Last week, Rebel Briefing spoke to filmmaker Brian Stillman about his Star Wars toy documentary, Plastic Galaxy. This time, he shares a little more about the movie’s impact and the doors it opened for him at Netflix.
Brian Stillman didn’t expect his self-produced toy documentary, Plastic Galaxy, to succeed. In fact, he didn’t plan for it to be watched by anyone outside a small Kenner collecting community. Nor did he think his movie would open doors to work at the streaming giant, Netflix.
“The greatest thing was simply getting it out the door after such a long production period,” he says. “It was nice having people finally see it.”
To his surprise, it sold hundreds of copies on DVD in a few short weeks, enough to pay back his production costs. Sales exploded when he sold it on Amazon (where it continues to sell well today).
Expecting only a handful of fans to watch his movie, Brian was stunned by the response. “I was blown away. I didn’t know what to expect when I put the movie out there,” he says. “I’ve played in bands before, and we made CDs, which we sold. We’d be thrilled if we sold 50 copies over the band’s lifespan, so my expectations were very, very, very low. The feedback from toy fans that enjoyed the film was great because it showed they cared.”
Netflix Comes Knocking
A short time later, Brian received a call from a guy he’d never heard of. The man in question was film and television producer Brian Volk-Weiss.
“He said: ‘Hi Brian, how’s it going? I like your movie and would like to distribute it.’ Although this was flattering and awesome, I told him he was too late—I had just signed a deal with Gravitas.”
Believing that would be the end of the conversation, they kept talking. It turned out Volk-Weiss was a fellow fan and collector who grew up loving Star Wars, GI Joe, and Transformers.
“We kept chatting about toys and our love of sci-fi movies. We had a lot in common and spoke for about 30 minutes. For anyone who knows Brian Volk-Weiss, that’s a long time because that dude is busy. Eventually, he said we should keep in touch as there may be some opportunities down the line.”
Flying to Texas
About a year later, Brian received another call from Volk-Weiss, who this time said he was thinking of pitching a TV show to Netflix about the history of toys. “He admitted Plastic Galaxy inspired him,” says Brian. “He told me that I showed it could be done and that there was a story to tell.”
After successfully pitching the idea to Netflix, Volk-Weiss called Brian to tell him the series was happening.
“He said he wanted to bring me on board as a consulting producer to get the ball rolling. The idea was to help the production team figure out the Star Wars episode and introduce them to the best people to talk to. I then got another call saying: ‘Listen, we’re working on a Lego episode, and we need someone to do some filming in Texas.’ They asked if I could do it, and I said absolutely.”
Flying there, Brian interviewed engineer and inventor Dean Kamen, who founded the FIRST LEGO League. Happy with his work, the producers asked Brian to go to Chicago to film more content. “It just kept going from there, and I went from being a consulting producer to a full producer.” This included giving notes and providing feedback on episodes while working on other episodes about wrestling toys and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
“I encourage filmmakers to go out there and explore the other stories of Star Wars. There are a million, million, million stories worth exploring.”
Brian Stillman
A Powerful Energy Field
Reflecting on that pivotal day in New York, there’s no denying a powerful energy field influenced Brian’s journey. The impact of Kenner Star Wars figures on Brian and the fans who grew up with them is profound. Plastic Galaxy is a love letter that wonderfully encapsulates the toys’ history and the joy and nostalgia they evoke today. His story is just one of the amazing fan-made films about our favourite galaxy far, far away.
“I encourage filmmakers to go out there and explore the other stories of Star Wars,” Brian concludes. “There are a million, million, million stories worth exploring.”
Rebel Briefing 
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