This movie is our first adaptation, based on the acclaimed young adult novel by Jay Bell, which is itself something of a phenomenon. Independently published, the book resonated with readers all over the world, who spread the word to others, turning it into a full-fledged social media sensation.
And that's what we aim to produce — with your support. This is our most ambitious film yet, and we want to offer you a chance to contribute to its success. We've started out by casting actors whose talent blew us away in auditions. Ben Baur and Ajiona Alexus join Austin McKenzie in three of the film's four lead roles.
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THE NOVEL “Something Like Summer,” has gained wide acclaim for its author, Jay Bell, winner of the 2013 Lambda Literary Award. Readers demanded (and got!) a series of four sequels.
THE STORY Something Like Summer tells the story of the relationship of Ben Bentley (Austin McKenzie) and Tim Wyman (Davi Santos) over the course of a dozen years, starting when they get together in high school, go their separate ways, then try for a second chance, only to face the worst kind of failure. The novel won widespread praise from readers on Amazon.com (4.6 stars out of 5), Apple’s iBookstore (4.5 stars) and Goodreads (4.2 stars). Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr — all have proven themselves as platforms for readers of all ages, genders and backgrounds to share their heartbreak, joy, nostalgia and inspiration from this story of true love discovered, sundered, rediscovered, torn apart and delicately re-knit.
Where You Come In...
As it is for so many other independent filmmakers, crowdfunding makes up an important part of the financing mix for our projects. It proves to potential investors and distributors that there's an audience for the stories we need to tell.
MUSIC With seven musical numbers, we face big hurdles in:
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Acquiring song licenses and commissioning original music.
- Hiring a musical director and professional musicians.
- Recording and mixing all the songs.
All this needs to happen before we even shoot the movie. We essentially have to produce a record album before we can make a feature film.
ART In addition, art plays an important part in Something Like Summer. We're commissioning a large number of paintings that will appear in the movie as the work of one of the lead characters, Tim Wyman.
PRODUCTION COSTS The rest are standard film costs: cast, crew, lights, costumes, makeup, special effects, food and finishing funds to enable us to deliver the film to distributors in multiple formats — and they haven't gotten any cheaper since we made our first feature in 2011.
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PERKS Though we're asking for your support, we also have a lot to offer you as perks for becoming a part of our project — DVDs, digital downloads, posters, props, the Ultimate Fan Pack™ and lots of unique incentives. Check them out! And come back often; we'll be adding new perks throughout the campaign.
PRIORITIES Since we've chosen Indiegogo's "flexible funding" option, we'll be able to prioritize how we plan to spend the funds raised if we don't meet our goal. The music production is a central part of this story, and that's where we'll target your support. The next priority is post-production, including visual effects and the costs to prepare the film for multiple distribution formats. Make no mistake, every dollar you contribute will show up in production value on the screen. We want you to be proud you're a part of this movie.
Your Impact
Little films like ours don't have to look little. We pushed Judas Kiss and The Dark Place well past the place other comparably budgeted features go. Like those two features, we've raised a lot of the money for Something Like Summer on our own, but we're seeking support on Indiegogo to make the musical and artistic aspects the best they can be, and to bring this important story to the screen as quickly as possible.
“This is the right creative team for this movie. Ben, Tim and Jace are in very safe hands, and I can’t wait to see them on the big screen.”
Jay Bell, Author
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Certainly, the story’s themes of bullying, betrayal and “it gets better” tap into the memories and current experiences of a broad and diverse audience, and are a large part of the reason we want to turn it into a film. Yet in a time of growing equality for LGBT adults, it’s still very difficult for young people to come out. Many more are coming out earlier than ever only to be bullied at school, and too often thrown out by their parents. Something Like Summer inspires us to face the fear, be proud of who we are, and claim the love we all deserve.
We want to join with national LGBT advocacy organizations to especially bring attention to the challenges young gay people continue to face, and your support will help with that campaign, too.
Risks & Challenges
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Producing a feature film is a huge and expensive logistical challenge. It's especially demanding if you're doing it on a small budget. There are a lot of things that can go wrong — personnel problems, bad weather, unexpected costs. Also, on this project we have the expanded challenges posed by the music production and art commissions.
However, we do have two feature films under our belts, as well as dozens of award-winning web series episodes and short films. We've learned how to carefully plan our productions and make the best use of every dollar we raise. Our best hedge against risk is our experience as resourceful producers. Our best asset is our willingness to take risks.
Other Ways You Can Help
Thanks for considering supporting our project. While we appreciate every dollar you're able to contribute, there's lots of ways to back Something Like Summer that don't have to take a bite out of your wallet.
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TELL other people! Make some noise about our campaign. Use the Indiegogo share tools to let them know — tweet, Facebook and Tumbl for us! Pressing the ‘Like’ button is awesome, but using the ‘Share’ button makes you a superhero.
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MULTIPLY your contribution by participating in our referral contest (here's how). The more of your friends who contribute, the greater the rewards we can offer you for your assistance.
Thank you, and see you at the movies!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q. What happened to the perk I was interested in? It disappeared!
A. We’re adding some new perks in these last two weeks of the campaign, so we had to move others off the list. If you still want a perk that is no longer on the list, just contact us and we’ll do our best to make it happen. Also, if you have ideas for new perks, send us a comment, public or private :)
Q. I want to increase my contribution to qualify for a higher perk, but Indiegogo won't let me change the amount. How do I do it?
A. You want to contribute more? Here's the workaround:
- Click the 'Contribute Now' button.
- Select the additional amount you want to contribute.
- Send us a message explaining which higher perk you want to be bumped up to.
For Example...
Let's say you contributed $50 for an autographed DVD, but now you'd like to become an Indiegogo Producer (a $250 perk). Just do another contribution — this time for $200 — and we'll make it happen.
After you make your additional contribution, just message us to let us know you gave twice (or thrice!) and you'd like to be bumped to the appropriate perk. As in the example above $50+$200 = $250 for the Indiegogo Producer perk.
Thanks and Happy Sharing!
PERKS Though we're asking for your support, we also have a lot to offer you as perks for becoming a part of our project — DVDs, digital downloads, posters, props, the Ultimate Fan Pack™ and lots of unique incentives. Check them out! And come back often; we'll be adding new perks throughout the campaign.
Producing a feature film is a huge and expensive logistical challenge. It's especially demanding if you're doing it on a small budget. There are a lot of things that can go wrong — personnel problems, bad weather, unexpected costs. Also, on this project we have the expanded challenges posed by the music production and art commissions.
