Thank you for taking the time to visit I Ride Alone!

Don’t worry you haven’t missed your opportunity to support this great project. We were live for 20 days and needed to take some time to evaluate some and analyze what we’ve learned so far so that we can make some necessary adjustments.

To all those that have already contributed and are checking in – don’t worry your contributions are safe and we’ll have an update to you very soon – THANK YOU again for your support.  Oh yeah, don’t worry once the campaign is completed you will be receiving every perk you qualified for!

Please feel free to send us your e-mail address at info@rockonfilms.com so that we can update you when we’re ready to roll again!

I Ride Alone – we’ll be riding again soon – stay tuned for news!

                                                 *** LIVE VOTING UPDATE ***

We will start to post regular updates on how the voting is coming. As we get started, a few interesting names lead the early nominations:

LEAD ACTOR - Role of Kevin:

Jeff Bridges - 50%
Kevin Costner - 17% 
Harrison Ford - 17%
Jason Patric - 17%

LEAD ACTRESS - Role of Audrey:

Elyse Levesque - 31%
Amanda Seyfried - 23%
Anna Paquin - 15%
Evangeline Lilly - 8%
Jessica Biel - 8% 
Jennifer Lawrence - 8% 
Kate Mara - 8% 

SUPPORTING ACTOR - Role of Mak:

Thomas Beaudoin - 69%
Chris Hemsworth - 8%
Justin Timberlake - 8%
James Franco - 8%
Ashton Kutcher - 8%

Keep the ballots coming! 

How do you get a ballot? Please keep reading! 

Rock On! Films invites you to take advantage of a unique opportunity. For the first time in crowd funding history, in return for your thoughtful and generous donations, YOU will have a voice as we build this movie together.

That’s because 24 hours after you donate, you will receive your personalized ballot where you could be voting in some or all of the following categories:

·  the soundtrack music

·  the type/make of bike ridden by the supporting actor

·  the type/make of bike ridden by the lead actor

·  the lead actress

·  the supporting actor

·  the lead actor

Here at Rock On! Films we are excited to take crowd funding to the next level.  Why not give everybody who donates a voice? Why not let everybody build the project? We think that this is true crowd funding – not just funding the budget, but also the funding of ideas! 

I RIDE ALONE

I Ride Alone is the gripping true story of veteran Kevin Benedec. Kevin returned from the war and had a difficult time adjusting as he battled his personal demons and tried to readjust himself to life at home. However, with the help of his mother, he put his life on track and eventually found comfort in the Lord and his true calling as a preacher.

We pick up his story as his mother dies and his world is turned upside down. He feels lost, betrayed and confused. He decides that the only way to find answers is to get on his bike and ride – his other true love.

Once out on the open road and alongside the beautiful landscapes of this country, his character and fortitude is once again tested when he becomes the reluctant mentor to a cocky and privileged young rider – Mak. Mak is young and thinks he has all the answers, that is until tragedy strikes and Kevin has no choice but to intervene.

These characters are richly written, virtually leaping off the pages and what initially drew director Joe Eckardt to this script. The fact that they seemed so human and had to overcome so many obstacles made the very easy for an audience to relate with.

THE CATCH-22

For the past 7 years we have been hampered in our efforts to make this film by the industry’s ultimate catch-22. Short of surrendering your script to a studio, if there isn’t a bankable big star attached to a project, it is virtually impossible to gain the support of a studio or investors. However, a bankable big star will not consider your film until you are what the agents call “fully financed”.

So, after years of trying to secure funding the conventional way, veteran Director Joe Eckardt and the producers at Rock On! Films have decided the only way an independent filmmaker can retain control of their project is to secure funding through other means. 

JOE WHO?

Veteran Independent Film maker Joe Eckardt has successfully directed and produced numerous feature films and documentaries. He has worked with some notable names in the industry – including, but not limited to – Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Steve Buscemi, Cuba Gooding Jr., Frankie Muniz, Jamie Kennedy, Danny Trejo, Corbin Bernsen, Diamond Dallas Page, Michael Gross, Andy Dick, Lacey Chabert, Jason Mewes and director Robert Rodriguez to name a few.

Joe is very familiar with all aspects of producing a movie. It helps that Joe literally began his career at the bottom. At the age of 19 he landed his first job as a day player PA, or production assistant on the movie A Devil’s Own, starring Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt. Here is a very young Joe with an equally young Brad. One of these two went on to be named People's Sexiest Man Alive - can you guess which?

From there he worked his way up and spent some time as a personal assistant to mega-stars Nicolas Cage, Jennifer Garner, Val Kilmer and Cuba Gooding Jr.. Here is Joe with Nic Cage on set of Bringing Out The Dead.

This all led up to his directorial debut- two multi-film festival award winning projects - the short film Dreaming In Black & White starring Malik Yoba and the feature length documentary on the life of Danny Trejo (Mr. Machete himself) – Champion - starring Dennis Hopper, Robert Rodriguez, Steve Buscemi and Val Kilmer. 

From there it was time for the screwball stoner comedy High Hopes starring Jason Mewes, Andy Dick, David Faustino, Danny Trejo and Lacey Chabert, to name a few.

The past two years have seen the filming of feature length films Pizza Man – starring Frankie Muniz, Shelley Long and Stan Lee - and just this past summer the romantic comedy starring Jamie Kennedy – Other Plans

WHAT WE NEED

Being an independent film maker has taught Joe and the producers at Rock On! Films a very important skill - how to stretch a dollar!

After we subtract Indiegogo fees and the costs to fulfill all of the great swag you'll be receiving - we estimate approximately $900,000 left to make this production happen!

Obviously the more we raise, the more flexibility we'll have in all of our decision making - so please don't stop at the goal!

Please rest assured that we know how hard you work to earn your money, and we will make every effort to ensure we squeeze every single possible drop out of each dollar we raise.

While we obviously can’t guarantee anybody’s participation, we will make every effort to secure the services of each top vote-getter. There are many factors to consider – salary demand, scheduling conflicts and, most importantly, riding ability. We want this movie to be as authentic as possible, and riding is a BIG component of the production. Whatever happens, you will be kept informed with the I Ride Alone bi-weekly digital newsletter.

THE PRODUCER'S CHALLENGE

Additionally, the producers of Rock On! Films would like to offer a challenge. To date, the record for money raised in support of a film through crowd funding was for the exciting Veronica Mars film project - which raised an incredible $5.7 million! (They were, admittedly, part of our inspiration to bring this film to you - so thank you Rob Thomas!)

However, we think the 25 million bikers in the United States alone have more financial equity than the group of "marshmallows" that made Veronica Mars the incredible success it was - which should hopefully give us a pretty decent chance of surpassing the total raised by Veronica Mars!

Therefore, if we can raise more than the Veronica Mars project, each and every donor, regardless of level, will receive a bonus custom designed I Ride Alone patch that you can wear to celebrate your participation and support of this effort.

MORE THAN JUST A VOTE

A vote isn’t the only thing you’ll get. On the right side of the screen, please read about all of the wonderful perks you can receive in exchange for your donations.  From cool t-shirts to visits to the set, the perks are designed to give you as much access as possible. We’ll have folks trailing the director and co-stars, attending wrap and premiere parties, riding with the lead actor, and one lucky person has the opportunity to spend a full week on set and ride off on one of the production's motorcycles! 

Roughly 24 hours after you donate, you’ll receive your ballot - personalized for you based on what categories you are qualified to vote on through your generous donation.  Below is a portion of the "Tee It Up" Ballot. 

SPREAD THE WORD & RIDE WITH US    

Like any successful crowd funding project we will be relying on your help. Whether it's by Facebook, Twitter or carrier pigeon - please help spread the word.  While this movie will certainly appeal to the biker community, it will also appeal to anybody who has ever had to overcome obstacles to get somewhere in life.

In fact, we know we mentioned there will be lots of riding – so we’ll need some licensed and experienced riders to serve as extras.  Therefore, the motorcycle club which has the greatest amount of donations attributed to them will have the first opportunity to fill all the extra roles in the film. On the ballot mentioned above, you’ll be able to fill in the name of the club that encouraged you to support this incredible effort.

Rock On! Films believes that this is truly the next step in crowd funding. Not only the collection of funds, but also the mining of ideas!

We want to know what you think! Who should be the lead? What bike should he ride? Together we can make this movie happen!