Who I am and what this is
Last Rung on the Ladder
Written by Max Blaska and Karla S. Bryant. Adapted from the Stephen King short story.
My name is Max Blaska and I have been a storyteller all my life. But this story is the one closest to my heart. At a young age, my aunt Betty introduced me to Stephen King. She showed me “Maximum Overdrive” and “Children of the Corn" and even though I was probably a bit too young, gave me my first Stephen King novel “The Dark Half” for Christmas. My Aunt, much like myself, also struggled with severe mental illness . She was a fierce fighter for the rights of those who were struggling with mental illness. This film will be dedicated in her name.
While I enjoy most of King’s novels, “It” and “Insomnia” have made a lasting impact on me. It was surreal to visit his home in Bangor, Maine with SK Tours, seeing all the inspirations he drew from inspired me and a conversation with James Tinker who runs SKTours convinced me to purchase the rights to one of King’s short stories for one dollar. No you didn't read that wrong-- it was only one dollar. Stephen King has a unique program set up called "The Dollar Baby Program" where you can purchase the rights to a story with the intent of adapting it into a short film. The contract states that the rights are good for one year, and the resulting film must be 45 minutes or under, plus the film must be non-profit, non-broadcast - which means the film cannot be sold, but it can be shown at non profit film festivals and in private screenings that you will get an invite to.
That means the only way you are guaranteed to see this film is to contribute to this campaign and get a private live stream link sent to you when the film is finished.
Last Rung on the Ladder builds on the core of Stephen King’s short story and also tells a story about the stigmas that can separate and tear us apart.
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Max Blaska doing a little writing at the Thomas Hill Standpipe where Stephen King did some of his writing of IT
What We Need & What You Get
Our goal is to have a short film that is worthy of the short story that this film is adapted from. we have a great crew Jeff Blankenship will direct and Josh Hughes will produce.Jeff Blankenship is known for the short films “Full Circle” and “Freud”. “Full Circle won “Founder’s Choice” at the Wildwood film festival and was a high ranking film at Julien-Dubuque FF. Josh Hughes has a film debuting this year at the Milwaukee film Festival this year and another one showing at the Vanilla Palm film festival.
Everybody can participate and be a part of Last Rung of the Ladder in some way. For your contributions, we offer various perks levels to choose from. Always want to be a producer or an Associate Producer in a film? We have a spot for you. Please check them out!
We will work very hard to get our campaign out there and hope to reach our goal on Indiegogo for Last Rung on the Ladder. Should we not meet our goal, the funds raised on Indiegogo will go toward, firstly, Securing the locations, getting the talent and the remainder will go toward the rest of our cast and crew.
Risks & Challenges
As pretty much everything is in place. the only obstacle or big hurdle We have to overcome is getting enough funding for Last Rung on the Ladder. For a film that will be watched by Stephen King, we want it to be worthy of him.
Other Ways You Can Help
We need as much help as we can get. If donation is not an option, another way to help is spreading the word about Last Rung On the Ladder on social media pages. You would be helping us big time by doing that. It's quick and simple using Indiegogo share tools. We would really appreciate it!
