Dear friends,

With about 18 hours to go, last night we reached and exceeded our goal. What a great feeling to know that we have so much support. We can't even begin to thank you enough. But we're going to try.

Thank you all—all 241+ of you!

Joe and Skizz

P.S. Please stay tuned for more info soon.

Dear friends and supporters,

There are now over 200 of you supporting us. What an amazing feeling! Skizz and I are overwhelmed with gratitude. As of this writing we have 24 hours left and things are looking pretty good. With the addition of the checks people have been sending in, which have not yet shown up on Kickstarter, we're pretty confident we'll reach our goal.

But we can still use your help! Please help us keep beating the drum for the next 24 hours. If you have a Facebook account please let your friends know you supported us and post a link (http://kck.st/bzqD69).

In other news, Skizz and I will be on WYPR's (88.1) The Signal this afternoon talking about the film. Hopefully this--plus a shout out from you--will help as a last push to get us to our goal.

Thanks again for your support.

Love,

Joe and Skizz

Please check out the amazing poster artist Jordan Bernier screen printed for our upcoming celebratory (we hope) benefit show. More details on that TK.

Thanks to those of you writing in to tell us how you found us. It’s great to hear from you. Keep the emails coming and we promise not to send you junkmail, just occasional updates about the film. (E-mail us at hitandstay@gmail.com)

And be sure to check out our web site: www.hitandstay.com

We’d also like to suggest that you become a fan of our doc on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/...

One of our backers has suggested that we send out some text that those of you interested in telling people about the film can use to tell your friends about Hit and Stay.

Please feel free to use, change, and/or send out this text about Hit and Stay:

Dear friends,

Baltimore-based filmmakers Joe Tropea and Skizz Cyzyk need your help to finish their upcoming film, Hit and Stay: the Ongoing Story of the Catonsville Nine, a historical documentary about the antiwar movement. The work-in-progress trailer for Hit and Stay can be viewed at http://kck.st/bzqD69

A fundraising campaign on Kickstarter (http://kck.st/bzqD69) is under way in which the directors hope to raise $20,000 to complete the film. The pledge drive runs through September 11, 2010—that’s this Saturday.

About Hit and Stay:

Hit and Stay is a feature-length documentary about the antiwar movement. It takes an in-depth look at the Vietnam War era activists who attacked the Selective Service system and attempted to throw a wrench into the U.S. war machine. Hit and Stay will be the definitive documentary about the Catonsville Nine and the actions that followed—the so-called Catholic Left, a group comprised of priests and nuns (and their friends) who destroyed draft records and raided the corporate offices of companies that profited from the war. This documentary tells their story in the activists own words using more archival footage and activists interviewed than any prior film. Including interviews with Dan and Phil Berrigan, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Bill Ayers, Kathy Kelly, Amy Goodman, and over 30 activists from draft board actions. Hit and Stay seeks to be a major conversation-starter about the antiwar movement (then and now).

Three ways you can help:

1) Kickstarter is a site that works through Amazon. If you already have an Amazon account, it’s easy. To make a pledge, click the link (http://kck.st/bzqD69), then click the green “Back This Project” button on the project page. You will be asked to pick your pledge amount and select a reward. From there, you will go through the Amazon checkout process. Note that you must finish the Amazon checkout for your pledge to be completed. Or…

2) Send a check for any amount you feel comfortable sending (made out to Haricot Vert Films; please write “Hit and Stay donation” in the memo) to:
Joe Tropea / Haricot Vert Films, 3549 Roland Ave. #301, Baltimore, MD 21211.

And then 3) Tell people about Hit and Stay and our fundraiser.

Thanks again,

Joe and Skizz

The picture below is from our recent benefit event at Viva House.

Skizz and I would like to thank the 169 of you who've pledged personally, and somehow we'll find a way to do that. (We plan to travel with the film when it's done.) It has been really amazing and humbling to see so many folks rally behind the making of this documentary.

Things are looking pretty good, but we are running out of time on Kickstarter to raise the money we still need to finish.

Please help us spread the word, whether it's on Facebook or by e-mailing any friends you think might be interested in seeing that this film gets made. We're going to need all the help we can get here.

We don't recognize all the names on our pledger list, which is great because it means our message is spreading far and wide through friends and friends of friends! Please take a minute if you can to drop us a line at hitandstay@gmail.com to let us know how you found out about us. We'd love to hear from you.

In other news, yesterday wasn't just Labor Day. It was also the 40th anniversary of the Flower City Conspiracy action:

On September 6, 1970, eight men and women in Rochester, NY entered the Federal Building Selective Service offices, which housed four draft boards. Inside they spilled ink on draft files. The FBI was aware of plans for the action because it had tapped the phone of one of the activists. Still the FBI nearly bungled the bust. But the Flower City Conspiracy activists were arrested. Their trial began on Nov. 17, 1970. Hoover turned the trial into a circus and means to get more funding for the FBI.
 Find out more when Hit and Stay is finished.

Thanks again for your generosity. Sincerely,

Joe and Skizz