There are fans, and then there are Supernatural fans.
Now in its eleventh season, Supernatural – The CW’s juggernaut series about a pair of brothers (portrayed by Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki) who fight demons and unravel their own twisted mythology – is a local screen scene favourite.
It’s a sweet gig for Vancouver-based cast and crew, and its monsters-of-the-week stories and multi-season arcs make for some addictive binge-watching.
But for Vancouver filmmaker Mitch Kosterman, what’s arguably even more captivating than the Winchester Brothers’ weekly battles are their ardent fans.
These fans are at the center of two tonally different projects both directed by Kosterman: a 10-episode web series, and a feature-length documentary, collectively entitled Supernatural Fandom: The Movie.
Kosterman had already had some experience with fandoms (he played Sheriff Miller on Smallville) when he was first introduced to the force of the Supernatural fandom several years ago.
He’d all but left the production side of the industry behind when his brother, Clif, a bodyguard for Padalecki and Ackles, recounted colourful stories about the Supernatural fans he’d encounter at conventions and on his annual cease-and-desist drive across the continent.
“He was tracking down people who were exploiting the intellectual property of the show,” says Kosterman in a recent phone interview.
“Initially that was his deal, but it didn’t work out that way. Instead, he visited people who were fans. They were happy about the show. And as social media developed, he was contacted by these people, and they said, ‘Come by my house, I make an excellent beef brisket.’”
The Kostermans agreed that this superfandom was worthy of further investigation.
Produced under the banner of the Kosterman’s production company Two Sharks Media with pioneering web series house Frostbite Pictures, Supernatural Fandom: The Movie gives viewers unprecedented access to the titular subculture.
Conventions are central to Supernatural fandom, and Kosterman has logged considerable time on convention floors, interviewing fans, perusing the wares, and observing the actors in action.
“The very first stars who went to a convention on a show that was still airing were Jared and Jensen,” says Kosterman. “They changed the way conventions were done.”
Both Padalecki and Ackles have supported the Kostermans’ project. Each provided Kosterman with a lengthy interview, and “a number of instructions that we will follow to the letter, one of which was that it had to go worldwide, and it had to remain positive and it had to be a love letter to the fans.”
Pinpointing that je ne sais quoi that makes this particular fandom unique has proved to be Kosterman’s biggest challenge.
“You’ll hear every single actor I interviewed try to do exactly that, and they all hit on it in little bits,” says Kosterman, who logged interviews with numerous Supernatural stars, including Misha Collins, Felicia Day, Osric Chau, Mark Pellegrino, Curtis Armstrong, Kim Rhodes, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
“They all talk about the fact that the passion for the show gets manifested by a lot of different people across a wide demographic and in a huge variety of creative ways.”
These creative ways include epic watch parties, like the one thrown by a woman in Texas for 50 people, where “they all watched an episode and cried like crazy… and that was incredible to me.”
They create art – sketches, paintings, sculptures, songs, jewelry, and clothing – and purchase memorabilia by the truckload (“They will purchase memorabilia material in ways, except maybe Disney, you’ve never seen before”).
They forge friendships and romantic relationships, and raise money for charities championed by the actors.
Since his first visit to a Supernatural convention (which can be glimpsed in one of the episodes), Kosterman has shot more than 55 hours of footage.
The footage has been edited down into two products. The 10-episode web series launched in December and is currently releasing an episode every week. Kosterman describes these 22-minute episodes as a celebration of the fandom.
The feature-length documentary – which will have its world premiere at an American convention in March before its Vancouver screening in April – will be aimed at a wider audience, “primarily people who don’t know anything about fandom or conventions… [it will] educate them about what it is.”
Eventually, both the web series and the feature will be available for purchase on DVD.
Kosterman has learned lessons from his time with Supernatural fans; namely, that people are good.
“In times when it’s really easy to look at whatever medium you want and get bad news, all you have to do is talk to these people or go to a convention and see that there are intelligent, decent, socially conscious, socially responsible people who care about the planet and others.”
Supernatural returns for the second half of its eleventh season on Jan. 20. http://www.space.ca/show/supernatural/
Stream the Supernatural Fandom web series at http://spnfanmovie.com.
