BIG Thanks to Tarynoneillon Twitter as @tarynoneill for pointing this one out to me!

Their trailer has been posted online for 5 months and as of this posting only has 500 views. But look out, it’s TV pilot season, they have an ICM agent and I’m betting that The Bannen Way is coming and one way or another it will be raising the bar for all Web Video Series.

Shot on the RED camera it has a high end feature film look that any movie studio would be happy to release and any TV network would be happy to have on their Fall schedule. I don’t know why it’s taking so long for The Bannen way to hit the Internet but my guess is that this web series is so good it may never make it online. It might just go straight to TV.

From the The Bannen Way website (which is one of the best looking web series websites I have ever seen.) “The Bannen Way is a slick, sexy, fast paced web series about a womanizing thief, Neal Bannen, who wants to start over but can’t manage to escape the criminal lifestyle.

The humor and tone is akin to films like Ocean’s Eleven, Out of Sight, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Smoking Aces.

The episodes are shot on the new RED Camera, the most inexpensive and visually comparable alternative to film. The season consists of 20 – five minute webisodes.

In short, The Bannen Way is a high-octane fueled original web series that happens to have a lot of substance. The ever-present ADD Generation will be easily hooked by the visual, fast-paced nature of the show, and the faithful viewers will be rewarded by rich characters who are ever-evolving and surprising us at every turn.

Targeting the male 18-35 demographic, this show has everything they could possibly dream of and more. Fast Cars, Beautiful Women, comedy, sex, violence, heists, etc: it is every male’s wet dream encompassed in one series.

Coincidentally, this high-speed fantasy is also about something. This is a story of a flawed guy who wants to turn his life around. In a world where every corner lures us into danger, Neal Bannen is trying to do the right thing.

Viewers will feel like they’re actually learning something every week when they’re presented with one of the “Family Principles” and watch how Bannen deals with his everyday problems using his grandfather’s suggestions. An example would be…

“Principle #18: Set a Goal. When You Reach it… Stop.”

In the pilot, we’ll watch Bannen set a monetary goal and, after achieving it, he chooses to ignore Principle #18 and greedily go for more money and ultimately ends up losing everything…

Later in the episode he is presented with a similar situation. In the middle of the job, he has the opportunity to get more than he needs. Learning his lesson from before, he decides to stop while he’s ahead and, this time, escapes in tact.

The Principles serve as a humanizing way of relating the audience to Bannen as we watch him deal with relationships, honesty, addiction, etc. While he grows in every episode, he often doesn’t know whether he is becoming a better man or slowly being corrupted. This concept is experienced by every being- male or female- who struggles with morality on a daily basis.

NEAL BANNEN is an alcoholic, con-man, small-time thief who’s addicted to sex: and he wants to start his life over. All he has to do is pull off one more job to pay off his debts to the notorious gangster, SONNY CARR. However, Bannen’s penchant for gambling sends him further in the hole.

Through the help of his college-aged techy sidekick, ZEKE, Bannen is able to pull off a heist in a hotel. However, still unable to pay off his dues, Bannen’s gregarious mob uncle, MR B, offers to clear his name if Bannen can retrieve a certain mysterious box. The job would elevate his criminal status to a whole new level and is way too dangerous for him to do alone; or so he believes until he meets the elusive, beautiful street thief, MADISON.

Trying to pursue this mysterious vixen leads to his detainment- and his third strike. To avoid going to prison for all his accumulated crimes, his father, CHIEF BANNEN, urges him to turn States Evidence on Mr B- one of the most dangerous men in town- and his own blood.

Now this small-time thief has to decide between the lesser of three evils: run from the police, run from the mob, or do time in prison… when all he really wants is to be a decent member of society.

There are several elements that will distinguish The Bannen Way from other web-based series, which will include:

Visual Style – Shot on the new RED ONE camera, the series is visually stunning and unmatched by any other Web Series.

The Bannen Way Principles – Neal Bannen’s grandfather created a list of family principles that he passed down to his heirs. Every other episode will feature a new principle and we’ll watch as Bannen either observes or transgresses each rule.

VPS (Visual Plan Space) – Inside Bannen’s head… a new visual mode from Bannen’s perspective as he prepares to do a job. This is his utopian postulation of how the job will go. In this mode the camera will zip through the environment he’s in and will have a different visual look than the rest of the scenes.

Fantasy Sequence – Bannen’s wandering eye can find a woman
passing on the street and he’ll instantly imagine making out with her on
the beach, in a hallway or hotel room…then come right back to the
present and continue on his way. These sexy little vignettes will be
provocative, yet, tastefully shot.”

The last part of that very well written synopsis leads me to believe the site was built before shooting was complete and that could be because the producers were waiting on financing or a studio or network deal.

I’ve been trading calls and emails with Jesse Warren the Co-Creator, Co- Writer, Producer / Director and I’m hopping to get an on camera interview with him and his Co-Creator and star of The Bannem Way Mark Gantt soon but I have a feeling I may have to wait in line behind all the “REAL JOURNALIST” who will be after an interview when TV Fall line ups are announced in May during the Television Upfronts.

Keep your fingers crossed, if a TV Network plays their cards right and “doesn’t get greedy” this could be THE Internet’s break out hit series that goes mainstream and legitimizes web video series that we have all been waiting for.