About this project
STARRING
Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin, City Island)
Griffin Newman (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Beware the Gonzo)
Eamon O'Rourke (Another Happy Day)
Cordelia Istel
SYNOPSIS. In a small American town, a group of disaffected teenagers loiter outside a rundown house, once the home of a sinister old man known as Diggs. Their harmless game playing soon turns into something more sinister, when they break into the empty decaying house and begin to vandalize it. Destroying everything in their path they head into the last upstairs room, where they make a devastating discovery.
Film as confession
SPIN is a short allegorical film that offers a 'glimpse' into that tumultuous, spinning whirlwind, that is our adolescence. It is also a confession of sorts.
Working from the inside out, in SPIN, I follow a group of teenagers who's harmless game playing eventually leads them to tearing apart a reclusive old man's house. It's a reprehensible deed, yes, almost unforgivable. But are they really just bad seeds? Their motivations are questionable and at times the characters seem near irredeemable, yet, I must confess that I see a little of myself in each of them.
The Team
Filmmaking is never done alone and along with the invaluable support of Tisch School of the arts (Spike Lee, John Tintori, Todd Solondz, Jay Anania) and the Hudson Film Commission, I have been fortunate enough to have in place a team of remarkably talented collaborators capable of getting this vision up on the screen.
All Hail Benjamin Rutkowski!
With Award winning Director of Photography Ben Rutkowski behind the camera, lets just say I have every confidence the film will look great. He has worked for Maysles Films, True Entertainment, Anthology Film Archives, Partizan Entertainment, Passion Pictures, Break Thru Films, Axis Films and as a freelance cinematographer, gaffer and assistant cameraman. Shooting in super 16 on the arriflex 416, we’ve opted for a more formal, rhythmic and atmospheric cinematic style, evoking the vast achromatic emptiness of the landscape.
check out Ben's Demo reel here - http://vimeo.com/27844509
The charming Miss Leonora Lonsdale
Hailing from my homeland of England, Leonora's first short took “Best Film” at The Flaneur Film Festival, “Best Representation of Theme” at Angeleno Film Festival and was an Official Selection at Anchorage. The last short she produced was a £20,000 adaptation of an Evelyn Waugh story, shot on 35mm starring Sian Phillips and John Standing. Cor Blimey!
and my hero - Charles Louis Gariepy
Charles has worked on the casting team of multiple feature films, including the recently released film Shame by Steve McQueen. While casting with directors like Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee and Ridley Scott, Charles discovered a love of faces and names and talking on the phone a lot. In New York, he has written and produced for the stage; in his day job, he coordinates legal affairs and sales strategies for independent film producers and directors world-wide. In a word - legend.
Stay tuned for Exciting Cast News (Revealed soon)..!
Preproduction is almost over! We're on our way
Locations have been locked, auditions held, storyboards drawn up, shot lists ready to go. This is the time and I'm thrilled to share this story with you, and yet I can only do so through the help of donors (that's you).
We're aiming to raise about half of the SPIN budget (approx. $6,500) on Kickstarter. This money will go towards:
- paying for transportation to Hudson in upstate New York
- cover the cost of accommodation
- feed the cast & crew
- pay for costumes & props
- pay to keep the cast & crew safe as we shoot elaborate stunt sequences
- pay to develop film stock & transfer for post production
- pay for film festival submission fees so we can get this story on the road!
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pay for the Kickstarter/Amazon fee (about $600)
Needless to say, it's difficult to ask for funding in such a manner, but it seems an independent project of this nature demands such an effort.
I've come a long way since those days aimlessly loitering around the south coast of England, and although I often feel a long way from home here in New York City, these are exciting times indeed and this project could really be the beginning of something special.
However, despite receiving professional equipment, free film stock, production insurance, and post-production facilities from NYU, I still have a long way to go in making it a reality.
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So please help me confess the sins of my youth and support this project!
Every Dollar or pound counts, and every cent and penny is appreciated. If you're really broke and can't afford to donate, then no worries (I know the feeling), but please forward a link to friends and anyone you may know and help make this project happen.
Spread the word!
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Many thanks, in advance, for all your support!
Sincerely
Joshua James Richards
FAQ
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on December 19.
Pledge $5 or more Pledge $5 or more
High five! You get a special thanks on the final credits.
Pledge $10 or more Pledge $10 or more
Thanks for your support! You get an invitation to our wrap party in NYC! Special thanks and access to our online updates section. Lucky you.
Pledge $25 or more Pledge $25 or more
Be the first to see it! We'll send you an exclusive digital download of the finished movie, special thanks on the credits, along with an invitation to our NYC wrap party! Not to be missed.
Pledge $50 or more Pledge $50 or more
Now we're talking! You'll get a signed DVD of the finished film + digital download and behind the scenes storyboards + access to all updates and we'll see you at the wrap party!
Pledge $100 or more Pledge $100 or more
You'll get an official SPIN poster along with signed behind the scenes original storyboard + a signed DVD + special thanks on the final credits and access to all our updates and I'll see you at the wrap party.
Pledge $200 or more Pledge $200 or more
Bless your cotton socks. You'll get signed prop baseball bat along with storyboards and an exclusive Spin poster, a signed DVD and storyboards, special thanks on the final credits and all of the above.
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
Bang! You'll get an Associate Producer credit, exclusive set photos (signed by cast and crew) storyboards, exclusive spin poster + signed DVD, access to updates and an invitation to our wrap party.
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
This gets you an Executive Producer credit on the film (also on imdb) plus two tickets to the premier in NYC, along with all of the above and an invitation to our wrap party. See you there!
Project By
Connected as Charles L. Gariepy (1608 friends)
Joshua James Richards is a British filmmaker currently based in New York City. His early life was spent moving through various towns across the UK until he finally arrived on the dark granite coastline of Cornwall on England’s stormy South coast. Inspired by the sublime seascapes and coastline, here began his fascination with those on the periphery, marginalized people otherwise unrepresented by the dominant society.
After studying Scriptwriting, Art Design, English Literature and Theatre Studies, he would eventually turn his focus to cinema, and with a relentless dedication to visual storytelling, began shooting various award winning short films across the country eventually winning top prize at the Cornwall Film Festival in 2010. Increasingly frustrated by the lack of support in the UK, yet determined to wholeheartedly dedicate himself to the craft of filmmaking, Joshua participated in a series of medical tests and raised enough money to travel to New York and enroll on NYU’s prestigious MFA Grad film program at Tisch School of the Arts.
