Kickstarter

Dear beautiful Kickstarter gang --

As you may have noticed, ROSE: THE BIZARRO ZOMBIE MUSICAL is not yet appearing in any theaters near you. This is because we have not yet raised the remaining $180,000 of our budget.

About a year ago, I was ready to write an exciting report about the international financiers who'd agreed to pony up a full $200,000, giving us 20 extra grand for fx and a slightly expanded shooting schedule. It all looked great. People were reputable as hell. We were ready to sign. 

And then the money disappeared.

This happens in showbiz a lot. And happened several more times, in the interim. $50,000 investments. $60,000 investments. $35,000 investments. All set. Then suddenly gone.

Meanwhile, we hit the American Film Market in Santa Monica a couple months back, pitching foreign sales agents and distributors who might offer partial financing. We were informed that horror comedies were at the bottom of their list. But if we had a finished film, that would be another story.

So now we're in discussion with more potential investors. But other suggestions are coming up. Doing ROSE as a series of webisodes, which could then be cut together as the feature. Possibly going beyond just zombies to a bigger nightmare landscape. Maybe going the Adult Swim-style route for cable. Possibly even bagging the hardcore elements altogether and doing IT'S ROSE'S PLACE as a children's TV series, fully making Rose the beehived Pee Wee Herman of the Apocalypse. 

All of these suggestions have been thrown out there, with possible money attached.

This is, of course, all the stuff we hoped to avoid by going the Kickstarter route. And believe me, the hallway horror scene (FETCHING DANNY) and fantastic new puppets that you guys bankrolled with our campaign have gotten us better meetings, with more to show. It keeps getting us closer. So believe me: IT HAS NOT BEEN IN VAIN.

But we're reluctant to even consider going back to crowd-sourcing, because there are no more partial measures. We'd have to raise the full $180,000, which -- Veronica Mars notwithstanding -- seems like an awful lot to ask.

And the fact that professional money keeps nibbling means we're still in the game. 

Cuz the fact is that LOTS OF US REALLY LOVE ROSE. You do. I do. We all want to see her rock the house. You guys put money on her. And we on the production team have invested years of our lives.

So here are my questions to you, who have thrown down and hung in with us so long:

1) Would you be cool with ROSE as a series -- on internet or cable -- as a precursor or alternative to the feature film?

2) Do you think that ROSE would make a better kid's show than horror movie?

3) Do you think a follow-up Kickstarter campaign to raise the remaining $180,000 would work?

4) Do you feel ripped-off by the fact that we won the campaign but still haven't got a movie to show for it?

That last one is the question that kills me most, because I hate the fact that we haven't yet delivered for you. That it's taking this long. And still isn't there.

I'm deeply sorry that it's taking this long. 

But believe me: WE AIN'T DONE.

So please feel free to weigh in with the best, most useful advice you have, okay? (And if you think my ass needs smacking around, please make it as kind and precise as you can.)

THANKS, YOU GUYS AND GALS! 

On the new plus side: 

Andrew Kasch is now my co-director on ROSE. (if you haven't seen our Fantasia International Film Fest Audience Bronze winner, STAY AT HOME DAD, you may not know how much he brings to the table. But it's a ton.) 

The screenplay for ROSE is now available in my book SICK CHICK FLICKS, from Cemetery Dance Publications. Spreading the word that way.

The short story "Rose Goes Shopping" is about to appear in the collection FOUR ZOMBIES, available from CD soon. I think you'll like.

Oodles of people all over the world are now proudly wearing ROSE t-shirts.

And we're still hustling like a sonofabitch. Not resting till we're done.

So that's the State of the Rose Union to date. So sorry the news ain't better. But still on it like a dog with a bone.

Thank you so incredibly much for everything you've done. Vow unto my soul that we will not leave you hanging. ROSE wants to live. And triumph she shall.

Until then -- and forever after -- all I can say is THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Yer pal in the trenches,

Skipp

Dear gang --

The first batch of ROSE t-shirts went out yesterday. All $50 Kickstarters, your shirts are halfway to your door! WOOO!!!

As for $100 backers, some incredibly good news. I found a secret stash of SPORE, left over from last year's World Horror Convention. So for those of you who went "DAMN IT!" when Dorchester Publishing folded its doors, take heart. These may be the last copies on Earth of this edition. But they're on their way to you, as of tomorrow! WOOO AGAIN!!!

And our own Brian Bubonic just assembled a goodie bag of behind-the-scenes shots for the digital download, from the first ROSE shoot to the introduction of our new puppet friends: homeless, hallucinating street pundit CONSPIRACY THEORY O'LEARY; suicidal art student HOPELESSINA; friendly neighborhood drag queen SHIRLEY; and good ol' CORPSEY, the puppet grim reaper.

We're prepping the limited access webpage, where you'll be able to enjoy the craziness, neat and discreet!

Finally, some big ROSE announcements next week, at the World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City. In the meantime, KEEP WATCHING YOUR MAILBOX!

Big love,

Skipp & Team ROSE

Dear gang --

The ROSE t-shirts are here, and beautiful. So if you Kickstarted us to the tune of $50 or more, we've got one heading out next week for you! (And if you want to buy one, they're available in the "Store" section of the ROSE website!)

http://rose-themovie.com/

Meanwhile, for $100-and-uppers, one potential piece of bad news is that Dorchester Publications has apparently gone under for good. So we may be unable to get all the copies of SPORE we need. Eraserhead Press is alive and well, with all the copies of THE EMERALD BURRITO OF OZ we could possibly need.

But if you chose SPORE, and Dorchester won't send us any more, I will personally dig through my collection of books and find you satisfying alternatives. Okay?

Hope those of you who received it enjoyed the latest ROSE scene. I still need to load the new puppet photos onto a protected site. As soon as I figure out how, they'll be coming, too.

THANKS, EVERYBODY!

Enormous love.

Skipp

Dear gang --

Incredible apologies for the long delay between messages. Even on these fringiest fringes of Hollywood, movie-making is still massively a matter of "Hurry up and wait."

Important news updates:

1) ROSE T-SHIRTS go to print on Monday, which means they should probably ship by next weekend. Very excited about these. They look beautiful. Can't wait for those of you who get one to have one!

2) Also by next weekend, those of you with the digital download package will get the first two sets of goodies: a) the password to the secure website where we'll be screening the intense new ROSE short, "Fetching Danny", and b) exclusive shots of FOUR INCREDIBLE NEW PUPPET FRIENDS!

3) I sent out a message several months ago, trying to set up a phone call weekend. Only a handful of folks responded, so no calls went out. But I'd love to do that, soon, and tell you what else is up, and just say hi, and thank you again.

4) As a result of these new efforts, we've got some money people very interested in (and actually excited about) ROSE, both as a feature and as a TV series. This is clearly cool as hell. But too early to go into detail.

Again, thanks for your overwhelming patience. Or at least for not killing us! MORE SOON!

Big love,

Skipp

Dear gang --

The first beautiful fruit of our Kickstarter campaign appears in this trailer, incorporating footage from the full-on horror shoot we promised (which went down Oct. 11, a week ago tomorrow). The scene turned out great, and will be cut together in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, hope you enjoy how the horror balances out the kookiness in this one-minute blitz. This is a WAAAY more accurate blend of the flavors that Rose is made of: joy and terror, in mad collision. 

We also got great stuff for the digital download -- stills, notes, clips, bloopers, etc. -- that we're assembling. More soon!

Big love and enormous gratitude,

Skipp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgJot05Uw8k