191
Backers
$16,670
pledged of $15,000 goal
0
seconds to go
Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on January 31.
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A big thank you shout on on our facebook and twitter accounts as well as on our website www.DonnFendlerFilm.Com
Pledge $15 or more Pledge $15 or more
LAST MINUTE CHANCE TO BE IN THE TRAILER! Receive a 4x6 photograph of Katahdin Stream Falls taken Ryan Cook and if yours is one of the three to have Donn's signature on the back then you're in! You or someone of your choosing will receive a walk-on role in our trailer this summer!
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A DVD copy of the documentary "Finding Donn Fendler". The documentary follows Donn's story as told through Ryan Cook and Derek Desmond who simultaneously work on getting his story made into a feature film.
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A copy of the DVD "Finding Donn Fendler" as well as a copy of the original book "Lost On A Mountain In Maine" which made Donn's story so famous.
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All of the above plus the BRAND NEW graphic novel "Lost Trail" based on Donn's adventure.
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All of the above signed by Donn, Ryan, and Derek!
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All of the above plus a signed movie poster for the film designed by Bending Brick Studios. www.BendingBrick.com
Pledge $500 or more Pledge $500 or more
All of the above, plus first preview of the "teaser trailer" when it's completed next year. The trailer will eventually premiere at film festivals but you can be the first to view it, months ahead of the public!
Pledge $1,000 or more Pledge $1,000 or more
All of the above plus be our guests at an intimate sit down dinner with Donn and the production team.
Pledge $2,000 or more Pledge $2,000 or more
All of the above plus be listed as an Associate Producer and be featured as an extra in the "teaser trailer".
Project By
Connected as Cookie (444 friends)
Ryan Cook and Derek Desmond are two filmmakers who met while attending Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. Derek being from New Hampshire and Ryan being from Maine, both quickly realized that they liked to make the same types of films. While fellow students were spending their time filming in the city, Ryan and Derek found themselves taking their cameras back home.
Most of their student films were shot outdoors surrounded by the natural beauty of New England. They also found themselves shooting several period piece films, which as many know is difficult to do on a student budget. "Whenever we explained to other students or professors what we were looking to do, we'd always get blank stares or words of disbelief," Ryan said when asked about their ambitions as student filmmakers. "We found creative ways to make it work, but we couldn't have accomplished any of it without the in-kind support of our communities at home. Whether we had known people all our lives or had just met them the day before, the support from our home states was what made it all possible."
Not one day had passed after graduation before Derek and Ryan found themselves working in the thriving film industry of Boston. They both currently work in location management for films that come through Boston, acting as the intermediaries between the film crew and the city. Their duties include scouting locations, pulling permits, hiring police and fire details, and parking over two hundred crew cars and twenty eighteen wheelers that typically move with the shoot every day. Their resumes include Ben Affleck's The Town, Tom Cruise's Knight and Day, and most recently Mark Wahlberg's Ted. The experience of working closely with the directors and producers of these films has proven to be invaluable in understanding what it truly takes to make a feature film.
We met you and Donn this summer in Waterville, and we're very excited to see things moving forward!! Congratulations on exceeding your goal!!! The Champanys
Congrats Derek and Ryan! So happy for you and Donn. Good luck as you begin the next phase. Best wishes!
Congratulations to you and Derek on making your goal. I wish you the best in this up coming project .
Congratulations! Nice job Ryan. This is just the beginning of a very exciting project. Good luck with the trailer! John, Susan and Granny
Sally, Sara,and Julie:
Thank you guys so much for your pledges and support! We really couldn't have done it without the backing of our friends and family. We can't wait till this summer to get this thing started!
Nice promo last night, Ryan. Congrats and good luck! Georgie & Joe
Congratulations guys!!! Thanks to everyone for the support!!!
Congrats guys, I can wait to work on this poster!
Congratulations Ryan, we knew you would do it !!! This is just the beginning of great things to come. Great job on the show last night. Sally & Dick
Wow! Great progress in the past few days! Only about $500 more to go! Spread the word to everyone you know!!
You're getting closer Ryan, I think you're going to make it!! Nice job on TV tonight!
Ryan,
Part of this pledge comes from Granny as well. We will check back towards the end to see if we can help some more. I guess I should now read the book. Keep working hard this will happen! Susan and John
Robert,
Thanks so much for your comment and pledge! Please be sure to forward our link to all your friends and family. Your support means a lot to Donn and I!
Ryan
As a teenager I read and re-read "Lost on a Mountain in Maine". Of all the books I read in those years, this is the one I remember best. It is a thrill nearly 70 years later to have a small part in making Donn's adventure available to a new generation.
Kerry,
This is a great idea. I'll follow up on it and see if I can't contact S. Donald Sussman to see if he would have any interest in our project. If there are any other ideas along these lines we'd love to hear them! Thanks again everybody for your support, it truly shows how many fans of Donn's story there are.
-Ryan
Maybe S. Donald Sussman would be interested in being part of a Maine-based and Maine-controlled project telling a Mainer's story..?
I taught 4th grade in Waterville, ME for 16 years and read the story every year to my class. Donn made several visits to the Hall School (aka Pleasant Street School) and re-told the story and answered the kids questions as if he were right back on that mountain! It's a fabulous story (even after 16 years I couldn't get through it with my class without tearing up when his mother saw him!!!) and NEEDS to make it to the big screen for families to enjoy! Best wishes for the completion of this project!
I'm thrilled to be backing this project! Donn Fendler spoke at our school several years ago, and I was impressed with how he interacted with each individual student! He is a great man, and his story deserves to be put on the big screen. I saw the documentary, which I loved! Good luck on this wonderful endeavor!
What a remarkable story....one well worth preserving. I encourage everyone, considering this project, to give it their support. I've seen Donn tell of his adventure to students at Friendship Village School....they were mesmerized.