Kickstarter

PLEASE DON'T STOP HELPING!!!

PLEASE HELP US REACH $12,000!!!
Thanks to our generous backers we have reached our MINIMUM goal. But please understand that $8,000 was the smallest amount with which we could realistically finish the film. The more funds we can raise beyond the minimum, the more we can include the many necessities we now plan to sacrifice due to our budgetary constraints.

WHAT WILL WE DO WITH THE MONEY?
We are trying finish principal photography on the short film CRAZY BEATS STRONG EVERY TIME. We have already shot for 6 days on RED 4K HD, but due to various minor catastrophes (like a driver crashing a production vehicle and movie cops not showing up to set), we lost the equivalent of 2 full days of shooting and need more funds to finish the production properly.

We have made our MINIMUM GOAL, so we can now shoot for 5 more days in the NY/NJ metropolitan area in early Octoer 2010. The funds will help us pay for camera lens rental ($800), lighting & grip equipment rental ($3,600), transportation ($1,500), meals for the cast & crew ($1,250), and additional production insurance ($1,500).

IF WE CAN REACH $12,000...
...we will be able to rent a better generator than the one we rented for the first half of the shoot. This "put-put" generator couldn't handle the lights we needed for our locations and kept failing on us at the worst possible moments, causing expensive delays in our shooting schedule. THIS IS A SERIOUSLY BIG DEAL! We are shooting this whole film at night and need a good generator to power our light package for ALL 5 NIGHTS. A generator even one grade above a "put-put" is going to be fairly expensive ($1,350 for just a 500 Amp!).

We will also be able to hire one or 2 more KEY CREW MEMBERS (1 more Grip and 1 more Electric) to make the shoots run more efficiently, avoiding costly delays and possible injuries. And if we are really lucky, we might even be able to provide a small fee for our stalwart and brilliant Director of Photography, Jarin Blaschke. Jarin has been graciously working on this project for free since January 2010, sometimes even giving up "paid" work to do so. You can check out his amazing reel at www.jarinblaschke.com.

SYNOPSIS
One night, after returning to the New Jersey projects with a crew of his friends, MARKEES, an African-American twenty-something, finds a drunken African man passed out in his building hallway. After ridiculing the man, the young men realize that the he is actually KOFO, Markees’s Nigerian-immigrant stepfather. Motivated by shame and the restraining order his mother has placed on his stepfather, Markees drags the unconscious man into his car in order to find him a more suitable place to sleep. But as the night dwindles on, the young men become increasingly aware of the futility of unloading the stepfather. Tensions build and frustrations mount, forcing the situation toward a violent end. Can Markees reject the pressures of urban machismo and his own youthful pride before someone actually gets hurt?

AWARDS & HONORS
You will not be alone in your support of this project. So far it has won 3 grants and 1 screenwriting award, including...

2007 Individual Artist Grant
(as "Meadowlandz")
New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA)

2007 NYC Media Arts Grant
(as "Meadowlandz")
The Jerome Foundation

2008-09 Short Film Grant
Rooftop Filmmakers' Fund

Best Short-Length Screenplay
(as "Meadowlandz")
2007 Omaha Film Festival

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT**
And please tell all of your friends and family about our project! We seriously need all of the support we can get! Your generosity will now enable us to make an even better movie than we had initially imagined!

BY THE WAY...IF YOU WANT TO SEE MY PREVIOUS SHORT FILM...
...the full "final cut" of POP FOUL is screening at the Culture Unplugged Film Festival: www.cultureunplugged.com/play/3212/Pop-Foul. Stop by, check it out, and PLEASE RATE IT! There might be a prize at stake! Thanks again! :)