We will still fulfill ALL perks for PayPal donations (as long as you make sure to fill in the necessary info)!
(If you're wanting an Associate Producer credit, contact Kennedy at BaruchFilms@gmail.com to make sure the last two spots aren't taken!)
“…Escape? Never heard of it. What’s THIS movie about?”
Princess in Another
Castle is a feature film, set in 1996, about a lonely eight year old girl,
Danni, whose grades continue to slip as she copes with life in a broken home by
escaping into her video games. Things start to change for Danni, however, with
the arrival of a new school counselor.
Will they change for the better, or for the worse? You’ll have to watch and
see, once the full film is available online in 2015!
“So… It’s NOT a fan film?”
Conventionally speaking, neither Princess in Another Castle nor ESCAPE is a "fan film," as neither is a live-action adaptation of any other story. The story, for both films, is more of a very personal tale that's focused on an honest depiction of life (as an
introverted youth) in a broken home, in which escapism-by-video games is the saving grace.
You don't have to enjoy fan films (or even video games) to enjoy Princess in Another Castle, but if you do enjoy fan films, we can almost guarantee you'll enjoy what we have in store. It's going to put the Zelda bits in ESCAPE to shame. Speaking of...
“Please say there's more Zelda. I just want more Zelda.”
Yes, there will be more Zelda, but it won’t be that
live-action Power Rangers-style from the short film. This time around, Danni has fantasy
sequences inspired by multiple games, all of which will be
gloriously colorful, stylized, hand-drawn animations.
And the more help we receive from you, the better those animations will be!
“Hrm. How are you going to get away with using these properties
owned by other companies?”
Currently we are not creating this film for sale or commercial distribution, but as a project I intend to share for free (assuming it is not picked up for wide distribution). All of of our references to real games and products will fall under the fair use laws, and of course if the nature of the project evolves we will go through the proper steps to get any legal rights necessary to release the film.
“Oh, sweet! So who are some of the people makin’ this
thing?”
Kennedy J. Baruch (WRITER/DIRECTOR) is an award-winning
filmmaker and animator. He has written and directed a wide range and large
number of projects while attending The University of Texas, and is now starting
to build an online audience for his work. His student short film, ESCAPE, received
a great deal of online acclaim, garnered over 100,000 views on YouTube, and set
the ball rolling for his most ambitious, personal, and passion-driven project
to date!
Check out Kennedy's IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW, with Nintendo Life, for more!
And check out Kennedy's FIRST ONLINE INTERVIEW, with CNET Australia, for even more!
Geoff Marslett (SPECIAL ADVISOR) is an award-winning filmmaker
and animator who has written and directed two feature length films, Mars (2010) and Loves Her Gun (2014), both of which premiered at the SXSW Film
Festival before touring festivals worldwide. Geoff is one of the most
successful writer-directors based in Austin, and his knowledge of the craft has
already helped mold Princess in Another
Castle into a project much more sophisticated than its source material, ESCAPE.
This marks the third feature-length project for Jon Cox (DIRECTOR OF
PHOTOGRAPHY), an immensely talented filmmaker who shot his first feature film way
back in high school – it was called Bindlestiffs
(2012), and it won the Audience Award for Feature Narrative at the 2012
Slamdance Film Festival. Jon’s incredible knowledge of the technical side of
filmmaking has really taken Princess in
Another Castle to the next level (no pun intended).
Bryce Biffle (ORIGINAL SCORE) is an active film composer, having scored independent films that have appeared at film festivals in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and other venues. He has composed original music for Kennedy's short films for nearly seven years, and his pieces "Solace from Escape" and "Danni's Theme" can be heard in the final minutes of ESCAPE.
Check out some of Bryce's film scores here!
“Okay, so you got some people making it, but who’s in
it?”
Our two main actors are pitch perfect for their roles! The downside to casting any kids, however, is that they're going to look significantly older before too long, which is why we need to hurry to wrap production!
This is our leading lady, McKoy Musser! She's playing Danni, and has done an absolutely beautiful job so far. If you thought the performance in ESCAPE was tear-jerking, you ain't seen NOTHIN' yet.
Despite her age, she is probably the most talented and professional actor Kennedy has worked with yet.
This is our supporting lady, Ilie Sturhan! She's playing Milana, Danni's new friend, and has given amazing performances so far. She's done what every exceptional supporting actor does: she steals every freakin' scene she's in.
After we reach our first goal, we'll share the casting choices for Danni's parents, Pete and Malerie!
"Cool! Original story, talented cast and crew, passionate writer-director, halfway through production, VIDJYUH GAMES... what's the problem?"
Well, as you probably know, making movies can cost a bit of money (and, apparently, when you decide to do a period piece starring children, it costs even more).
With your help, if we reach our goal of $10,000 or more, we'll be able to finish the current production by:
- Renting our last two shooting locations
- Completing the 1996 production design for Danni's house
- Feeding our hard working cast & crew (especially the kids)
- Having a professional sound mix
- Paying festival fees, and sending Princess in Another Castle off to play in festivals (and theaters) around the world
For every goal we reach, we'll release A ROUGH SCENE FROM THE FILM TO ALL OF OUR BACKERS!
AND, if we reach our stretch goal of $25,000 or more, we'll be able to:
- Hire professional animators to increase the quality of animation AND dramatically speed up the film's release
- Add more rewards for backers
- Have a professional color correction
- Hire a small ensemble of live musicians to record the original score
If we manage to raise even more than that, the funds will continue to go toward increasing the quality of post-production, sending the film to play at as many festivals and theaters as possible, and promotions.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
Everyone is loving how the film is turning out, but we've had to make many compromises throughout production, which is the result of having such a small budget.
So we think it's really great, but we don't think it's perfect.
If you help us reach our stretch goal of $90,000, we'll be able to start the production from scratch, and make the best film we can possibly make.
We can stay 100% true to the original vision, without making any compromises, AND:
- Shoot with higher quality camera and lighting equipment
- Record on-set sound with higher quality sound equipment
- Overhaul 1996 production design in previously-shot scenes
- Hire enough children extras to fill a cafeteria, and shoot the cafeteria scene
- Pay all of our very hardworking actors
- Send Princess in Another Castle stickers to everyone who donates $25 or more
- Send Princess in Another Castle T-shirts to everyone who donates $100 or more
- And even more!
So please join us! We've got a full team, a solid halfway-finished film, vidjyuh gamez... all we need now is YOU!
And even if you aren't able to contribute, you can still help us by getting the word out! Just give those Indiegogo share tools a quick click!
And if you've read all the way down to this point, congratulations, you and Kennedy are now BFF.