Why a documentary on the California Golden Seals?
I decided to make this film because I grew up in the San Francisco/Bay Area and went to many Seals games during their nine seasons in Oakland. I later became a documentary producer and always thought their wild and bizarre story needed to be told.
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What's done?
I shot this film on a bare-bones budget - traveling across Canada and the U.S. with my camera to interview more than 30 former players, team officials, journalists, and fans. Even Wayne Gretzky agreed to sit down.
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The first fundraising campaign fell short but it was enough to license numerous photos as well as nearly five minutes of rare news film featuring the Seals which hasn't been seen since the 1960s and 70s. That campaign raised a lot of awareness and many people stepped forward to send their personal photos, home movies, and mementos.
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Sports Illustrated, The Hockey News, and Yahoo's Puck Daddy have all done stories about the film.
The documentary has been edited and runs 96 minutes. The NHL has given their approval on the script and content.
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What we need & what you get
Two expenses remain:
1. The licensing fee that the NHL charges to show broadcast game footage.
2. The final post-production expenses. (The services of professional finishing editor to do the audio mix, color correction, and on-line polish editing)
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The Perks
We have a dazzling array of Seals perks to offer: Shirts, jerseys, caps, pennants, pucks, programs, hockey set figures, copies of the film, etc. Contributors will also receive a shout-out on the California Seals documentary Facebook page.
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The building excitement of 2017
2017 marks two major milestones in hockey: The Centennial of the NHL as well as the 50th anniversary the league's Great Expansion when the Seals played their first game.
Now is the perfect time to tell the little-known and unbelievable history of a hockey team that fought incredible obstacles, endured unending ridicule, but still managed the occasional shocking upset and left a lasting legacy to the sport. WIth your help, this film will be completed in just a few weeks.
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