Q&A: Roman Coppola on Scion's 'Fist of Oblivion'

This week Scion Broadband (bB) launched Fist of Oblivion, a nine part action series featuring Kung-Fu fighting puppets. Inspired by genre films of the ’70s, F.O.O. tells a story of an ex-cop and Kung-Fu master who’s on the hunt for the man who framed him for murder. We caught up with director-creator Roman Coppola about his “tale of revenge, Kung-Fu, and righteous puppets.”

Tubefilter: Can you tell us about the story?
Roman Coppola: The series tells the story of a cop who was set up for a murder that he didn’t commit, but he’s a bad ass and once he gets out of prison he’s driven to find the true culprits.

Tubefilter: What was your inspiration?

Coppola: I grew up on TV shows like Police Woman, Baretta, Streets of San Francisco and Kojak. I thought it would be fun to do something in this genre and thought it would be especially fun to do a violent action drama with puppets.

Tubefilter: How does Fist of Oblivion work with the stereotypes typical of genre films of the era?

Coppola: We fully embraced all the corny stereotypes so my collaborators and I felt very at liberty to draw from all sorts of action movies and TV shows.

Tubefilter: How instrumental was the web in realizing your project? What does the web offer that other mediums can’t?

Coppola: Since the web is a such a new venue, there’s a kind of wild west spirit out there—where anything can go. Because work can be shared so easily you might stumble upon an audience that you never knew you had.

Tubefilter: Is this a sustainable model for filmmakers?

Coppola: This is my first experience with a show that’s specifically intended for the web, but I’d like to say yes. I guess it’s a matter of getting enough people to tune in and if they enjoy the show then maybe we’ll be able to make some more.

Tubefilter: Any juicy details about you’d like to tease our readers with?

Coppola: All I can say is that there’s lots of kung-fu action, ninjas, throwing stars, a pair of Mexican killers known as Los Twins and a maniacal villain out for revenge.

Catch new episodes of Fist of Oblivion every Tuesday until December 30.