About this project
$54,012
702
UPDATE: We have reached our original $50,000 goal!
WOW! In the final hours of our campaign, we have reached our goal. Our amazing backers have made our dream come true!
We’re humbled and grateful for your generosity and support for our project. Beyond pledges, our backers have inspired us with their enthusiasm and passion for this project. Thank you!
So...with 12 hours still to go, let’s keep going! We’ve created a stretch goal of $60,000! Our $50k goal was the minimum we needed to finish the documentary - and we achieved that thanks to almost 700 people from around the world! We know it is ambitious, but everything about this story is over the top - so let’s go for it! This amount will help us finish to promote and publicize the film and help cover the costs of DVD, prints, and festival submissions, which are considerable. These steps will enable us to share SCIENCE FICTION LAND with a wider audience.
SCIENCE FICTION LAND tells the mind-bending true story behind Ben Affleck's ARGO. Production on our film began years before the Hollywood version. We don’t have big stars or a big budget, but we have an extraordinary story to tell. After filming dozens of interviews and accumulating a bounty of archival materials, with your support, we will be able to complete this unique film and share the real-life events that are truly stranger than fiction.
>>BREAKING NEWS! Through the generosity of Barry Ira Geller, we are offering a very special new rewards package rewards at the $12,500 level with original LORD OF LIGHT/Science Fiction Land materials from the 1970s! See Rewards section below for more details!<<
>> UPDATE: Honored that SCIENCE FICTION LAND is featured in Entertainment Weekly, Boing Boing, Indiewire, Slate, Wired, io9, International Business Times, Film School Rejects, Syfy's Blastr, Documentary Channel, Death + Taxes, GeekTyrant, Giant Freakin Robot, Denver Westward, The London Film Review, Comics Bulletin, Comics Worth Reading, ComicBook.com, Movies.com, Film.com, Film Pulse, Kickstarter Conversations, Brooklyn Paper, Kickstarter Newsletter + Blog + we're also a Kickstarter Staff Pick + Filmmaker Magazine, Wired's GeekDad, ReedPOP, Sheffield Doc/Fest + IFP Curated Pick! <<
>>Check out our new SCIENCE FICTION LAND movie poster, designed by NYC graphic artist, Rogan Josh - now available in our $75+ rewards!!<<
THE STORY (within a story, within a story)
In the mid-1970s, before STAR WARS, an enigmatic young inventor named Barry Ira Geller options the rights to Roger Zelazny’s award-winning novel Lord of Light, writes a screenplay and sets out to produce a sci-fi blockbuster and the world’s first science fiction theme park – Science Fiction Land. Geller dreams of inspiring the next generation of scientists and bringing the technology of the future to everyone.
A complete unknown, through his passion and determination Geller enlists an all-star team: "King of Comics" Jack Kirby; Hollywood makeup and special effects geniuses John Chambers & Maurice Stein; world-renowned architect Paolo Soleri, visionary author Ray Bradbury; and legendary futurist Buckminster Fuller.
On the verge of success, the project collapses amidst scandal, fraud, and mystery. Years later, Geller learns that his script and Kirby designs were used by CIA agent Tony Mendez as a cover during the Iran hostage crisis – his film's title changed from LORD OF LIGHT to ARGO.
Recently Ben Affleck and Warner Bros. released a fictionalized
Hollywood version of this story, which leaves out the use of Barry Geller's screenplay and Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light, Jack Kirby's production drawings, and John Chambers' idea to use a sci-fi movie as the caper – the very the body of work that made the CIA rescue mission possible. SCIENCE FICTION LAND includes these vital characters and events, and exploring the unbelievable connections between the visionary work of Geller, Kirby, Chambers and the Science Fiction Land team to the saving of six lives.
SCIENCE FICTION LAND is the latest from director Judd Ehrlich, a two-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker (RUN FOR YOUR LIFE, MAYOR OF THE WEST SIDE, MAGIC CAMP).
WHY SUPPORT SCIENCE FICTION LAND?
As only a documentary can, SCIENCE FICTION LAND delves deeply into this true science fiction story and recognizes its unsung heroes. As only an independent film can, we push the boundaries of storytelling to create something unique and visually rich. We want the film to transport viewers to Science Fiction Land and bring the vision of Kirby, Geller, and the team, to life.
We have received generous support from funders like IFP and NYSCA. The grants have helped get us to this point, but this is the kind of film that only gets made with the help of individuals like you.
WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES
To fully realize the vision of SCIENCE FICTION LAND, we will continue to create animations and graphics, models and reenactments, and use classic special effects techniques, with an award-winning team of cinematographers, editors, and animators, who have worked with Ehrlich on his other films.
Our fundraising goal is the minimum we need to complete the film, but finishing is only half the battle. Any additional funds raised will go towards outreach and distribution as well as archival footage and music rights and all the work it takes to get an independent film out into the world.
Kickstarter is an incredible platform for independent documentaries and filmmakers like us, but it's all-or-nothing. If we don't meet our fundraising goal, we don't get anything. Help be a part of reaching our goal.
REWARDS!
We are thrilled that Barry Ira Geller has generously offered the following items for a backer at the $12,500 level. They are unique. Only one is available. In addition, a backer at this level will receive an Executive Producer Credit!
*The original negatives of the Jack Kirby designs for the Lord of Light/Science Fiction Land project.
*One high quality print run of all thirteen images from the original negatives.
*The original screenplay for the LORD OF LIGHT film by Barry Ira Geller.
*The original blueprint for Science Fiction Land by Barry Ira Geller given as the basis for the Jack Kirby design.
We created a line of “vintage” Science Fiction Land memorabilia that will let you travel back in time to an alternate reality in which Science Fiction land exists – and you have been there! Everything from replicas of the original Science Fiction Land buttons to stickers, postcards, shirts, and more. In addition, we’re offering rare Jack Kirby artwork, created for the Lord of Light film and for Science Fiction Land, as well as other great comic, spy, and sci-fi related thank you gifts.
NY COMIC CON
We had a blast at this year's New York Comic Con and met so many great people who are passionate about this project. In addition to hundreds of Kirby, Zelazny, and sci-fi fans, we got to hang with our friends from the Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center and What If Kirby--both dedicated to preserving the legacy of Jack Kirby. We also met Rogan Josh, the talented graphic artist who designed a SCIENCE FICTION LAND movie poster for us, in his own Kirby-inspired style. Check our updates for a video message from Josh!
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT SCIENCE FICTION LAND
Check out all of the messages and videos about SCIENCE FICTION LAND on our Facebook and Twitter. We're so grateful for all of the support we've received from around the world!
SOCIAL MEDIA
We hope you can support us with a pledge. Please help spread the word by sharing our project on Facebook and Twitter, and telling your friends about SCIENCE FICTION LAND.
Risks and challenges
We have a talented and committed team in place and a strong vision for the film. We are confident we can create a completely unique, compelling, and though-provoking film.
With your help, we can make SCIENCE FICTION LAND a reality!
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