The Story.
FAIR HAVEN is a dramedy following the story of Billy Gregor (Bobby McGruther), a once fame-driven teen now turned successful musician, who quits his band to attend his father’s funeral back in his hometown of Fair Haven, New Jersey. While at home, Billy is forced to decide between his old life of fame and a second chance with his friends and family, all while stumbling into a rekindled relationship with his ex-girlfriend.
Our Goal.
This film is scheduled to shoot the first two weeks of December, and our goal is to raise the base-level needed to cover production costs (aka location fees, paying our crew, and feeding our actors) with reach goals to cover post-production and film festival fees.
Production - $5K - $10K
Post Production - $2K - $4K
Film Festival Fees - $1K
Who We Are.
Sam and Bobby are a duo of story-tellers who ran into each other once on set, became roommates, and now talk pretty much exclusively about tv shows and movies. Their stories aim to make people laugh while digging into deeper tones of family and friendship. This will be their third feature film they’ve worked on together. Read more about them and the rest of the creative team below!
The Director:
Name: Samantha Nolte
Alias: Sword Girl
Samantha is a dorky red-head with a knack for writing music in her head and love for storytelling. She began her creative career in 2012 when she co-wrote a renaissance festival stage act called “Sirena”. Seven years later, the show is still touring and has performed at festivals around the country. In 2015, Sirena took a year-long hiatus and Sam took the opportunity to move to New York City and attend theatre school. It was there that she discovered a love for story-telling through film. After graduating, she auditioned for a film that screenwriter Bobby McGruther was assisting on, and Sam and Bobby went on to work on two more independent feature films together (picking up several other members of our creative team simultaneously). Samantha has directed a number of short films, co-directed two Sirena music videos, and looks forward to directing her first feature-length film.
![]()
![]()
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw5ENCQeMHg
The Screenwriter/Actor:
Name: Bobby McGruther
Alias: Booble McGrooble
Bobby is a filmmaker and musician who you may recognize as the guy who played the main character’s best friend in that thing you saw that one time (but probably not.) He began as a vocalist for a metal band, putting out a few albums with various bands throughout his 20’s. He eventually got a degree in literature and screenplay writing, and one day decided he should maybe put that nifty thing to use. He wrote his first feature in 2017 and has been working on film sets, both his own and others’, ever since. This will be his third feature film.
![]()
![]()
The Producer/Actress:
Name: Amandalyn McLellan
Alias: Amadala MCanalan
Amandalyn McLellan is a filmmaker and an actress on both stage and screen, originally from a small coastal town in Massachusetts. She began acting at the age of eight and continued to passionately pursue it eventually landing her in NYC. She is a recent graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts and has attended both The Stella Adler Studio of Acting and Stonestreet Film Studios. Her spellbinding presence is easily felt and not soon forgotten. Amandalyn has appeared with Bobby McGruther & Samantha Nolte in one feature (due out 2020) in addition to appearing with Bobby in a short segment of a horror anthology series due out this halloween.
![]()
The Director of Photography:
Name: Jon Reino
Alias: Camera Magic Man
Jon Reino is director of photography from New Jersey. He studied filmmaking at Montclair State University and has been playing around with cameras for about 15 years. He met Bobby when photographing his band at a venue in North Jersey and was later hired to shoot Bobby’s first feature One More Thing, where he met Samantha Nolte. Like Bobby, film and music have always existed separately for Jon, his film friends don't know he photograph concerts and my concert friends don't know that he’s a cinematographer. Jon loves making music videos, but as a DP his role in the film is pretty much strictly visual. He is very excited to be able to blend those worlds together for Fair Haven.
![]()
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifhEiS4WMUI&...
The Producer/Key Grip
Name: Chris Van Houten
Alias: Chuck "Cheese" Deptula
Chris Van Houten is a filmmaker from Hudson Valley, NY. He met Bobby and Samantha when working in the lighting department on the feature film One More Thing. Since then he and Bobby have worked on the production side of things on multiple film sets with name actors.
![]()
Other Ways You Can Help
So, you can't contribute? That’s ok. You can still help by sharing this campaign on social media, emailing, or messaging your friends who may be interested in what we’re doing.
If you’ve read this far, thank you!
You’re great!
We’ll see you at the movies
Best Wishes,
Sam & Bobby
