As you may know, I'm raising money on Kickstarter.com for my next film, a throwback thriller that equal parts Hitchcock and Terrance Malick called UP COUNTRY (at least that's what we're calling it now) about three friends who go on a fishing trip way up in the Northern Maine woods. As you might imagine, it all goes horribly wrong.
We have a little over 3 days left in the campaign, which works kind of like a PBS pledge drive. A bunch of people give what they can, and in return, we have rewards and whatnot based on how much you give, including some stuff that's been donated by Moody's Gifts in Waldoboro, Maine.
Think of this as our last big push.
You can check out the rewards at the campaign itself:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lmcnelly/up-country-a-film-about-a-maine-fishing-trip-gone
But here's the thing: so far we've raised $2800. If we don't hit the goal by our Friday deadline (as in, this Friday), we lose all of the money we've raised and no one pays a thing, which would be bad. It's all or nothing.
In order to raise interest, I've been writing the story as a serialized novella that I'm giving away for free, writing and releasing a chapter for each $500 we raise. Eventually we'll probably put it in a book of some kind, with the plan currently to give that away to our backers and sell it to everyone else. Oh, and did I mention that we'll hang on to the ending and you'll only be able to get it in the book?
The novella so far: http://lmcnelly15.blogspot.com/2010/05/up-country-novella.html
Here's where you come in. Every dollar we raise helps. Seriously. Even a $1 pledge is beyond awesome. Your pledge amount is confidential and Amazon.com handles the money, so you know it's safe.
A lot of you have already given. Thank you again. I'm humbled by your generosity.
We also need help spreading the word. So if you could post it on Twitter, on Facebook, MySpace, your blog, etc. Let people know about it and, hey, maybe they'll think it's worth helping out. If you could forward this email to your email list, that would be even better. I have a theory that in crowdfunding a stranger isn't a stranger at all, just a friend of a friend.
And, hey, we get it. Times are tough. Money's tight. If you can't give, don't sweat it. We understand. We won't think any less of you at all. The last thing we want is for you to feel pressured to give when you don't feel comfortable. We simply want to let you know about the campaign. Do with it what you will.
But it is a chance for you to vote for the kind of entertainment you want, to say "You know what? I'm tired of every movie being about superheroes or based on a board game or a video game or being a remake. I want something new."
Thanks so much,
--
-lucas mcnelly
Got a Press Release, something to Plug, or a Screener available for review (or some combination of the three)? Ok, don't get all crazy about it. Just click here and give me the details (what, when, where, and a link, for starters) - I'll handle the rest.
We have a little over 3 days left in the campaign, which works kind of like a PBS pledge drive. A bunch of people give what they can, and in return, we have rewards and whatnot based on how much you give, including some stuff that's been donated by Moody's Gifts in Waldoboro, Maine.
Think of this as our last big push.
You can check out the rewards at the campaign itself:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lmcnelly/up-country-a-film-about-a-maine-fishing-trip-gone
But here's the thing: so far we've raised $2800. If we don't hit the goal by our Friday deadline (as in, this Friday), we lose all of the money we've raised and no one pays a thing, which would be bad. It's all or nothing.
In order to raise interest, I've been writing the story as a serialized novella that I'm giving away for free, writing and releasing a chapter for each $500 we raise. Eventually we'll probably put it in a book of some kind, with the plan currently to give that away to our backers and sell it to everyone else. Oh, and did I mention that we'll hang on to the ending and you'll only be able to get it in the book?
The novella so far: http://lmcnelly15.blogspot.com/2010/05/up-country-novella.html
Here's where you come in. Every dollar we raise helps. Seriously. Even a $1 pledge is beyond awesome. Your pledge amount is confidential and Amazon.com handles the money, so you know it's safe.
A lot of you have already given. Thank you again. I'm humbled by your generosity.
We also need help spreading the word. So if you could post it on Twitter, on Facebook, MySpace, your blog, etc. Let people know about it and, hey, maybe they'll think it's worth helping out. If you could forward this email to your email list, that would be even better. I have a theory that in crowdfunding a stranger isn't a stranger at all, just a friend of a friend.
And, hey, we get it. Times are tough. Money's tight. If you can't give, don't sweat it. We understand. We won't think any less of you at all. The last thing we want is for you to feel pressured to give when you don't feel comfortable. We simply want to let you know about the campaign. Do with it what you will.
But it is a chance for you to vote for the kind of entertainment you want, to say "You know what? I'm tired of every movie being about superheroes or based on a board game or a video game or being a remake. I want something new."
Thanks so much,
--
-lucas mcnelly
Got a Press Release, something to Plug, or a Screener available for review (or some combination of the three)? Ok, don't get all crazy about it. Just click here and give me the details (what, when, where, and a link, for starters) - I'll handle the rest.
