About this project
$56,294
732
TURA! THE TURA SATANA ADVANCE DOCUMENTARY TRAILER
THANK YOU TO OVER 730 KICKSTARTER BACKERS FOR A VERY SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN! THANK YOU, PUSSYCATS!
INTERVIEW CLIPS
DITA VON TEESE CALLS YOU TO ACTION! Tura's sacrifices helped pave the way for Dita's career, and those of so many others. Don't hesitate, pledge now to this informative, inspiring documentary.
DENNIS BUSCH - FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!
GRINDHOUSE LEGEND TED V. MIKELS TALKS TURA!
THANK YOU! TOGETHER WE REACHED THE GOAL! VIVA SATANA!
“TURA!” is the true life story of cult movie icon & burlesque dancer TURA SATANA, chopped straight from the pages of her handwritten memoir. Best known as the star of Russ Meyer’s classic film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Tura stunned 1960’s movie audiences as the sexy, dominant, fast-driving, karate-wielding lesbian gang leader Varla. Her groundbreaking look, attitude, and performance were all years ahead of their time and continue to influence everyone from Quentin Tarantino and Rob Zombie to John Waters and Dita Von Teese.
Still, Tura's screen life was nothing compared to her real life. As a child, Tura was imprisoned at Japanese American WWII internment camp Manzanar. As a pre-teen, she was the victim of a brutal, racially-motivated gang rape. But instead of letting those early tragedies destroy her, Tura flipped it around, reinventing herself into a world famous burlesque dancer, Asian American cinema hero, and most importantly, the living definition of female self-empowerment.
Featuring incredible new interviews with John Waters, Dita Von Teese & more, and narrated by Margaret Cho, TURA! will be a fascinating, thrilling white-knuckle ride through the life and career of one of the most infamous “bad girls” in cinema history. TURA! also serves to finally place Tura Satana alongside Bruce Lee in the pantheon of the most influential Asian American performers the world has ever known.
The production of this film was Tura Satana’s deathbed wish. Help her, and us, make it a reality. TURA! -- Just do it!
(This film is the AUTHORIZED DOCUMENTARY Tura Satana personally initiated prior to her death, being produced by her estate and closest friends).
SEE THE NEW INDIEWIRE ARTICLE HERE!
Despite her underground popularity and huge internet presence, Tura’s accomplishments and vast influence remain largely unrecognized. Tura fought long and hard for gains that others have since reaped the benefits from. It’s time to set the story straight! Tura didn’t just ‘open the door’ for modern Hollywood’s dominant leading ladies, she literally kicked that hole through the wall, blazing the path for others to follow. She deserves acknowledgement for that, and this film – created by those who knew and worked with her – gives her the respect and recognition she is long overdue. Tura’s “If I can do this, anyone can” attitude has inspired countless people in the past, and can now go on to inspire even more!
Once the film is completed (we estimate a year or less), we will use all of the means at our disposal to find the best possible release and distribution for the film. That includes screening at key festivals, distributor screenings, and inclusion at international film markets. We are very confident that the film will find wide release platforms, so all of our work will be shared with the world.
TURA! The Tura Satana Documentary
Starring: TURA SATANA Narrated by MARGARET CHO
Featuring Interviews with:
JOHN WATERS - Writer/Director, Hairspray, Pink Flamingos DITA VON TEESE - Burlesque Star, Fashion Designer MARGARET CHO - Actor, Comedian KITTEN NATIVIDAD - Beneath The Valley of the Ultra-Vixens SHANNON LEE - Producer, Daughter of Bruce Lee DAVID HENRY HWANG - Playwright, M. Butterfly ALLISON ANDERS - Director, Mi Vida Loca, Four Rooms . TED V. MIKELS - Director, Astro-Zombies, Doll Squad, Corpse Grinders LORI WILLIAMS - Actor, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! DENNIS BUSCH - Actor, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! PAMELA DES BARRES - Author SELENE LUNA - The Cho Show ERIC CHARMELO - Writer/Producer, Supernatural, Ringer Plus more all the time!
Cody Jarrett/Director, Producer
Cody Jarrett is a Los Angeles-based director, writer and producer. Initially a musician and actor whose Hollywood film career began with a role in 20th Century Fox’s The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Cody’s feature directing credits include SUGAR BOXX (Showtime Networks, Entertainment One) and FROG-G-G! (Koch Distribution). SUGAR BOXX was also Tura Satana's last film as an actress prior to her death.
Siouxzan Perry/Producer
Siouxzan was Tura’s long-time personal manager and confidant, as well as manager of numerous other “Russ Meyer” women. Siouxzan was granted all rights to Tura’s entertainment estate, likeness, and image upon Tura’s passing. She also possesses literally thousands of Tura’s belongings, including pictures, personal items, home movies, and more. Siouxzan is committed to Tura’s final wish of seeing this documentary produced.
YOMYOMF FOUNDATION/Executive Producer
YOMYOMF was founded by film director Justin Lin (FAST & FURIOUS franchise, STAR TREK BEYOND) to support Asian American artists who wish to pursue careers in film, TV, theater and new media and to create opportunities and develop audiences for projects by and/or about Asian Pacific Americans within the larger context of our multicultural society. Recent projects include the Interpretations Film Initiative to find emerging filmmakers (in partnership with Comcast and NBCU) and the relaunch of YOMYOMF 2.0 to serve as a hub for Asian American pop culture.
Tura Thursday--a weekly feature on Tura Satana--is a part of YOMYOMF 2.0 and producer Philip W. Chung is overseeing the TURA! doc for YOMYOMF. See it here: http://www.yomyomf.com/
Helen Macfarlane/Associate Producer
NZ born, UK raised, lived and worked in Austria for 25 years, resident of California since 2011, Helen is a multi-media artist and linguist. She founded and ran a language, culture and media centre, theatre group and exhibitions in Salzburg Austria for over 20 years. For six years, she has worked with Siouxzan on this film, Tura Satana art shows and Tura’s personal estate.
TURA! needs Kickstarter! Your participation in this extremely worthwhile project allows this film to finish and fulfill its true potential: poignant and inspirational, harrowing and thrilling, sexy and ENTERTAINING! (It is a movie, after all). Join us!
Plus, the perks/awards in this campaign are nothing short of spectacular. Tura Satana collectibles are valuable anyway, but the one-of-a-kind/one-time-only items being released for this campaign will blow your mind! Not to mention access to the filmmakers and like-minded backers at screenings, parties and even in the film's physical production. If you’re a cinema buff, this is the jackpot.
Any amount you pledge will be directly reflected on screen, and you’ll be proud to be on board! Budget breakdowns are as follows:
$50,000! WE ARE FUNDED and the amazing story of TURA SATANA becomes a reality for all of us, and goes out into the world to inspire people everywhere.
$60,000! YOU DID FIND IT HERE, COLUMBUS! This level of funding allows us to do something very special: visit and film at the locations where the milestones in Tura's life actually occurred. These powerful images would take the film to an entirely new level. BACKERS GET A TBD COOL SPECIAL AWARD.
$70,000 AND ABOVE! BIGGER, BADDER, FASTER, PUSSYCAT! Here it gets really fun! Allows us to shoot segments of the movie in SUPER 8 or SUPER 16mm FILM, adding an organic, period-authentic feel when it counts the most! BACKERS GET AN EVEN COOLER SPECIAL AWARD! (It's Tura, we'll pick something amazing!)
Risks and challenges
Making a film like this (independent documentary) has risks, many of which have already been taken on by the filmmakers. We've invested more than three years of time and our own money to get this off the ground. If this film were not finished & released, it would be both a financial blow and a loss of the time and effort spent by the crew and our amazing interview subjects. But this is something we believe in very strongly, so were willing to take on the risk in the interest of getting Tura's story told.
However, the risk in not completing this film goes beyond financial...
We’ve already captured moving, indepth, sometimes hilarious interviews-
JOHN WATERS recalling his discovery of TURA, and being so excited he brought DIVINE with him to the next show… DENNIS BUSCH on working with Tura and RUSS MEYER in the Mojave Desert on Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!... TED V. MIKELS discussing his decades of Tura… the impact DITA VON TEESE felt when seeing Tura for the first time, and more.
Many of these deeply personal memories and feelings have NEVER BEEN REVEALED BEFORE; gleams of personality and cinema history that will FALL AWAY, FORGOTTEN unless this film reaches its goal. Losing these touching, informative moments and breaking our final promise to Tura is the biggest risk of all, and something we can't let happen!
The Challenge
The depth and breadth of Tura Satana's life experiences could fill ten films. Tura “brings a lot to the table.” The challenge here is not so much production delays (as this is a documentary), but rather choosing which of the many the impactful, meaningful events go into the film. No easy task! We're not just "glossing over" Tura's looks and career; her real life was much more harrowing than any movie script could be.
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Funding period
- (29 days)