Dear comrades,

I hope all of you had a healthy and happy holiday and are feeling as good about twenty double snake-eyes as I am -- I think it's gonna be a great year!

I know it's been a while (and you're probably sick of project updates) but I wanted to write you to announce that the movie you supported with a donation last year, PUTTY HILL, will begin its 2011 theatrical release on February 18th at New York's Cinema Village!

It may seem like PUTTY HILL should just coast into theatres along the wave of success its had touring festivals this past year, but that won't be enough to sustain it in the marketplace. We're going up against every other film playing theaters the week of February 18th: every indie, every doc, every foreign art-house picture, every film from 2010 that's still alive in 2011. It's very exciting to have this opportunity, but daunting too.

Our distributor, Cinema Guild, has been great to work with and we have some ideas of our own which will bolster the attention of NY audiences. We're working on a week of Q&A's with a diverse list of high-profile moderators and a opening night party that should be a blast. We're planning a gallery show to coincide with the release, featuring our photos, video, and behind-the-scenes materials from the shoot. We'll hopefully have Sky Ferreira's team on board, a publicist, and some good indie film world press... But we're trying to cast the net wide here, and since we can't afford to advertise during the Superbowl (Go Ravens!) our reach is relatively limited.

I know this is asking above-and-beyond, but if you have the time in the next week or two, please reach out to anyone you can think of who might be interested in our NY release (in writing a story about the production, interviewing cast and crew, publishing some of our awesome photos, or just spreading the word). The box office numbers we pull in NY and Baltimore will determine our whole theatrical run! We can play 5 theaters nationwide, or 50. And if we play 50, it's a heck of a lot more likely we'll play a theatre near you!

Hope to see you all in 2011, but if not: February 18th! Baltimore to follow! Then? The World!

With thanks,

Matt

P.S. If you are one of the few who have yet to send us your address and haven't received your rewards, don't forget! We have them waiting!

Dear Friends,

If you are in the New York City Area please come out to see scenes from PUTTY HILL this Friday evening at a special event: the Kickstarter Film Festival presented with Rooftop Films. Director Matt Porterfield and some of the crew will be on hand. More information on this event here:
http://blog.kickstarter.com/post/754076977/the-kickstarter-film-festival

We recently had the honor of closing the Chicago Underground Film Festival, and got an amazing 4 Star review from Roger Ebert. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...

Also, don't miss PUTTY HILL's Sky Ferrira's new single --
http://www.youtube.com/watch...

Thank you so much for your continued support and patience with the project. We look forward to staying in touch as we continue to get the film out there. We are currently planning a theatrical release with The Cinema Guild, most likely hitting theaters in early 2011.

See you soon,
Steve Holmgren

Dear PUTTY HILL supporters,

Just a quick note to let you know we haven't forgotten you. Quite the contrary: we carried you in our hearts to Austin last week for our North American premiere! And now that we're back, with some good press and lots of new fans, and a little time on our hands before the next wave of festivals in April (Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Atlanta, Boston, Lisbon, Paris), we're putting your rewards together and hoping to mail them all in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, if you miss us and haven't visited us online, please check out our website, Facebook page, and Twitter for regular updates!

Thanks for your patience and continued support. And keep an eye on the mail...

Sincerely,

Matt Porterfield

With 12 hours left to go, friends!

Thanks to the Seipp family for pushing over the edge. Makes that pan in The Hollywood Reporter hurt a little less.

Talk soon,

Matt

Friends,

We're at $19K and counting with 18 hours to go! Keep spreading the word and help us reach $20K!

Whether we do or not, this has been a tremendous success. And we're gearing up for our big premiere tomorrow night. Lots of great feedback after our press screening -- I think we'll have some new festivals to announce in the coming days.

Keep 'em crossed / More soon,

Matt

Hi friends,

Writing from Berlin, where Joyce and I arrived on Saturday. The rest of our party arrived this morning. Word-of-mouth here is great -- there is a real "buzz" about PUTTY HILL and we can't wait to screen on the 18th. But first, we have a press screening tomorrow, followed by some interviews. And, on Wednesday, a party at Ausland to celebrate our premiere (where I'll DJ, along with Sick Girls, Jason Forrest, and Christoph Linder).

We have 64 hours left on our Kickstarter campaign and, at just over $18K, we're hoping to reach $20K by midnight Wednesday. In the last 24 hours, we received a generous contribution from Tian Cheng, a student at the NYFA, who's come on board as executive producer on the project. His donation and the continued support from our friends and family has pushed us very close to doubling our original goal of $10K, which will give us lots more flexibility in the months to come.

Please, if you haven't already, spread the word in these final hours. Reach out to anyone you know who gives to the arts, in Maryland and beyond.

This is all of ours to share. On behalf of the whole Putty Hill team, thank you for your generous support.

Sincerely,

Matt Porterfield

Dear friends & fans,

We are running out of time on Kickstarter to raise the money we still need to finish Putty Hill. Our original target was $10K, and thanks to your support, we've surpassed it. But this is only half of what we estimate we need to get us through Berlin and SXSW and find as large an audience as possible.

But you said you needed $10K! Why do you need more?

$10K was a conservative figure. The rules of Kickstarter dictate that a project will not receive the money pledged unless it meets its goal. This means, if you set your target at $5K and only make $4500, you get nothing and the donors' money goes back to the bank. We felt we could raise $10K -- and we did! And its huge! But we have costs that far exceed this sum.

We're not gonna get beat up or anything, but everyone who contributed post-production skills and services is still waiting to get paid. And we want to do right by our friends and collaborators. Also, we've hired a publicist in Berlin, who will help us reach international press outlets and make the most of our world premiere. And then comes SXSW, which means more posters, postcards, buttons, travel costs, accommodations, shipping, etc...

Personally, I'm in it for the love of it, but this art costs. So, if you believe in this project and have the resources, please consider making a donation now. Every little bit helps. We have until 11:59PM, February 17th.

Love ya lots,

Matt

Hey guys,

Thanks everyone SO MUCH for all the generous support thus far. It has been really amazing to see so many folks rally behind the movie. We are so excited for the World Premiere coming up in Berlin next Thursday! We are still facing some crazy costs with getting this thing off the ground the right way in Berlin, and preparing for our big North American premiere at South By Southwest next month.

Michael Tully and Ted Hope did some great posts on PUTTY HILL and the campaign at:
http://www.hammertonail.com/monologues/making-putty-hill-matthew-porterfield/

Also, indieWIRE just named us one of the top movies to look forward to in Berlin:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/berlin_diary_twenty_films_to_look_forward_to_at_the_twenty_ten_berlinale/

We're hoping everyone can keep spreading the good word and reach out directly to folks who might donate. We need all the help we can here for our final push.

Thank you, thank you, and can't wait to bring PUTTY HILL to a theater near you soon!

Sincerely,
Steve Holmgren

We have hit the $10,000 mark, and then some! All this was done in a little over just ONE WEEK, which is truly incredible. This is only the beginning though, and our costs are at least double this amount, which means... let's try to make $10K MORE in the two weeks that we have left! I believe we can do it, with everyone's help!

Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who has donated, come out to our screenings, and spread the word... your support is amazing and we couldn't have done this without you.

Sincerely,
Joyce

Many thanks to our Baltimore friends who attended the Putty Hill screening and fundraiser on Monday. It was wonderful to see so many familiar faces in the audience, and to meet new fans -- everyone seemed genuinely stoked to see the rest of the film when it plays the Maryland Film Festival in May!

Baltimore really has a vital arts community right now and I'm so happy to be a part of it. I'm inspired by this city and its scene, and Monday felt like a convergence of the elements that I love about living and working here. Plus, it was a huge success -- we raised $1500!

This week's event brings us closer to our goal of raising the money necessary to finish Putty Hill in time for the Berlinale. And we're 96% of the way to reaching our target sum of $10K here on Kickstarter. But that's approximately half the money we need to cover our post-production costs, so we're hoping people will stay active and continue donating above and beyond the $10K mark. To everyone who's supported us with a donation on Kickstarter already, we give our deepest thanks. And to those who are still waiting for the right moment -- now's the time! We have 14 days left till our world premiere in Germany!

Matt

Dear Baltimore Teams,

Thanks to all who made it out to MICA last night for our special presentation of Putty Hill media (audition tapes, select scenes, and pre-production video). It was very exciting to have so many members of the cast and crew present, as well as friends and supporters, and to share a little piece of our film with you. Even the Keynote presentation I prepared worked without snags -- phew!

If you missed it, please come Monday, February 1st, to the Charles Theatre, 9PM, for another opportunity to see a sneak peek at Putty Hill. The evening will be introduced by Maryland Film Festival Programmer Eric Hatch, and followed by a Q&A. There will be a merchandise table full of generously donated items from local businesses and artists available for purchase - books, records, gift certificates (including a 7-course dinner for 4 at The Chameleon Café), movie rentals, coffee, posters, etc... ALL of the proceeds will go towards the funding of the film. Admission is $5.

Also, if you missed my interview on The Signal on WYPR, you can download the podcast here.

Let's Don't Stop,

Matt

Only 24 hours in and already we have more than $4,000 pledged. We are OVERWHELMED by this response and can't tell everyone who's backed the project so far how grateful we are! Please continue to help us spread the word about our film, as $10K is only the beginning of what we hope to raise...

Again, thank you SO much for your support!

-Joyce, Producer