What's this Movie About?
Bell Canyon is a music-filled film that
follows Avery Jenkins, a 35-year-old singer/songwriter living in L.A.,
as he struggles to come to terms with his lack of commercial success.
His bitterness leads to a breakup with his fiancé, Rebecca, who is
beginning to find success in her own career.
As Avery surfs the
couches of Los Angeles, he must face up to his own demons -- no matter
how much he'd like to avoid them. He must confront the concern and
criticism of family members who ask how his music career is going. In a city that values youth over longevity, he also must deal with a constant influx of dismissive younger
musicians who are certain that they will be the next big thing. Will Mistress Music continue to sustain
him throughout this journey? Or has she left him forever?
As he
navigates the terrain of strained relationships and a search for love –
including feelings for his married coworker, Madison – Avery is forced
to examine his heart and ask himself: How do you learn to believe in
yourself when the rest of the world doesn't seem to?
What We Need (& What's In It for You!)
BOWFINGER: You’re looking at enough to get us started…
$2,184.
DAVE: But movies cost millions of dollars to make.
BOWFINGER: That’s after gross net deduction profit
percentage deferment ten percent of the nut. Cash, every movie costs $2,184.
We are working with a small budget provided by one investor and one generous "angel" donor. An ambitious attempt to raise supplemental funds on Kickstarter turned out to be... well, a bit too ambitious. But we regrouped and resized the scale of the shoot to work with what we had.
Cast pay is being deferred according to a standard SAG contract, and crew are being offered only a stipend of $200 for the entire 4-week shoot. Happily, our dedicated, talented cast and crew have agreed to work with these conditions! We're making this movie the way we made our last feature film, 8 music videos, 3 short films, and a web series: with good organization, faith, and elbow grease.
The additional Indiegogo funds will be used as follows:
- $900: Contingency
- $1000: Extra $100 to each of our crew members
- $600: Pay Director of Photography
- $500: Pay stipends for production assistants
- $4000: Editorial (12 weeks)
- $500: Festival submissions
These amounts will be adjusted, according to our best judgment, depending on the total amount we raise here.
We've kept the perks simple, figuring that the main things people want when contributing to a music-and-movies project are... Music and movies! :D
The Impact
Los Angeles boasts a thriving indie music scene comprised of talented
bands and singer/songwriters. Any of them may one day “hit it big” --
or may find that their only reward is the joy they get from the music
they make.
Our movie will shed a light on a few of these talented
yet-unknowns, because we are casting real-life L.A. musicians to play
their original music in the film. As a backer, you'll have a hand in
helping their music be
discovered by a wider audience!
Another cool thing is that this movie is being written, directed, and produced by women.
With only 7% of directors in Hollywood being female, this project is
part of a movement toward greater gender equality in the industry.
Risks & Challenges
We learned a number of valuable lessons while making our first
feature in 2014 that we will apply to this project. Financially, we
learned that it's better to ask for what you need all the way through
the end of the project than to raise money in stages. We have carefully
budgeted our 17 day shoot based on the money we know we have. The more money we raise, the more breathing room we have for unexpected expenses -- which always arise on a film shoot, in a "WE NEED THIS YESTERDAY!" sort of way.
Another lesson we learned on our last film is that you work with what
you have, and that there's always a creative solution no matter how
daunting the problem. Our core creative team has worked together on
dozens of projects, and with every project we've added talented,
hard-working people who love the art of film as much as we do. With that
kind of passion and know-how on our side, we cannot fail!
Other Ways You Can Help
Use the share tools at top right to post our campaign on Facebook or Twitter, send via email, or share it the old-fashioned way... just talk to people about it! If you know someone who loves music, movies, or discovering new talent, send our campaign their way!
Music featured in the video:
- "Music", by Zach Laliberte, from his album Hello Ocean.
- "Blame L.A.," performed by Debbie Goodman. Video directed & edited by Lysandra Petersson.
- "Blinded Steer," by Stage 11. Video directed by William F. Reed & edited by Lysandra Petersson.
- "Tread Lightly," by Kristin Larkin, from the original soundtrack to Bobbi & Gill
