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WILD About Chicago is Now Ben Hollis's WILD Life City Safari

Tune in to Cable 25 in Chicago, Sunday at 10pm. Or catch the latest episode online: https://vimeo.com/103255117

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WILD About Chicago is Now Ben Hollis's WILD Life City Safari

WILD About Chicago is Now Ben Hollis's WILD Life City Safari

WILD About Chicago is Now Ben Hollis's WILD Life City Safari

WILD About Chicago is Now Ben Hollis's WILD Life City Safari

WILD About Chicago is Now Ben Hollis's WILD Life City Safari

Tune in to Cable 25 in Chicago, Sunday at 10pm. Or catch the latest episode online: https://vimeo.com/103255117

Tune in to Cable 25 in Chicago, Sunday at 10pm. Or catch the latest episode online: https://vimeo.com/103255117

Tune in to Cable 25 in Chicago, Sunday at 10pm. Or catch the latest episode online: https://vimeo.com/103255117

Tune in to Cable 25 in Chicago, Sunday at 10pm. Or catch the latest episode online: https://vimeo.com/103255117

Ben Hollis, The W.I.L.D. Guy
Ben Hollis, The W.I.L.D. Guy
Ben Hollis, The W.I.L.D. Guy
Ben Hollis, The W.I.L.D. Guy
3 Campaigns |
Chicago, United States
$9,037 USD 171 backers
60% of $14,999 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Highlights
Mountain Filled 3 Projects Mountain Filled 3 Projects

Are you WILD about Chicago? Apparently so...

I'm Ben Hollis. And here's how I know...

For months now you've been telling me, "I love The Golden Age of Wild Chicago DVD and all, but when can I see some NEW stuff?"

The time is now.  And you can play a major part in making it happen.

You see, I'm planning to launch a new series of 10 half-hour shows for TV (The City of Chicago's "Cable25" channel) and the Web.  

It's called WILD Life City Safari.....  Pretty nifty, eh?!  

For those of you who aren’t familiar, I hosted and co-created a crazy show called Wild Chicago years ago, a half-hour journey into the “urban jungle, “ away from Michigan Avenue, away from Lincoln Park, away from the Gold Coast…and into the natural habitat of this city’s vibrant, sometimes dicey neighborhoods, where I showed you surprising people, places and things you might want to check out for yourself.  

Places like Maxworks hippie commune,

Moo and Oink Meats, the Old Greyhound Bus Station at Clark and Randolph, Al-Mansoor's Video Store on Devon Avenue,

visits with Tiger Moves man John McSweeney,

and Samantha Martin the World Class Rat Trainer, and many more.


Just like Wild Chicago, my new show will celebrate a city that's authentic, funny and utterly real.  It's a show that wouldn't likely find a home on any of the major networks today because most everything on air these days needs major corporate sponsorship to make it possible.  And that means influence on the creative content which waters down the show.

There's hope...

Thanks to the internet and cool outlets like "Cable25" (which is open to airing shows from any independent producer living in Chicago), I can produce TV with the same kind of freedom I had back at WTTW before the television business changed so radically.

If you never caught Wild Chicago, listen up.  We won dozens of Emmys. Critics raved.  Ratings grew week by week.  It touched a nerve (funny bone?) and fans told us the show captured for them something raw, something true about the city unlike anything else they’d seen on TV.  And it made them laugh their asses off.

That WILD-ness is still out there

Every time I drive around the city, I feel it calling to me.  I'm totally not kidding.  I feel it.  The call of the WILD.  And I want to get out there to explore it once more, to discover the wonderful characters and eccentric goings on that have been brewing for years under the radar, waiting to be seen and appreciated again by folks like yourself. 

That's what I plan on bringing to you in WILD Life City Safari.


What We Need & What You Get

I need funds to put the actual product together.  There's research, shooting, editing, producing.  I'll throw in an occasional golden oldie too, which is mostly to market the Golden Age of Wild Chicago DVD.  But most of this material will be stuff you've never seen before.  I also have some great video from around town and ready to go, stuff I shot for local business associations in places like Berwyn (!) and Lakeview.

So check out the perks for your support.  Many of them are quite interactive and will give us a chance to get to know each other better.  Like coming along on a shoot.  Or making a cameo.  I'll even make a cool video about you or your family or business! 

Your hand will go a long way toward bringing back that amazing spirit of freedom and celebration of eccentricity that Chicago television audiences have not seen in years.

Won't you be a part of bringing the gift of WILDNESS back to our City?

What Else is New

You may not realize it, but for the past few years I've been producing new WILD style video stories for various mom and pop shops, restaurants, artists & musicians, and organizations of all kinds.  And I've discovered a new meaning for the word "wild."  It's an acronym.  W.I.L.D.  And it stands for "What I Love Doing." 

See, the more you love what you're doing, the more you're living The W.I.L.D. Life.  That's what these videos have been about -- people doing what they love doing, no matter how unconventional it may be.  Because it's the passion they have for their work that makes us want to know more, makes us want to visit their places.  That celebration of living from your passion and enthusiasm will animate this new series as well.  

The closer we get to the goal, the more all new material I can produce.


A Peek Ahead: A National Show?

WILD Life City Safari is going to be a kind of incubator for a pitch to make to a national cable network, hopefully later this year.  So we want to create some buzz, some excitement.  I have a cool co-producer named Michael Foster and we're dreaming up some really exciting stuff.  Michael was a teenage Wild Chicago fan when I was on the air in the 90s and was so inspired he created his own show -- Wild Mokena!  Since then he's gone on to become a major talent in his own right, a kind of Renaissance Man, well versed in graphic design, TV production, fine arts, photography and philosophy.  You can catch his musings on the future of technology and how we do what we do on The Huffington Post.

Most of all, Michael is a powerful voice for the art of Reinvention.  I just noticed a couple of lines from one of his blog posts.  I swear, they just jumped right out at me this very moment:

39. Reinvent the non-obvious, the unobserved, the overlooked, the hidden from view.

40. Bring your reinvented self, career, ideas, abilities, persona, voice, body, music, and whole being to the world and stand up for everything you did and what you are about to do.

Wow.  That about sums up what's going on here, wouldn't you say?  With your help, I'll do #39.  And together we'll help each other do #40. 

Now that's W.I.L.D.-ness.




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Choose your Perk

featured

'WILD CHICAGO' Manifesto

$46 USD
Autographed by Ben, this historically significant document was written by Hollis and John Davies as an attempt to explain the gonzo style and attitude of this crazy new show to befuddled critics, TV executives and potential advertisers, circa 1989. You get the song too!
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
4 claimed

We Can Do Anything

$7 USD
I'm sending you my WILD Pack of Positivity which includes some links to brilliant web sites that are sure to pick you up, and my amazing Good Mood Maker/Bad Mood Breaker. (Sorry, but the Indigogo software made me round it up to 7 dollars.)
19 claimed

WILD CHICAGO DOWNLOAD

$19 USD
Download classic WILD content from Ben's early years on WTTW. It's "The Golden Age of Wild Chicago, Volume 1," VOD on Vimeo. Get the perk and you'll get the proper code to enter for good times and big laughs.
8 out of 20 of claimed

Premiere Episode Download

$20 USD
Be the first to see the first "Wild About Chicago" installment. Watch it on the bus and create a disturbance.
9 out of 100 of claimed

WILD Thank-You Song

$25 USD
Exclusively written and performed by Ben Hollis or guest star. Not available on iTunes.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
26 claimed

WILD T-SHIRT

$67 USD
A great way to tell the world you're Wild about Chicago! Check out the logo here on our page. Everybody is loving it, and it's going to look great on you too. White, 100% cotton. Pick your size.
Estimated Shipping
June 2014
17 claimed

WILD MANIFESTO & DVD

$99 USD
A chunk of history plus the brilliant 'Golden Age of Wild Chicago' DVD featuring the best of the first two seasons of the award-winning, ground-breaking series. Personally autographed.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
12 claimed

1-Hour WILD COACHING SESSION

$125 USD
Need a little more WILDness in your life? Let's talk about it. I'll listen to you with my full attention and offer some ideas to help you increase the "What I Love Doing" quotient in your life. That's what W.I.L.D. stands for.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
3 out of 5 of claimed

1 Hour Birthday Magic Show

$125 USD
WILD fan Steve Joyce will perform his magic (ages 6-10) for your child's birthday party! Rated in the top five kid magicians in town. www.steviejmagic.com
0 out of 1 of claimed

JOIN BEN on a WILD VIDEO SHOOT

$185 USD
Observe or lend a hand! This one puts you in the heart of the WILD-ness. See how the show is made and be astounded. Plus a signed copy of the Wild Chicago DVD.
Estimated Shipping
June 2014
4 claimed

Pro Vehicle Lettering

$249 USD
Thanks to our WILD pals at Blue Moon Graphics you can upgrade your visibility big time. An average vehicle/van lettering is about $500 to $750, so this is a steal. Includes materials/design/fabrication/trip/installation. We'll be happy to letter (1) vehicle or ground-level window(s)/glass door(s), up to $500. Letting must be in stock/regularly stocked vinyl/materials, lettering within Chicago or near 'burbs, no 'rush' jobs, and no change will be given.
0 out of 1 of claimed

CAMEO in a WILD SEGMENT

$295 USD
You'll appear on camera and make the final cut -- guaranteed! We'll work out the details. And you'll go down in history! Plus a signed DVD.
Estimated Shipping
June 2014
1 out of 10 of claimed

WILD Lunch with Ben

$495 USD
I'll pick up the tab. We can talk about the old times or you can pitch me your latest big idea. We'll figure out the place and time later. You can ask me anything. You can tell me anything. I'm a great listener.
Estimated Shipping
May 2014
0 out of 2 of claimed

YOUR VERY OWN WILD SEGMENT

$1,595 USD
You're WILD, right? Then let me shoot and edit a cool, custom-made WILD styled video of you or your business or just about anything you'd like. Let your imagine run...you know...WILD!
Estimated Shipping
June 2014
0 out of 3 of claimed

SILVER SPONSOR

$2,995 USD
Your 15 second billboard ("brought to you by") will run in at the beginning and end of 10 episodes. We'll produce the billboard for you too. And we'll celebrate with lunch at a nice place. What do you say?
Estimated Shipping
June 2014
0 out of 1 of claimed

PRIMO SPONSOR

$4,995 USD
You get 2 thirty-second commercial spots in all 10 shows. You provide the spots (or we can produce them at an additional cost.) We celebrate with a nice meal, my treat.
Estimated Shipping
June 2014
0 out of 1 of claimed
sold out

Feng Shui Consultation

$60 USD
1 out of 1 of claimed
sold out

Drink, Paint & Laugh for 2

$75 USD
2 out of 2 of claimed
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