“It’s Philip K. Dick’s world. We only live in it.”
“Philip K. Dick - The most brilliant sci-fi mind on any planet!”
Success Update
From Director John Alan Simon:
The last 45 days has been a blur of emails, phone calls and social media. I see Facebook in my dreams (and nightmares). We debated long and hard about going this crowd-funding route - but it has turned out to be one of the best decisions we've made.
Kickstarter is a community of project supporters who engage at the highest levels of involvement. Even if we didn't need these funds - and even if we hadn't succeeded to reach our goal - it would still have been an extremely valuable experience to connect in this way with the potential audience for Radio Free Albemuth. But reaching our goal - and surpassing it - is an unbelievable high.
Getting the film rights, adapting the novel to screenplay, getting production financing, the ambitious production on a 24 days schedule; post-production and creating close to 200 CGI shots - Nothing about these challenges has been easy.
Thanks to all of you who backed the project. I always knew the spirit of Philip K. Dick that guided this movie from the start would not let us down. It took nearly ten years for this very special novel to finally be published and over thirty years for his journals about the experiences of February/March 1974 to find their way into the light. But just as PKD came to believe - there does seem to be a Vast Active Living Intelligence at work in all this. And it's taken longer than we ever thought for this movie to reach this point. So thanks to PKD and thanks to VALIS and thanks to all of you for your support.
Today is one of the best days ever!
UPDATE #4
Less than 3 days to go and we're over the moon that we've exceeded our goal. That said we still have some great incentives available including
Berkeley Walking tour of Philip K Dick haunts ($75)
Autographed President Fremont (Scott Wilson) Portrait ($500)
President Fremont Plaque ($600)
Secret Summit Concert/Party with Special Guest Stuart Hamm joining Composer, Producers and cast members. ($550)
Special Backer Bonus: EVERYONE who contributes 50 dollars or more to RFA Kickstarter will receive a Free Pass to the PHILIP K. DICK SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL December 5 - 8, 2013, in New York City.
UPDATE #3
Blu-ray Pledge Rewards added.
UPDATE #2! New Exclusive scene from Radio Free Albemuth
Featuring Jonathan Scarfe (Perception) Jon Tenney (The Closer) and Rich Sommer (Mad Men)
UPDATE #1
All backers of RFA Kickstarter will get the Left Coast role playing game. A one of a kind experience created specifically for this Kickstarter campaign and subsequent release of the film
The Goal
U.S. theatrical and digital release of Radio Free Albemuth – the feature film based on the novel by science fiction master – Philip K. Dick.
Thus far, only audiences at film festivals and special events. Despite great reviews and enthusiastic audience response, traditional companies simply haven’t offered us the kind of distribution that would connect to the audience we believe is out there for Radio Free Albemuth. That’s why we’re going the self-distribution (DIY) route and reaching out to you on Kickstarter.
The producers of Radio Free Albemuth - Dale Rosenbloom (Sundance Audience winning Fuel, and the Shiloh movies ) Stephen Nemeth (Academy Award nominated The Sessions, Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas ), Elizabeth Karr and writer/director/producer John Alan Simon have devised an ambitious, yet cost-effective distribution plan so everyone we made this movie for can see it.
Including you...we hope!
RFA cast includes Shea Whigham (Silver Linings Playbook, Boardwalk Empire), Multiple Grammy Award Winner Alanis Morissette, Jonathan Scarfe (Perception, Grimm), Katheryn Winnick, (Vikings, Stand Up Guys), Hanna Hall ( The Virgin Suicides, Halloween ), Ashley Greene (The Twilight Films), Golden Globe nominee Scott Wilson (The Ninth Configuration, The Walking Dead), and Oscar nominee Rosemary Harris.
We're confident there’s an audience out there for smart, thoughtful sci-fi films that don’t depend on car chases or super heroes.
RFA is also full of great music. Alanis Morissette has her first lead role and performs an original song. The critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock gave us nine songs and contributed to the score with the amazing piano virtuososo, composer Ralph Grierson. Often heard on KCRW in Los Angeles –The Good Listeners also perform in the film.
The Reviews
" Engrossing! Delivers satisfying intrigue and suspense. Should connect strongly with Dick's fanbase and upscale auds seeking sci-fi with political and philosophical substance."
"In our view, the best adaptation of PKD’s work to screen by far!"
-- Leon Marvell, Arts Hub Australia
You can read more Radio Free Albemuth reviews here.
RFA Distribution
We’ll release Radio Free Albemuth theatrically across the U.S. with writer/director John Alan Simon and cast hitting as many playdates as possible for Q&A’s and special events.
Even this kind of hand-crafted release involves signficiant costs - Theatre Bookings, Advertising, Publicity, Marketing materials, Travel. But with a little more dedicated effort on our behalf – and your pledges – RFA will be coming soon to a reality near you!
We also plan to release on DVD, Cable, VOD, and on digital outlets like Netflix, iTunes, and Hulu.
We've carefully studied and embraced the new paradigm of Hybrid Distribution. We're utilizing social media to enlist the communities of PKD, science-fiction, indie film enthusiasts and others to participate in our theatrical release, then partner with established distribution channels for video and digital.
That’s where you come in.
We can’t do it without you!
And in appreciation for your generous support we have thank-you gifts like special limited signed editions of the script, props from the set, poster artwork, special parties and premieres and one-on-one meetings with the filmmakers and the composer. Plus all backers get a special access to behind-the-scenes clips with actors and deleted scenes that haven’t seen the light of day – yet!
JUST ADDED: All backers get one of a kind RFA Role Playing Game.
Kickstarter is all or nothing. So if we don’t reach our goal, we get zip and you don’t get any thank you gifts or premiums. And - worst of all - you may never get to see the movie.
Every little bit helps, even if it's passing this on to your friends who like inde film, science fiction and Philip K. Dick. Email them, tweet it, blog about it, talk about it, share on Facebook, tumblr, google+, pinterest, instagram - everywhere!
Together we can do something very special.
How many people can say they had a hand in bringing a PKD movie to the screen?
You can!
Join the conspiracy to bring PKD’s brilliant and subversive message of hope to audiences throughout America – and then the world!
Websites
Hashtag - #RFAmovie
Who we are.
Between them, Nemeth, Rosenbloom and Simon have produced over 35 features and docs, including Oscar nominees The Sessions and War/Dance. Their achievements include two Audience Award Winning Docs at Sundance and major studio successes like The Call. RFA is Elizabeth Karr’s first feature as a producer after an extensive background in theatre. Director John Alan Simon's company, Discovery Productions, began in the film business by taking films that studios shelved and connecting them with audiences, such as the original version of The Wicker Man and Dennis Hopper's Out of the Blue.
Full Bios: Stephen Nemeth, Dale 'Chip' Rosenbloom, John Alan Simon, Elizabeth Karr
Special Backer Bonus: EVERYONE who contributes 50 dollars or more to RFA Kickstarter will receive a Free Pass to the PHILIP K. DICK SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL December 5 - 8, 2013, in New York City.
Risks and challenges
RFA’s great review in Variety doesn't change the current distribution landscape. This is why we have innovative collaborators on board to support a DIY Theatrical model that will help us to book key markets. The funds raised from this campaign will enable us to four wall some theatres, if necessary, to maximize publicity and exposure for our digital release. (Newspapers and magazines generally won't review or write features about films that don't open in theatres)
We are painfully aware of how expensive a typical theatrical release is currently. Just to play for a week in one theatre in New York with ads, publicity and marketing can easily cost more than what we are raising on Kickstarter. But by relying on our loyal fan base, grassroots marketing, and avoiding expensive ad buys we will stretch these funds into many more markets than just NYC. As well as to invest in placing our film onto key digital platforms. The equation is simple – more Kickstarter $$$ raised = a wider release.
Where pledges come from is also a good barometer of what cities we target for RFA's release. Kickstarter provides community involvement, as well as funds.
Without audience support for science-fiction films of intellectual substance, the filmmaking landscape will continue to be reduced to “comic-book” blockbusters, or films with miniscule budgets or independently wealthy patronage that can afford to operate at a loss.
With the passion of people like you who want to see Radio Free Albemuth, we can smash the conventional wisdom about the kinds of films that audiences want to see.
Let's get this movie into as many theatres and distributed digitally as widely as possible!
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Funding period
- (45 days)