For the last 6 months or more, we have approached a ton of fabulous financiers who were always just moments away from funding us, we get excited, I post something vague on facebook about our progress... and for one reason or another, nothing has hit. This is NOT new or unique. I've been working in Los Angeles for a decade and it always seems impossible to fund an independent film - and in the last few years, the level of difficulty has skyrocketed. We gambled on starting our journey by building an audience (which consists of a wonderful collection of intelligent fans and nearly 600,000 live views from just a few pre-production meetings). This gamble has paid off creatively and opened many, many doors for us. We've unlocked huge sponsorship donations for production. Just haven't cracked anyone's safe - yet.
Nearly everyone we know has suggested that we do a Kickstarter campaign for this project. They suggest that if there EVER was a project in the history of crowd-funded projects that was absolutely MADE for Kickstarter, it is this one. And they are right.
But, we've resisted. And resisted.
Until now.
We have schemed a great scheme that will squelch many of our reservations about crowd funding in one single bound:
A LIVE TELETHON: The Attempted Geekification of April Wade by America Young and Associates!
We get about 1-2 Kickstarter requests from our friends a day. We simply don't want to innundate the ones we love. But, you know what? If they love us, they WANT to help. They've told us so. Plus, we've put a ton of thought into making this movie and the making of experience something that a lot of audience members would connect to - so, we have faith that there are people that are willing to pitch in that aren't related to us.
Kickstarter puts your goals and your progress out there for all to see which means that you not only live proudly with a success but you can also live publicly with a failure. In short, our egos are on the line here. Ultimately, we decided that we weren't going to let our fear (and pride) get the better of us. We are risk takers - because without that element, we would never be able to create. It is who we are, so we might as well get cozy with it and wear our hearts on our sleeves and jump head-first into the uncertainty.
Lastly - and MOST IMPORTANTLY - we didn't just want to stand there, hat in hand, telling you that what we are trying to make is more interesting or better than any of the other thousands of projects you could choose to fund. We have been committed to GIVING the audience an experience and cringe at the idea of turning around and asking for money in return. The cold hard fact is this: if we don't have any cash, we simply cannot make the movie, no matter how many amazing sponsors we have been able to attach. So, what we want to do is add value to this project, to create a 'pitch' that is entertaining, pushes our own limits and gives you a really unique and super fun experience in exchange for your very hard-earned money. Not just "perks" - but an event that you can really sink your teeth into.
So, clear your calendars and stay tuned. Oct 21, 22 and 23rd are going to be a ball!
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