THE WALKING FOOL is a feature-length documentary which follows the comical adventures of Mark Phillips, a graphic designer and avid couch potato, who gives up his job, his apartment, and his savings to try to walk from New York to California. The only problem is: Mark is out-of-shape, inexperienced at hiking and camping, and is doing it all alone.

The New York Times recently highlighted Mark's rocky beginning.
You can read the article:  NY Times – Your Travel Misadventures

VIEW THE TRAILER:

This film is over ten years in the making, covering all of Mark's hilarious attempts to walk from one ocean to the other. We are currently preparing all the footage from Mark's treks so we can edit it down to a 90-minute feature documentary. We are also in the process of conducting interviews with other people who have successfully walked across America, investigating what it is that compels this small clan of folks to take on this crazy, massive journey.

The film will explore the idea of seeking escape/adventure and about never giving up on one's dreams. But the film will always stay light and keep its sense of humor. Essentially, "The Walking Fool" is a documentary that is both a comedy and an adventure.

Whether you have a passion for adventure, or simply enjoy watching an out-of-shape fool walk for thousands of miles, we want you to be part of this
fun and incredible project. Up to now this movie has been 100% self-funded.
This has covered the filming/traveling costs of all of Mark's walks across the country, on-camera interviews, and the purchase of film and computer equipment. Now we need your help. Fortunately, you don't have to do any walking to be
a part of "The Walking Fool" community.

We’re asking for a minimum of $20,000 (USD) which will go towards the completion of this feature-length documentary and get it in front of audiences. Your contributions will help cover post-production costs (editing, music, color correction, graphics), licensing, additional interviews and legal fees. As you can see from the chart below, the $20,000 will only cover a portion of our costs. So if we are able to actually exceed our goal, it will still be an incredible help, and all the money raised will go into the making of this film.

We are set up for Flex Funding, so even if we don't reach our goal, we'll still receive the money raised, which means every dollar you can contribute will help get this sucker done. But the bottom line is, the success of this campaign will determine how amazing "the Walking Fool" documentary will become.

As a thank you, we've got some great, fun perks, many of which can be personalized just for you. Some of the things we're offering:

Plus, we will be having special offerings throughout the campaign, so make sure to stay connected and keep your eye open for our ongoing updates!

We are so lucky to have assembled such a great group of people to work on this film. And with your contribution, you can become a part of this incredible team and help make this documentary the best that it can be! So, who are you potentially joining forces with? Here are few key folks from our "Walking Fool" team:

Mark has spent most of his adult life working in NYC in the graphic design world, but always had a hankering to entertain. At one point he figured walking aimlessly across America was solid gold entertainment! As he's often said, "I'm walking across the country, so you don't have to."

Since returning from his latest attempt across America, Mark has focused on working as an actor/comedian. He has appeared on stage with Janeane Garofalo, starred in several independent films, and recently had a role on the TV series,
"The Knick," directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Clive Owen.

This is his first feature-film.

John is a former attorney who has recently become involved in the film industry. Lately he has been focusing on non-fiction storytelling, helping produce the documentary, "The Shawshank Refection" (about the 20th anniversary of
"The Shawshank Redemption") and serving as Associate Producer for the feature documentary, "Letters from Generation Rx," directed by Kevin P. Miller.

John and Mark first met in college, both working at their school's radio station. They reconnected twenty years later to collaborate on "The Walking Fool."

Jacqueline is a New York-based filmmaker and freelance television producer. Between 1997 and 2001, she worked for PBS's premiere non-fiction film showcase, P.O.V./The American Documentary. From 2009 to 2012 she served as Series Producer for "In the Life" on public television which garnered awards from NLGJA, GLAAD, and Webbys. Jacqueline has also worked on television specials and documentaries for the History Channel, Food Network, and USA Networks. 

Jacqueline's upcoming feature-length documentary, "FREE CeCe," examines the culture of violence experienced by trans women of color, as told from the voices of Laverne Cox and CeCe McDonald.

Andrew is an acclaimed photographer whose portraits of cultural luminaries such as President Bill Clinton, Jerry Seinfeld, Tilda Swinton, Alec Baldwin, and many others have been featured in several publications such as Newsweek, GQ, Wired, New York Magazine, Esquire and Maxim. His recent portrait of Jimmy Fallon was featured on the cover of Billboard Magazine.

Andrew also shot and directed a short documentary entitled, "Football Tykes," which was produced for People magazine's website.

Karen is a writer/actor/director from the New York area. She co-wrote the romantic comedy, "Falling for Grace," and is preparing her directorial debut for a feature-film.

Karen and Mark first met in 2003 working on a low-budget feature and have since been collaborators on several different projects over the years.

So now you've heard a little about what the film's about and who's already involved. Whether or not you can support this project financially, we still hope you will get involved as well.

Help us get the word out! Follow us on Twitter, visit our website, and share this page with your friends and family. Check out our gallery too, for more photos & videos that you can share in the webosphere.

Another thing you can do is simply go for a walk when you normally would take the car. Even though this documentary is fun and sometimes even silly, one of our greatest hopes is to see more people become "walking fools" themselves.

We appreciate you and couldn't do this without you. Thanks!