WHAT IS HIGHER POWERS?
HIGHER POWERS is a MOVIE about a small-town police department invaded by a dangerous & power-hungry supernatural force. This sci-fi/horror tale of corruption & intrigue may have troubling ramifications for the world around us, when the audience keeps seeing the movie’s monster long after they’ve left the theater....
HERE’S THE PLAN
I’m gonna make a movie.
How the hell do you make a movie?? Where do you begin???
You begin with a few different steps that all happen at once. These steps include raising financing, finding and hiring cast & crew, and organizing the film production as a legal entity.
These steps affect each other in ways that can add up to a bit of a headache: financing requires organizing legally, but organizing legally costs money! Hiring dozens of people for weeks of work is another thing that costs money -- and yet attaching talented and professional cast & crew can prove essential to raising the money with which to pay them!!
How the heck do you intend to overcome this web of contradictions, Shane?!?!
Well -- first of all, I’m getting this script in front of as many eyes as I can -- in the hope that we can attract & attach some real freakin’ actors as well as our essential production crew before the money even shows up.
But you’re reading this pitch because I’m taking from the Coen Brothers what they took from Sam Raimi. The tool that persuaded financiers to help give us THE EVIL DEAD and BLOOD SIMPLE is a rather obvious one -- the TEASER.
THE TEASER
HIGHER POWERS' story begins quickly. An invisible force descends from the sky, and in a gust of wind raises a teenager from the dead. THE BOY walks into the kitchen of ALISHA GREENE, bringing that force with him. He calls her mom, and gives her a hug. He touches her skin. Another gust of wind blows thru the home. He drops dead at her feet, with a hole in his bare chest. Alisha remains calm, and calls THE POLICE.
CUT TO -- police lights, and our title - “Higher Powers”.
That’s the opening to the movie, and that’s the teaser I’d like to produce - with cast & crew that may well carry over to the feature! This story is about the boy, Ms. Greene, and the police that answer her call. What do you suppose happens once those guys show up?
The film’s cast & scope expand as the invisible force passes from one person to another, including our protagonist - DETECTIVE JACK PETERS, a guy who considers himself a cool cop -- in fact, “NOT a cop... a DETECTIVE!” But while attempting to stop something even bigger than he may imagine, Jack will learn the risks of aligning oneself with such great power.
WHY HIGHER POWERS?
Of the dozen screenplays I’ve begun over the last 8 years, and the half of those that I’ve finished... this is the first I never tired of. I never gave up on this one because it began as an idea that excited me, and I worked hard for 2 years until the script lived up to that idea for me. Though some thematic resonance may have developed along the way, I want to make this movie today for the same reason I wanted to write it in the first place: because I love the movies that make me love movies.
I’m talking about the ones that make you feel so many things. The ones that have room for fun AND terror AND sorrow AND joy... the ones that make you see the world in a new way... and those that make you see the medium in a new way. With laughs, thrills, and something to say about the world we live in... I believe this has the potential to be one of those movies.
WHAT WE NEED
To begin on the journey toward finding out if I’m right, we’re not asking for all that much. Let me break down the Devil’s number for ya:
$250
to pay our CAST
(Alisha & the Boy)
$150
for PROPS
(including costumes, blood & guts)
$100
for EQUIPMENT RENTAL
(gusts of wind don’t grow on trees...)
$112
to keep folks FED & HYDRATED
(basic human necessity, imo)
$54
to cover INDIEGOGO & CREDIT CARD FEES
(yeah, that’s right, I’m smart enough to budget for these!! YEah!!!)
= $666
Now, if we don’t make that goal, I’ll just be spending a little more of my own money to make this happen. If we somehow exceed it, all funds will go towards bringing this movie to life. Either way, I’m gonna make this thing and I’m excited for people to see it!
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to consider giving money to people who need it more than I do.
Shane Vader
writer / director / internet begger