UPDATE: NEW GOAL: $6,000!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED US SO FAR!  A couple of points for people who are looking to donate or not as we come down to the LAST FOUR DAYS:

• We have passed the "all-or-nothing" goal! The $6,000 "new limit" is just a marker out there on the horizon for us to run for, because we can definitely use the money and the project will be better for your generosity -- but we crossed the finish line ($3,500) almost two weeks ago... Again, THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO'S DONATED, you're all my personal heroes!
• We'd still love your donation! As I've detailed here, there are a lot of places we can spend that money that will make a huge difference in the quality of the finished film -- so you could be the one to help escalate us from GOOD to GREAT. Just because we're over the first goal ($3,500) and we're a long ways from the second goal ($6,000), don't be shy! Please!
• We know $6,000 is a crazy long shot! The truth is, I knew the odds of getting us to $6,000 are pretty slim, but I figured, since there's no risk in not getting the donations, I didn't see a reason to play it safe. We were on such a roll, I figured I'd shoot for the moon. The closer we get to the goal, the better, but if we don't make it to $6,000 in the next FOUR DAYS we haven't failed to meet our needs and your efforts aren't wasted!

Again, THANKS EVERYONE for helping us out. Check out the incentives and contact me if you have any questions!  In just over a month we start production!

                  --- Travis Ezell, writer/director

THE STORY

Tressa Willoney lives alone in a rundown apartment. One night, after another long, thankless shift waiting tables in a greasy-spoon diner, her exhausted late-night routine is interrupted when a drill-bit comes grinding through her bedroom wall. It withdraws, leaving a tiny peephole into the bedroom of Luke and Chia, the overly friendly, attractive twenty-something couple next door. She does her best to ignore the temptation, but she can’t hold out forever. Not sure if this was an intentional ploy or some kind of strange accident, Tressa gradually involves herself more and more in Luke and Chia's lives. Naturally, hijinks ensue.

THE PRODUCTION

First, let's talk about what we do have. We have a camera and lenses. We have most of the crew worked out. We have a generous production grant from RACC. We have access to professional lights and lighting/grip gear; we have professional art-department and prop-builders; we have high-end editorial and post-production facilities at our disposal; and we have the best unproduced short script you'll ever read, just waiting for a talented crew like us to make it come alive.

Now I know we've all heard the old saying. We've all heard the bigwigs and fatcats and gladhands and flaptraps tell us time and again, over and over, "Making a movie is cheap and easy... You don't need very much time or effort at all, and you need even less money than you need time or effort -- so you obviously don't need very much money!"  Well, I know this is going to shock most of you, but those are blatant lies, my friends. Making a movie isn't as cheap as they say! And so...

We need money. The thing is, for all the things we do have, there are a lot we still don't.  We haven't done casting yet, or location scouting. We haven't built props or purchased production insurance. The grant is an enormous help, but the truth is, these things add up fast! (It's just the nature of numbers; that's what they do.) Even if I only pay my actors the bare-minimum daily wages, which is far less than they deserve, it will still cost me about $2000.  We estimate food alone at $1800! (And no, we aren't gluttonous libertines dining on caviar and Dom Pérignon. Unfortunately. Although you'd be surprised how much imported Irish cheese can cost.) Actually, I want to be clear about how your money could help us out, so I've made a full break-down for you, along with plenty more information than you ever wanted to know about the project, over at our official webpage, if you're at all curious.

THE PEOPLE INVOLVED

Travis Ezell (writer-director) is a Portland-based screenwriter and filmmaker, currently typing up a bio about himself in the third person. Additionally, he works at LAIKA/house animation studio (although he makes live-action films, himself... don't tell his bosses!). His films have played in festivals local and nationwide. One of his latest, Open, was just selected to be part of the 2011 San Antonio Film Festival, and will screen this July.

I only met Laurel Degutis (producer) about a year ago on a mutual friend's film shoot. This is our first time doing the director-producer dance, and so far I couldn't be happier. But for that reason, I'll let her tell you about herself: "Laurel is a photographic, mixed media and video/film artist. Her work has exhibited in San Diego, Boston, New York, and Portland. Recently Laurel received a jury award for her short film Landscapes at the Northwest Filmmakers' Festival as well as an audience choice award in the experimental category. She is currently in post-production on a new piece she co-wrote/directed, scheduled to be finished this summer.  Video Out handles distribution for some of her video/film works. For more information visit laureldegutis.com."

Jon Beanlands (director of photography), on the other hand, I've known ever since film school. By my count this will be the seventh film he's shot for me, and with any luck it won't be nearly the last. He has an incredible eye for capturing a story, a calming presence on set, and the patience to put up with my endless jabbering and weird jokes -- all of which make him obviously invaluable.  Jon is currently living in New York City, pursuing a career in professional filmmaking... more accurately, he's hunting down that career and making it his own, domesticating it the way a caveman might have once trained a savage sabretooth to kneel before him and drink milk from a tin like a mewling kitten, though the caveman probably wasn't half the photographer Jon is. Hyperbole aside, Jon's recent works include Andy Blubaugh's debut feature film The Adults in the Room, the short fantasy film Widow's Walk Lake, Leif Peterson's short-form epics Earth and Eden -- and of course, several films by yours truly, most recently Open and Every Room is Empty -- and I'm confident those all speak for themselves.

YOU (generous supporter of the arts) are the most important contributor yet to this project, and yes, absolutely, it's totally corny to include a "YOU" category and fake bio under the heading of "People Involved," but I am not above a pandering cheeseball gesture to show you how grateful I am for any assistance you might give. I love making films, and I love this story and want to give it to the world, and right this second you have the power to help me make that happen, and I can't tell you how much that means.  So thank you, YOU, and cheers! Buy yourself a drink on me.  If you don't drink, buy yourself a delicious juicy steak.  If you don't eat meat, treat yourself to a really good professional massage, or get a kitten and cuddle it for hours. (Note: when I say "on me," I mean "on my behalf" and not "on my tab." Though I swear to you I would buy every one of you a kitten if I could.)