‘Lazer Team’ gives hope to dreamers

There’s nary a single original moment in “Lazer Team,” a new limited-release comedic science-fiction feature from a comedy/gaming troupe whose name will most likely only be familiar to the YouTube crowd. But behind the scenes, the film is testament to motivation, innovation and determination.

The film itself stands as a still mildly diverting and cynicism-free, comedic ode to the sci-fi genre, but more importantly, it’s a monumental leap in terms of how the film industry is being circumvented by the little guys.

First, the film itself: The U.S. government intercepted a message from outer space in 1977 in which a friendly alien planet warned of an impending attack of some not-so-friendly galactic neighbors. They promise the delivery of a special suit to help the humans in battle, and the military begins planning, which includes creating the perfect human soldier.

That suit delivery is compromised by a bumbling group of drunk Texans who each try on pieces, only to find that they immediately lock on to the host and they now all possess one part of the suit’s overall battle ability (one arm has a force field, the boots have super speed, another arm is equipped with a laser, etc.). Thus, the fate of humanity now rests with a washed-up former high school quarterback (played by Colton Dunn), the current cocky QB (played by Michael Jones); a dim-bulb farm boy (played by Gavin Free); and a local sheriff (played by Burnie Burns) whose only arrest is his own development.

Collectively, they call themselves “Lazer Team,” (only because the one member was first to post a selfie of them in their new gear and misspelled “laser” on social media). Mixing “Ghostbusters,” “Independence Day” and, most notably, the 2012 misfire “The Watch,” but with a fraction on the budget, “Lazer” still manages to invoke many hearty chuckles with its bumbling accidental heroes. It easily demonstrates a balance of wit and sci-fi that “Pixels” blew hundreds of millions of dollars in its failed attempt to do.

But the true accomplishment of “Lazer Team” is actually its winding route to the select theaters at which it is screening.

Almost five years in the making, the film is the brainchild of Rooster Teeth, an Austin-based studio that boasts some of YouTube’s most popular and enduring web series, including “Red Vs. Blue,” which is now enjoying its 13th season. The group set up a crowdfunding page on Indiegogo, where it exceeded its $650,000 budget and became the site’s fastest film campaign to reach $700,000 (in just under 10 hours).

After filming wrapped in 2014, the film was shopped to various festivals in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia. All the while, the film was aggressively marketed through the Tugg online platform, in which audiences select a film to be screened at a local theater and pledge the cost of a ticket. If a particular number of seats get filled, the film would be screened, or, on demand at the theater.

Through Tugg, “Lazer Team” boasted a total of $1 million in advance sales, which caused the filmmakers to accept 60 additional screenings, which soon ballooned into 150 screenings around the world. The film will be distributed through the new YouTube streaming service, YouTube Red, this month.

George Strompolos, founder and CEO of Fullscreen, and executive producer on “Lazer Team” told Deadline Hollywood last week, “We are reimagining what a modern studio can achieve and look forward to bringing more great content like 'Lazer Team' directly to fans worldwide.”

After raking in an additional $114,950 in 35 theaters last weekend, the film managed to buck the traditional approach and is demonstrating a new avenue filmmakers can use to connect with their audiences and view their final project on the big screen.

While it might not be as earth-shattering as saving the planet from a hostile alien takeover, it’s a strategy that can give hope to dreamers with cameras, creativity and a crowd of fans willing to help fuel their vision into a theater near you.