Our Story

"Extinction Soup" follows documentary filmmaker Philip Waller on his quest for adventure as he sets out to tell the story of his larger-than-life friend and extreme sports legend, Jimmy Hall. The film quickly takes a surprise turn when Waller finds himself consumed with exposing to the world an environmental catastrophe in the making - the extinction of the oceans' shark population through the mass slaughter of these magnificent animals for their fins. Waller documents the efforts of conservationist Stefanie Brendl as she fights to educate lawmakers and help pass ground-breaking legislation that will curb the consumption of shark fin soup, considered a delicacy in many Eastern cultures, and the impetus behind 70 million sharks being killed per year.

Has the film been completed?

Not yet.  We are currently in post-production and hope to lock picture soon.

Is it a documentary?

Yes.

How will the money raised be used?

We have worked tirelessly and managed to self-fund our film for almost three years to get this point.  As we push forward to lock picture, we need your help with the post production costs in order to finish our film properly including:

• Composer & Original Soundtrack
• Film Graphics & Titles
• Color Correction & Picture Work
• Audio Mix & Sound Sweetening
• Music Licensing
• Archival Footage Licensing

Your backing will not be used to cover any compensation for the principle filmmakers. This is strictly to help fund the below-the-line items and necessities, and the finishing costs.

A small fraction of the total budget will be used for festival entrance fees, as well as the printing/shipping costs for some of the rewards, whether it be domestic or international. 

Your Angel contributions will help us to finish the film under its best light, and help us to bring this important story to the screen! 

When will the film be released?

It is our hope and expectation that the film will be completed and ready for release by Mid 2014.

I only have PayPal. How can I support the film?

E-mail: extinctionsoup@yahoo.com with "Extinction Soup" in the subject line, and we will help you donate and get your perks.

Perks

We've tried to keep the perks to a low cost yet exciting as possible.  Check out the list to the right for everything we have to offer.  We will also be adding a few more as our campaign moves forward.

One of our favs is the T-Shirt designed by Arm the Animals (ATA)!

About the filmmakers:

Philip Waller (Writer/Producer/Director) was born in Mountain View California. He then moved down to Los Angeles at the age of 4. After the acting bug bit him when he was 5 years-old, he went on to star in a varity of national commercials and slew of TV show appearances. After ten years as an actor Philip decided to mix things up and became a director. He has directed many films and TV projects since moving behind the camera. Philip is also a world class photographer and thrill seeker who is always in search of the next project he will be inspired by.

Stefanie Brendl (Executive Producer) has many years of experience in Underwater photo and video production. She is also owner an operator of a shark diving operation in Oahu, Hawaii where her and her team educate people about the importance of sharks. Stefanie has hundreds of hours of diving with sharks of all shapes and sizes, including the feared and greatly misunderstood Tiger sharks and Great White sharks.  

In recent years, Stefanie's political work has put her at the forefront of shark conservation, in particular in the Pacific region. Her non-profit organization “Shark Allies” focuses on the battle against the global shark fin trade. With her group she has joined forces with many other activists around the world to stop the senseless slaughter of sharks for shark fin soup.

Sidney Sherman (Producer) is the founder and President of Rosa Entertainment, an independent film/television production and management company in Hollywood, CA. He brings his formidable experience and insight to the project from a diverse portfolio of work that includes co-producing the feature film "Lonely Hearts", starring John Travolta, Jared Leto, and Salma Hayek; as well as producing the Academy Award finalist and Spirit Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature, "Go Tigers!", and "Amargosa", another Academy Award Finalist for Best Documentary Feature. In addition, Sidney has worked with Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation as a production consultant on numerous projects including the Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary, "The Last Days". He currently is developing several film and television projects.

Travis Aaron Wade (Co-Producer) is a US Marine-turned-thespian who was born in Los Angeles, California. Travis landed his first lead role in the short film The Fix (2005), playing opposite Robert Patrick, as a speed addicted boxer. 2005 proved to be a breakout/career building year for Travis where he had the opportunity to work with Oscar winning directors Steven Spielberg, and Sam Mendes on “War of the Worlds”  and “Jarhead “.  In 2010, Wade's first starring role came in the much anticipated cult thriller “Pig Hunt”. No stranger to TV, Travis has worked on hit shows such as “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “Vegas,” “Rizzoli & Isles,” “Alcatraz,”  "The Closer,” "Cold Case" and "Criminal Minds.”  In 2014, Travis can be seen in the just wrapped “The Forger” co-starring with John Travolta, Jennifer Ehle, and Christopher Plummer.

Our Thanks

Thank you for taking the time to check us out.  This has been our passion project for nearly three years and now we need your help.  We greatly appreciate your time and consideration.

Spread the Word

Another way to help us achieve our goal is to help spread the word.  Social media is the best way to get the word out there - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+.  Every little bit goes a LONG way!

THE BEST DIVING IN THE WORLD!  NEW PERK JUST ADDED AS OF 12.14.13

Please note that the Amazing Fiji Diving Experience was a last minute perk just added thanks to the generous donation of Beqa Adventure Divers and can only be obtained by donating $2,000 for this specific perk.  We only have two diving experiences available so please sign up while you can.  This is a once in a lifetime experience.  You can learn more about Beqa Adventure Divers here:  http://fijisharkdive.com/.

What happens if we raise more than our goal?

If we raise more than our campaign’s goal, all proceeds will go towards completing the film at the highest level possible. For example, it would be fantastic if we could get live musicians to record our composer Randy Miller’s score in a professional studio. And it would be wonderful to be able to afford several days of mixing the film on a proper stage, and to have the luxury of re-recording the Voice-over for the film on a real ADR Stage.  Beyond that, the more money we have, we could build out our web site, license a few archival clips we simply cannot afford at this time, and pay a modest stipend to the many artists that donated their time on this project.

Help us get our film to the public so we can help spread the word and hopefully protect the remaining sharks from extinction.  We are incredibly grateful to you, dear supporters, for your time, energy, and patronage. Together we can do this!