BECOME A MEMBER OF THE
"ORIGINAL ARMY OF BLISS"
In the sitcom world of Swallow Your Bliss, Amanda Bliss and her crew comprise the “Army of Bliss”, and they are engaged in culinary battle with the Legion that is determined (in Amanda's eyes) to topple the glorious reign of St. Julia of the Child!
We have founded our own, real “Army of Bliss”, as we march forward, fighting the battle to get the funding and shoot the pilot episode of Swallow Your Bliss. And, we recognize that each and every one of you who has contributed to helping make Bliss a reality are also Original Members of the Army of Bliss!
To show our appreciation, we are creating a dedicated page on the Swallow Your Bliss website that will be called (appropriately) “The Original Army of Bliss” and the names of every person who contributes will be permanently listed there (and on our 200th episode, you can look back with pride knowing you had unbelievable good taste and foresight!).
In addition, if you contributed more than $50.00, send us your photo and it will become a part of a collage on the page. You can email your photos to Swallow.Your.Bliss@gmail.com. We will need all photos by September 30th.
NEW ADD ON PERK!!! To commemorate all of us, the Original Army of Bliss, we have designed the limited edition one and only “Original Army of Bliss” crew t-shirt!
Get this limited edition t-shirt!
Just make an additional donation of $25.00 plus shipping. This is going to be a collector’s item. Seriously. ONLY original members will ever have access to this shirt! The clock is ticking and you don't want to miss out. When the campaign is over, there will never be another opportunity to get this shirt
*************************************BIG, BIG NEWS!!!*********************************
We have an offline donor who has committed an additional $25,000 when we reach our target of $75,000 here on Indiegogo!!! With that additional funding, we will be able to shoot the pilot over three days instead of two which will make for a MUCH stronger pilot episode and an even better opportunity for the series to find a permanent home. We are over the moon excited and grateful for this but we still have a long way to go to meet our target. There are just a few days left so please help us share the campaign with everyone you know and check out our brand new perks!
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What is this campaign for?
We want to create a pilot for a tantalizing food-centric sitcom (find more about that below). We have a script for the pilot and an outline for an entire television series, but we want to actually make the pilot to pitch it to TV networks. As you probably know, getting a show made is often hard and we feel a pilot will entice executives to take a look at our show and, hopefully, put it on the air! Plus, when we shoot the pilot with your help, we will have demonstrated crowd support and an audience that Swallow Your Bliss can build on.
Bliss Builds Buzz on Broadway!
We were up on the big leader board in Times Square on the first day of our campaign. Gotta love it!
Why not just pitch the show without a pilot?
We are independent filmmakers and we believe that by shooting the pilot ourselves, we will be able to maintain the wacky characters and the quirky humor that makes it special. No one has ever really done this before – raising money to actually make a pilot. But seriously, we always break the rules.
Who is involved?
The creative team includes award-winning filmmakers: Pattie Kelly, Phil Scarpaci and Brian Everingham and Denise Vivaldo, award winning chef and food stylist. The production team for Bliss was founded when our first recruits: Actor/Producer Christopher Rich (Murphy Brown/Reba/Boston Legal) Actor/Producer Lisa Long (Shameless) and respected Casting Director/Producer Ricki Maslar joined us when they fell in love with Bliss. After a very successful reading of Bliss featuring an all-star cast including Michael Dorn (Star Trek: The Next Generation/Castle), now slated to play Quentin, we knew the time was right to turn to you to help us raise the funds, shoot the pilot episode and bring the Bliss characters to life. And of course, our team includes you because we can’t do this without your help!
The Swallow Your Bliss Shot Glass!
What's the money for?
Our intent is to film the pilot over a VERY busy two day period (VERY busy) during the last two weeks of September, dates depending upon cast availability.
We will then edit madly and deliver the completed pilot mid October so that we can then present Swallow Your Bliss in all of its glory to our backers (that would be you, we hope!)…and the suits at the networks. Just about everyone on Bliss is working for free and we have called in every favor we can (yes, we begged…a lot!) to pull together the resources and talent that we need. But it still takes money to bring Bliss to life.
We need $75,000 to cover the expenses for cast, filming and post production. We are truly approaching this as an independent film and will be using all of our expertise, wisdom and sweat to bring as much production value to the screen as possible, bending the rules and breaking a few as we go along.
What are the rewards?
For helping us make Bliss possible, we want to reward you! Everyone who backs at the $10 (entry level) gets a digital copy of the pilot.
We feel it's important that you're as much a part of the experience as possible so there are other great rewards along the way including:
> Your photo in the background of our set.
> Naming a character after yourself or someone you love.
> Coming on set!
> Signed scripts.
And much more! (Check out all of the perks to the right!)
Check out our official Bliss mug! You will be sipping in Bliss every morning with your favorite beverage!
What's the show about?
Swallow Your Bliss is a comedy set in the world of a highly successful cooking show that pairs our two favorite things in life -- food and sex (don’t lie, they’re your favorites too). The action takes place both while the camera is rolling and especially when it’s not. The star chef, Amanda Bliss, a very desirable, thirty- eleven-ish (she refuses to use the term “forties”), strong willed, sarcastic and always the number one. Behind her back, she is referred to as the “Blisster”. As her producer, Martin puts it, “A mild irritation that develops into a constant pain until it bursts into a miasma of despair.”
In the pilot episode, doe eyed, fresh faced Sandy, a lowly new PA stumbles into the madness and by the end of the day winds up as the new producer of the show when Martin quits…again. Sandy gets flipped out of the saute pan and into the fire.
Charity!
As part of our fundraising efforts, we will be donating 5% of ALL funds raised through this campaign to the Los Angeles Mission (losangelesmission.org). This just happens to be Amanda's favorite charity and one that will be featured in the series.
"Providing help, hope and opportunity to men, women and children in need."
Blissfully Talented
CAST
![Amanda Bliss]()
AMANDA BLISS – Amanda’s identity will be revealed when we begin filming the pilot episode in September. But, suffice it to say the actress is terrific. You will know her, you will love her and you will want to be her. Or with her
CHRISTOPHER RICH – Martin / Producer, is most familiar to television viewers as news anchorman Miller Redfield on Murphy Brown, and as ex-husband Brock on Reba. he also had a recurring role on Boston Legal playing attorney Melvin Palmer. Born in Dallas, Texas, Christopher began performing in plays and studying theater at the University of Texas. He received his Master’s in Theater Arts from Cornell. In New York, he starred in The Bacchae as Dionysus on Broadway and then joined the cast of Another World, playing Alexander "Sandy" Cory for the next four years. After moving to LA, he had recurring roles on multiple television series and was also a series regular on The George Carlin Show. He starred in The Joy Luck Club, John Milius' Flight of the Intruder and the independent film Prisoners of Inertia. Christopher has appeared in numerous television movies, including Going Home (opposite Jason Robards in one of his last performances). He was a producer and played a villain in The Gambler IV, which marked his first project with Reba McEntire solidifying their enduring friendship. He currently plays Melissa Joan Hart’s dad on Melissa and Joey.
LISA LONG – Sybil / Producer - has appeared in numerous films, television shows, commercials, voice-overs and has voiced many animated series, video games and promos. Her credits include Modern Family, Shameless, Community, Christmas Mail, Yes Man and Mysterious Skin. She is also a veteran restauranteur. Her first restaurant, La Loggia in Studio City, quickly became a sought after destination for dining patrons in the Los Angeles Area. Currently she and Top Chef Fabio Viviani own Firenze Osteria in Universal City.
MICHAEL DORN - Quentin - First you hear the voice -- that unmistakably rich, deep baritone that shakes the rafters and shivers your timbers. Of course you know that voice. If you can't exactly attach a face, here it is: it’s Michael Dorn, one of the stars of Star Trek, the most successful syndicated drama franchise in the history of television. For eleven years on Star Trek: The Next Generation and then Deep Space Nine, he portrayed Lt. Commander Worf, the Klingon security chief of the U.S.S. Enterprise. For over a decade, he spent two hours every day in make-up and prosthetics to create the other-worldly and beloved Worf. On the big screen, Michael starred in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek VII: Generation, Star Trek VIII: First Contact, Star Trek IX: Insurrection and Star Trek X: Nemesis. He has the distinction of having done more hours of Star Trek than any other actor. Recent stints on Castle, the Family Guy and Heroes along with countless animated series and video games keep Michael very busy.
CAROLINE RICH SCHWARTZ – Claire (the former hot chick) who is currently dead (If you don't know what this means, check out the video and the $50 perk to vote her back in and resurrect her!) - is an actress, model and comedienne. She has found success in national commercials, hosting promotional segments for "The Daytime Emmys", and has performed stand-up at the Improv and The Laugh Factory. She has also worked extensively in television on such shows as Comedy Central’s Workaholics, Nickelodeon’s FRED: The Show, and Disney’s So Random. Her most recent feature films are In the Key of Eli and InAPPropriate Comedy.
The Team
PATTIE KELLY – Creator/Producer - is a veteran award-winning producer of independent feature films, Disney children’s programming and countless commercials. Originally from New Mexico, she has always been involved in the arts, equally comfortable behind the scenes as well as an accomplished musician and performer. Feature films include Welcome to September, Blue Bus and In the Key of Eli, all of which were multiple award winners domestically and internationally in various film festivals. Blue Bus is distributed by Echelon Studios and Welcome to September is distributed by York Entertainment. For Disney, she has produced two award winning series: Safety Smart Science with Bill Nye the Science Guy and Beyond the Page. In addition, she wrote the first three episodes of Beyond the Page. Pattie has a Bachelor’s degree in Film andTelevision Production from West Texas A&M and she is the CEO of Scarpaci/Kelly Productions, Inc.
PHIL SCARPACI – Creator/Director- started his directorial career directing plays at the Group Repertory Theatre in Los Angeles. Since then, he has directed countless award winning projects in a wide range of genres from independent feature films to Disney children’s programming to commercials to theater. Award winning feature films include A Doll in the Dark, Baja Run, Welcome to September, Blue Bus and In the Key of Eli. For over 20 years Phil has directed countless award winning projects for Disney including two series, Beyond the Page and Safety Smart Science with Bill Nye the Science Guy. Currently, he is directing episodes for a new television series, Rescue 3 (working title) from the creators of Baywatch, shooting on location in South Africa.
BRIAN EVERINGHAM – Creator/Writer - Brian started as a New York playwright, (Van Gogh on Prozac, Ceremony, Take Back the Night and The Sound of Many Waters (co-written with William MacDuff), then changed his name and moved to L.A. Two independent features (A Doll in the Dark and In the Key of Eli) and countless options and assignments later, Brian finally has found his home as a founding member of the Army of Bliss.
DENISE VIVALDO - Creator/Producer - has catered more than 10,000 parties and has cooked for such guests as Presidents Bush and Reagan, Prince Charles, Bette Midler, Cher and Silvester Stallone. She graduated Chef de Cuisine from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and then spent several years as a professor for UCLA’s Culinary Program and her alma mater.
She is an in demand food stylist for countless local and nationally syndicated television shows such as Ellen, The Tonight Show and Access Hollywood. She has catered the Academy Awards Governor’s Ball, Sunset Magazine’s Taste of Sunset, and many Hollywood wrap parties. Denise is also a best selling author and a contributing blogger for the Huffington Post and has been a featured guest on such entities as ABC Morning News and The Food Network.
RICKI MASLAR CSA – Casting Director/Producer - is a respected casting director, entertainment executive, and producer with over thirty years experience in the entertainment industry. Ricki has cast well over 100 films including Hansel and Gretel Get Baked, The Bronx Bull, Under the Bed, The Line and Dahmer. She is currently working with Michael Mendelsohn at Patriot Pictures and Arnold Rifkin at Cheyenne Productions casting several new projects. When Ricki is not casting or producing, she is mentoring up and coming talent through her workshops. Ricki has been recently honored with a third nomination for the Feature Film Casting Director of the Year by the Talent Manager’s Association.
GEORGE REASNER – Director of Photography - is an award-winning cinematographer with 20 years of film production experience. He shot and produced the documentaries Liquid Vinyl and the recently completed Dumbstruck. He was Cinematographer on documentaries At Last: The Terry Fator Story, Q: The Man (The Lives of Quincy Jones), Oakdale Mills: Close Knit Neighbors, and Martha in Lattimore. Recent narrative features include The 12 Wishes of Christmas, Halloween Dog, Permanent Vacation and Bare Knuckles. George received his M.F.A. from the Florida State University Film & TV Conservatory, and a B.A. in Communications from Wake Forest.
TOM SHELL– Line Producer - Bringing forth a strong mix of creative and hands-on production skills, Tom has overseen dozens of feature film and television projects. He just produced Zombie Hamlet, a wild comedy which world premiered at the Palm Beach Film Festival. He produced, co-wrote and directed Special Ops, an action-adventure about a Marine hunted and on the run throughout Southeast Asia. Special Ops won two awards and was nominated for nine at the Action-On Film Festival. Within the past few years he has UPM’d Crimes of the Mind, Deadly Sibling Rivalry and Next Stop Murder. for Lifetime, as well as Meddling Mom and Naughty or Nice for Hallmark. He has also produced multiple webisode seasons for The Ghost Whisperer on CBS which secured a T.V. Guide award for best dramatic webisode series. Additionally, he produced the Warner Brothers kid show The JammX Kids, alongside the legendary studio head Merv Adelson, as well as dozens of episodes of the original reality show America’s Most Wanted. Tom is an active member of the Producers Guild and Directors Guild of America.