Merrick here...


"Old School" is often used as a diminutive; I'm using it as more of a respectful characterization...the utmost respect.

I'm talking about two guys here - Paul Ens and Scott Chitwood. They're bigtime genre fans...STAR WARS fans in particular.

Over a decade ago, at about the same time AICN was lumbering into motion, Paul and Scott were running theforce.net - which for many years was one-stop shopping for all things related to STAR WARS fandom.

At some point along the way, Ens was recruited by Lucasfilm to lord over starwars.com (the official Lucasfilm website) while Chitwood continued with his primary, money-earning job. But neither lost their affection for science fiction & fantasy, and both dedicated themselves to telling stories in the genre...mostly because they loved it, wanted to add to it, and wanted to be a part of it.

This resulted in Red 5 Comics, which they co-founded together. And now, it seems, one of their comics is about to be turned into a movie in a big way.

Neal Moritz (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS films, the xXx films, I AM LEGEND, and TV's PRISON BREAK) and Tobey Maguire are maneuvering to produce AFTERBURN, a Red 5 comic by Chitwood and Ens.

Story begins one year after a solar flare burns half of the planet, when treasure hunters go back the scorched portion to retrieve valuable artifacts.

...says THIS ARTICLE in Variety.

I'm familiar with the road these guys traveled, and am happy to see projects working out for them like this. It's been a long haul for them both...and more power to them.