out.

The producers will be providing an early look at some of the footage on pop culture's biggest stage later this month during a Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con featuring William Shatner and moderated by actor/director/comedian Kevin Smith (“Jay and Silent Bob” franchise, “Clerks” franchise)

At 91 years old, William Shatner is an iconic actor, artist, and astronaut(!) best known for his legendary role in “Star Trek” as Captain Kirk that spanned nearly 30 years across film and television, as well as the titular character in “T.J. Hooker” and the television series, “Boston Legal.”

Said Bill Shatner: "For years I've had people approaching me to do a documentary about my life, but I turned them all down because it didn’t feel like the right fit. Alexandre and I hit it off right away, and when I heard how Legion M wanted to incorporate audiences to be a part of it, it was perfect. Fans have been responsible for my career -- it only seems right that they should own this doc."

Legion M is the first entertainment company designed from the ground up to be owned by fans. With more than 35,000 shareholders, the company has had a hand in developing, producing, and/or releasing nearly a dozen projects over the last 6 years, including COLOSSAL (starring Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis), MANDY (starring Nicolas Cage), ARCHENEMY(starring Joe Manganiello) and recently wrapped production on the film NANDOR FODOR AND THE TALKING MONGOOSE (starring Simon Pegg, Minnie Driver and Christopher Lloyd). 

Said Legion M co-founders Paul Scanlan and Jeff Annison in a joint statement: "From make-believe starship captain to a real-life rocketman, William Shatner has led one of the most unique and best-lived lives on the planet. While we all know him from his iconic roles, the REAL William Shatner is even more interesting. We're thrilled to be working with Alexandre and the top-notch team at Exhibit A, and excited to give fans around the world an opportunity to be a part of Bill’s legacy."

Dedicated to the appreciation and preservation of our global cinematic and pop culture heritage, Exhibit A Pictures specializes in long-form documentary films that celebrate and deconstruct the defining popular trends and icons of our time. Alexandre O. Philippe, Kerry Deignan Roy and Robert Muratore are original founding partners of the US-based documentary film company, which first came together for the pop-culture breakout THE PEOPLE VS. GEORGE LUCAS (SXSW 2010). Since that time, the team has produced eight features, including DOC OF THE DEAD (SXSW 2014), 78/52: HITCHCOCK’S SHOWER SCENE (Sundance 2017), MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN (Sundance 2019), LEAP OF FAITH: WILLIAM FRIEDKIN ON THE EXORCIST (Venice 2019, Sundance 2020) and LYNCH/OZ (Tribeca 2022). 

Said director Alexandre O. Philippe: "I grew up watching Bill Shatner on a black-and-white television in Switzerland. My first memories of him are from Columbo and The Twilight Zone. He is a modern Renaissance man. Ubiquitous. Unavoidable. His range as an actor (Roger Corman’s The Intruder, anyone..?) is as staggering as the depth of his wisdom and curiosity; and I couldn’t be more excited by this opportunity to craft an up close and personal portrait of a man who fascinates me, through some of the important themes he openly tackles in his most vulnerable autobiographical songs. This intimate film will illuminate little-known and rarely seen aspects of Bill’s career and philosophy, and also re-examine some of his most iconic roles and cultural moments through a brand-new lens."

Alexandre O. Philippe and Exhibit A Pictures are managed by Peter Van Steemburg of XYZ Films.

For more information, or to make a non-binding reservation, please go to https://join.legionm.com/william-shatner-documentary/

NO MONEY OR OTHER CONSIDERATION IS BEING SOLICITED, AND IF SENT IN RESPONSE, WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

NO OFFER TO BUY THE SECURITIES CAN BE ACCEPTED AND NO PART OF THE PURCHASE PRICE CAN BE RECEIVED UNTIL THE OFFERING STATEMENT IS FILED WITH THE SEC AND ONLY THROUGH AN INTERMEDIARY'S PLATFORM. ANY SUCH OFFER MAY BE WITHDRAWN OR REVOKED, WITHOUT OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT OF ANY KIND, AT ANY TIME BEFORE NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE GIVEN AFTER THE DATE OF FILING.

AN INDICATION OF INTEREST INVOLVES NO OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT OF ANY KIND.

Note: This is a reposting of a Legion M Round 8 update originally posted June 9, 2022.

Over the past few years there has been an explosion in the number of ways an average investor can invest their money. In the "olden days" (i.e. 5-10 years ago) retail investing was a stuffy suit-and-tie sort of affair that felt inaccessible to most. The things available to invest in -- stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. -- had been well established for decades.

Today the barriers to entry are gone, and anyone can invest with a click on their phone. The world of assets you can invest in now includes things that were previously inaccessible (e.g. fine art, exotic cars, and even startup companies like Legion M) as well as things that didn't even exist a few years ago (e.g. crypto currency and NFTs). 

Investors' biggest problem today isn't ACCESS to investment opportunities, but INFORMATION that allows them to separate the signal from the noise.

This is one of the big reasons that Legion M signed on as an executive producer for the upcoming documentary feature This is Not Financial Advice. Produced by the exceptional documentary team at Optimist, the film promises to "explore the psychology of investing through the story of the "Dogecoin Millionaire" (a guy who cashed out his life savings to invest in a joke cryptocurrency) and a generation of new investors powered by the internet and social media." In addition to being wildly entertaining, the documentary serves as an informative look at the investment landscape of today, contrasting some of the wildly different strategies investors employ as they attempt to conquer it.

As an executive producer, Legion M has made an equity investment in the production of the documentary with potential to earn revenue based on its performance. In addition, we have a marketing partnership in place in which Legion M will earn revenue and work with the Optimist team to promote the film.

The release date is TBD, but is expected to be sometime in late 2022 or 2023. We'll share more information once we've got it, but in the meantime you can learn more by visiting the landing page.

Note: This is a reposting of a Legion M Round 8 update originally posted May 28, 2022.

In case you missed the email last week, we wanted to make sure you saw the exciting Legion M news out of Cannes Film Festival! 

Kit Harington (Game Of Thrones) has signed on to Mary's Monster, a film Legion M is executive producing in conjunction with with James Corden’s production company Fulwell 73 & Rose Pictures. Clara Rugaard (I Am Mother; Teen Spirit; The Rising) has been cast in the lead role of Mary Shelley. BAFTA (the UK equivalent of the Academy Awards) award-winning director Farren Blackburn (The Fades, Daredevil) is attached to direct.

Mary's Monster is a strikingly original, high-concept rock ‘n roll take on Mary Shelley’s mental struggle to write her seminal novel Frankenstein. This genre-busting film brings to life the monster like never before, appearing to Mary as the manifestation of her own fragile and damaged psyche. Re-imagining the anarchic, turbulent, hedonistic spirit of the Romantic era, Mary’s Monster will redefine period film for the modern YA audience.

The film is seeking finance and distribution at the Cannes film market with Metro International and CAA Media Finance repping.

For the purposes of Legion M's financial reporting, this film is classified as a development project because it has not yet secured production financing. If you aren't familiar with the way Legion M defines our projects, here's a description from our SEC filings: 

Development generally refers to the earliest stages of the content production cycle, when production companies invest time, money, and “sweat equity” to develop, package, and sell movies, TV series and other entertainment projects. Examples of development activities include reading and evaluating scripts, licensing IP, packaging talent (e.g. showrunners, actors, directors), creating pitch materials, and pitching projects to financiers, studios, streaming services, networks, distributors and other potential partners. The goal of development is typically to package a project for financing and/or sale so it can be produced.

In the case of Mary's Monster, Legion M has attached to the film as an Executive Producer. We've invested development money with a chance to earn a return if the film enters production. We also have a stake in the backend with potential to generate revenue based on the film's success, and are exploring the potential of merchandise and/or marketing partnerships.

Click the links below to learn more about the project, read the article on Deadline, and check out our discussion with director Farren Blackburn and Producers Rose Ganguzza (Rose Pictures), and Heather Greenwood (Fulwell 73).

LEARN MORE!

Note: This is a reposting of a Legion M Round 8 update originally posted May 12, 2022.

Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose stars Simon Pegg (left), Minnie Driver (middle), and is directed by Adam Sigal (right).

Last week Legion M announced a new feature film project: Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose. The movie -- directed by Adam Sigal -- tells the entirely true (seriously!) story of a  Hungarian-American para-psychologist from the 1930's named Nandor Fodor who traveled to the the Isle of Man to investigate reports of a talking mongoose named Gef (pronounced "Jeff"). 

This week we're excited to release more information on the cast, led by the one and only Simon Pegg (Star Trek, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Mission Impossible, Star Wars) playing the lead role of Nandor Foder and Minnie Driver (Good Will Hunting, Rosaline) playing the role of Nandor's assistant "Anne". The cast is rounded out by Tim Downie (Good Omens), Ruth Connell (Supernatural), Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones), Gary Beadle (In the Heart of the Sea) and Drew Moerlin (V/H/S). 

Deadline broke the story with an article that included a quote from Legion M:

“Our shareholders have made it made it clear they value original stories and storytellers,” added Legion M’s co-founder and President, Jeff Annison. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with Adam, Simon, and Minnie to bring this wildly imaginative story to the big screen.” For more, read the whole article on Deadline.

Legion M is an executive producer on the film, with a multi-prong deal that includes an equity investment, marketing and sales support, on-set activations, and merchandising. We also have a limited number of set visits available for Legion M investors who can get themselves to Leeds, UK -- click here to learn more. 

Like most film investments, Legion M's financial ROI will depend on the long-term success of the movie. We have multiple avenues from which to potentially generate revenue, including return on our equity investment, marketing fees, sales commissions, and merchandise.  That said, we believe this is one of those projects that will pay off no matter how well the film does. That's because -- like all our projects -- we evaluate success not just by the revenue it generates (which is nice), but also its ability to grow the size of our community (which we believe is THE KEY to our long-term success) and help us "level up" to bigger and better projects. The opportunity to work closely with beloved icons like Simon and Minnie -- as well as an exciting emerging voice in director Adam Sigal -- is one we hope will pay off for years to come.

Onward and Upward!

Note: This is a reposting of a Legion M Round 8 update originally posted May 3, 2022.

THANK YOU to each and every one of the 6,676 investors who made Round 8 the most successful in Legion M history. After selling out our initial cap of $3,000,000 earlier this year, we went back to the SEC and increased the cap to $3,850,000. Then in April it sold out again! 

This is good news for ALL Legion M shareholders as it show our momentum is continuing to grow. We just released our 2021 annual report (more on that in a subsequent update), and feel more bullish than ever about where we're headed. We don't know the exact shareholder count yet (we won't until we get disbursement lists from StartEngine), but we expect to have over 35,000 shareholders. And we're just getting started...

Now that round 8 is complete we've got a lot of exciting announcements to make. Here's a quick preview of some of the things to come:

• NEW PROJECTS. We've got a bunch of great new projects to announce in the coming weeks, including some of our biggest and best projects yet!
• STOCK SPLIT. StartEngine has told us it could take up to 60 days for them to fully close out the round, but as soon as it does we plan to split the stock, exchanging 10 Legion M post-split shares for every 1 pre-split share owned. 
• WORLDWIDE TOAST. Once the dust settles on Round 8, we'll schedule a "Worldwide Toast" livestream where we can all raise a glass to what we've accomplished, and all that is yet to come.
• HOLLYWOOD READERS ROOM. If you've taken the latest M-Pulse, you know what this refers to. If not, please take the latest M-Pulse!

As a fan-owned company, our strength comes from our size. For this reason, we believe that growing the legion is the single most important thing we can do to improve the company's odds of success. With a stated goal of 1 million shareholders, we expect that to include many more rounds of equity crowdfunding, starting with Round 9 which is expected to kick off later this year and has the potential to be the biggest push in Legion M history.

In the meantime, we just wanted to welcome all our new investors and say how honored we are to have you on the team.  As you know, the Legion M staff is investing alongside you -- not just with our money (almost everyone at Legion M works for below-market salaries in exchange for options in the company), but also our blood, sweat and tears. We are incredibly humbled by each and every one of you who is willing to entrust us with your investment, and are committed to making the most of it -- for all our sakes. What we're doing has never been done before, but fortune favors the bold.

THANK YOU!
 Paul, Jeff, Terri L, David, Eric, Michelle, Terri P, Mandy, Taylor, Brandi, Prophetess, Clare, Ramona and the rest of the Legion M team

Note: This is a reposting of a Legion M Round 8 update originally posted April 27, 2022.

At any one time Legion M has dozens of projects in "development". If you are not familiar with the term, "development" generally refers to the earliest stages of the film and TV cycle, when companies like Legion M invest time, money, and “sweat equity” to create, develop, package, and sell movies, TV series and other entertainment projects. The goal of development is typically to finance and/or sell a project so it can be produced.

This is one of the most speculative stages in the entertainment business because the odds of success for any given project are very low. There are millions of scripts and ideas in Hollywood--but only a very small percentage get made. That said, the potential value of developing a successful project can be be quite large. At one point Game of Thrones was just a series of books, and shows like American Idol were nothing more than a glimmer in the eye of producers. Every project we develop and every pitch we make is an opportunity to launch a new movie, series, or franchise.

Today we wanted to give you a first look behind the curtain at a project we’re developing in conjunction with National Lampoon (Animal House, Christmas Vacation, etc.). Our goal with the project was to develop a series that could tap into both the wisdom of the crowd and the wealth of talented creators that produce content daily on social media and YouTube. National Lampoon began in the 1970's as a place where emerging comedy voices came together to create something (initially a comedy magazine) of value. This show is a reimagining of that same process in an era of cellphones and TikTok. The working title for this project is "Legion of Comedy", although that -- along with everything else about projects at this stage -- is subject to change. 

Watch The Sizzle

We’re excited to bring the Legion M community into the process at such an early stage. We'd  love to hear any ideas you might have for hosts (feel free to think big -- the sky's the limit!) as well as feedback on the show. The link above will take you to a landing page where you can watch the sizzle video, and submit your feedback/ideas. Take a look and tell us what you think!

Onward and upward,

🤣 Paul, Jeff, Terri L, David, Eric, Michelle, Terri P, Mandy, Taylor, Brandi, Prophetess, Clare, Ramona and the rest of the Legion M team

Note: This is a reposting of a Legion M Round 8 update originally posted April 26, 2022.

Legion M's M-Pulse surveys are one of the many ways our community's thoughts and opinions influence the direction of Legion M. Feedback from our investors and members helps guide us, and the "wisdom of the crowd" helps us make smarter choices about potential projects and initiatives in our pipeline. Many of the things we do are a direct result of the feedback we receive from M-Pulse.

The latest version of M-Pulse has three distinct sections:

1. Potential Film and TV Projects: Read and rank projects under consideration or in development at Legion M.
2. Hollywood Readers Room: IP drives our industry, and we looking for ways our community can help us find the next great story. Building on the success of Film Scout, we're exploring the idea of launching a book club where our community can play a direct role in selecting, evaluating and developing books for Film and TV.
3. Direct Investments In Projects: If you’re an investor in Legion M, you already have a stake in everything we do. But as we’ve seen with projects like OneDoor Studios and Calculated, many of our investors are also interested in investing directly in projects alongside the company. We’d love to get your feedback on these sort of opportunities, and whether you’d like to see more of them in the future.

Try M-Pulse Now

Thank you one and all for being a part of Legion M. We hope you decide to participate in the latest M-Pulse and maximize your impact on our fan-owned endeavor.

☑️ Paul, Jeff, Terri L, David, Eric, Michelle, Terri P, Mandy, Taylor, Brandi, Prophetess, Clare, Ramona and the rest of the Legion M team