1.Brent, the people who have watched your series "Afterworld" on German television channel Pro7 have many questions. Could you give us a small hint what happened to the world shown in "Afterworld"? Or would you rather prefer to wait until the final seasons of the series are finished? And when will it be?  Will it ever be? Some very, very, small hint, please...

By the end of Episode 130 it’s clear that the Parthia Group launched some type of experiment involving nanotech, with disastrously unintended consequences.  Some of the details of that experiment are revealed in Episodes 121-125.   But the big mystery of the series is why – why did Parthia conduct this experiment in the first place?  I cannot divulge the answer to that question, for risk of giving everything away, but I will say that there are several big hints along the way on Russel’s journey… in Philadelphia and at the Serpent Mound.  

As for the future of the series, we always intended to produce a second season (shorter in number of episodes, but more interactive).   Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, Electric Farm has been very successful the last few years and simply had no time to finish the Afterworld series.   Hopefully, 2010 will be the year when we find some time!

2.But now something other than "Afterworld". I'm sure you have been asked so many questions about that - on every blog, on every site – that must be kind of boring, right?  So let’s get some interesting facts about the person "Brent Friedman". Where do you live and do you enjoy living there?  Do you have children? Are you married? What about your hobbies? And what else do you want to tell us about your person? Let my readers know some things about the "private" Brent!

I live on an island in the state of Washington.  I’m married (for 18 years) and have two kids and numerous pets.  I moved my family here about six years ago because I didn’t want to raise them in the madness that is Los Angeles.  Because the Northwest is so beautiful, we spend a lot of time outdoors hiking, biking and skiing.  Living on the water, we spend a lot of time boating, fishing, crabbing. 

When I’m not working on Electric Farm projects I’m either playing videogames with my son or practicing my guitar.  We don’t have traditional TV at the house so I do a lot of reading, too.   In fact, I collect first edition books by my favorite writers, some of which include Philip K. Dick, H.P. Lovecraft, Thomas Pynchon, Flannery O’Connor, T.S. Eliot and Charles Dickens.

3.Can you tell us something about your career and biography? What did you have learned? What are your skills? Why did you choose a job in TV business?

I went to UCLA and majored in Creative Writing.  My goal initially was to write the great American novel.   But I sold a movie script while I was still in college (it got made into a terrible movie called “Evil Altar” – don’t see it!) and that started me on a career in film and TV.

I’ve worked on numerous TV shows as a writer producer and done countless drafts of movie scripts (many times uncredited).  But about five years ago I got really bored with Hollywood and decided to try writing for videogames.  That introduced me to a whole new way of telling stories and, in some ways, prompted me to start working on “Afterworld,” which employs the classic videogame writing trick of reducing the first act to only a couple minutes, then embedding the rest of the set-up details within the second act.   This is why the entire premise of “Afterworld” is conveyed in that first 2 minute episode where Russell wakes up after The Fall.   Who he really is and what’s really going on are learned in the course of his adventure.

Working in digital media has definitely relieved the boredom I once felt.  Now when I approach a story it seems there are no preconceived notions about how it must be told and no limitations as to what form the story can take.   That allows me to create transmedia stories that offer the audience an immersive and interactive experience unlike film or TV.   I would say that this new ability – to envision a story in 360 degrees – is my greatest skill.

4.You stumbled upon my blog by chance or by trackback. I write in German, but can you understand this language?  Or is there someone who translated my text into English?  And do you read other international blogs?

Thanks to Google I can call up your blog completely translated to English!  Well, not completely translated – it’s pretty bad English but it’s readable.   This works well for most languages except things like Chinese and Greek where there is a different alphabet.

Because all Electric Farm shows have been distributed all over the world and, for the most part, translated into the native languages, I like to peruse the web looking for reactions to our projects.   When I find a blogger like yourself who has taken the time to write about one of our shows I like to reward them with a comment on their site.  Oftentimes, this results in an ongoing dialogue with the blogger and sometimes an interview just like this one.

5.This is not a standard interview, as you have noticed :-)  And now I'm interested in you opinion about Germany!  Many Americans - or other foreign people - have some strange prejudices about our country.  Neither are we like Nazis, nor do we eat Sauerkraut all the time :-D  Have you ever visited Germany? If yes: what do you think about Germans? If no: what would you expect from the country and the people who live here? What's your opinion? 

I have been all over Europe but, sadly, have not made it to Germany.  Other than an airplane stopover at Frankfurt on my way to Greece.   That said, I have worked with Rola Bauer at Tandem Entertainment, a very well known German production company.  And I have several good friends in Germany.   From everything I’ve read and heard I have a very high opinion of your country and really look forward to visiting sometime soon.   Things I’d like to do when I come:  Oktoberfest, explore your many castles, and drive the Autobahn in a very expensive BMW! 

6.Back to movies, TV-series and "Mystery". Do you think people ask themselves questions like "Are strange things or conspiracies happening behind my back?" or maybe "What's the true sense of life?" Or do you think they like mystery series and movies because they're easy to consume and people don't reflect about the idea behind the series?  Some kind of a relaxing evening after work, nothing else?  Without any further idea, just an amusing episode of a TV-show?

Just based on reactions to “Afterworld” I would have to say that the audience is really divided on this issue.   Some people only view conspiracy-based stories as escapist entertainment; a sub-genre of science fiction, if you will.   Others, though, who do a lot of reading and have a strong curiosity tend to relate to conspiracy-based stories because they see connections to other works and/or their own beliefs/fears.   Personally, I love stories that weave fact and fiction the way “Afterworld” does.   To me, I see these stories like puzzles or even videogames – the viewer is rewarded for exploring beyond the surface narrative.   We deliberately made the “Afterworld” story incredibly dense and complex so that those curious readers who like a challenge could find connections deep within the story layers.    Hopefully, for everyone else, you can just watch the 130 episodes and enjoy a good story well told.

7.And now to something completely different (as Monthy Python would say): Tell me you favorite barbecue recipe! And if you're not into barbecueing, what's your favourite "secret" recipe? This blog is about cooking, too, so my readers would appreciate your recommendation about good food á là "Electric Farm Entertainment"!

Well, my wife is Greek so we love to roast lamb on the BBQ.   But my personal favorite recipe is for BBQ’d flank steak.   I marinate the flank steak in a terriaki/soy sauce with garlic salt, ginger and brown sugar for about 12 hours.   Then I throw it on a very hot grill, basting and turning the meat every couple minutes until it’s seared on the outside and still pretty rare on the inside.  Because the flank steak is so thin it will continue to cook for a few minutes after you take it off the BB.   This means you must cut it quickly lengthwise in slightly diagonal strips to retain the perfect texture of the meat.   Hmmm, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it… ;)

8.Well, this is the last question - No. 8 of 7 :-D It's about the future of "Electric Farm Entertainment".  What are your next plans? Do you have any plans for a movie?  Or would you rather prefer TV series? J.J. Abrams was the king of TV series (e.g. "Lost") since the release of "Star Trek" - now he's a great player in Hollywood. What are your plans?  A movie with a completely new idea or probably some stuff from Sci-Fi authors like Isaac Asimov or Robert Silverberg? Or a story that has never been seen in a movie before? What is YOUR future in movies or TV series?

At Electric Farm we are currently developing the sequel to our last project called “Valemont” for MTV.   Hard as it is to believe, this is a very unique vampire transmedia series that should be coming to Germany very soon.   Beyond that, we are also developing several very ambitious new projects which contain much more interactivity – my personal goal is to merge TV-style narratives with videogames.   As I mentioned, I don’t watch much TV any more – my last favorite show as “Twin Peaks” – but I do see a lot of movies.   As a writer, though, my interest right now is to really push the envelope format-wise and discover new ways to tell stories using the various technologies and platforms available to creators.   This is a very exciting time to be a creator because, I believe, we are seeing a transformation of the entertainment medium and, for those of us working in digital media, we are helping to shape the future of media.