Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Crowd-Funding

[therewillbeblus]

I think Amazon Canada has three of them in stock in their warehouse, not Possible Films, so it should be shippable to you in the US

Thanks jazzo, I saw that earlier and unfortunately it is sold by Possible Films and they won't ship here. I considered reaching out to some CA folks here to buy/ship for/to me, but it seems like a hassle and so I think I might have to take the L on this one

[therewillbeblus]

Just coming here to praise Possible Films' customer service- I reached out to them to inquire about the potential OOP status of the Henry Fool Trilogy blu-ray set given its sudden out-of-stock status early in the sale, and they troubleshooted possible solutions with me before realizing they could locate more stock and kept me notified with updates until I was able to purchase. Just all around fantastic customer service, with radically generous brainstormed solutions to get me a copy that were completely unprompted by me or any expectations on my end, until a more appropriate and feasible solution was found. My communications with them didn't yield any clarity on whether more copies will be printed in the future, but there should be at least a "few copies left" that you can buy on Hartley's site now, albeit not at the sale price

[Yakushima]

Therewillbeblus, thank you so much for figuring this out and for sharing the info!

[Calvin]

Grapevine Video are running a Kickstarter (that has already surpassed its goal) for a Blu-Ray of Lubitisch's So This Is Paris. This seems like a bit of a waste of time and effort (and cash) to me since Warner restored it only last year but YMMV

[PillowRock]

Deaf Crocodile is running a Kickstarter for a blu ray of Jiri Barta's The Pied Piper. There also is the option to order a limited poster for it, or bundle the blu ray with the two animation BDs that they've released through Vinegar Syndrome.

The Kickstarter project is active for 16 more days, until April 1.

[Adam X]

Thanks for the reminder.

[5meohd]

Ditto. Backed!

[senseabove]

Feels odd putting this here, but not sure where else it should go: a fundraiser has been set up for Jean-Pierre Léaud, who is reportedly going through tough times. The page says former Cinémathèque Française director Serge Toubiana is also petitioning industry people for support, and that all funds will go to Léaud and his wife, Brigitte, "to meet medical needs, rest and probably administrative [e]nd life assistance."

[hearthesilence]

Jesus, I didn't realize Léaud was gravely ill. I think the most recent film I saw him in was The Death of Louis XIV (2016), and the memory of his performance does make this news all the more chilling.

Frederic Forrest is also ill. He actually opened a Facebook account recently, and what little he posted did mention his health. When a GoFundMe campaign was posted on the same account (clearly by friends who identified themselves), I wasn't sure if it was a hoax, especially after the whole thing with John Amos that's still playing out, but other actors - Bette Midler, Elliott Gould, etc. - have confirmed it's real and that Forrest is trying to get enough financial support so that he can receive care at home. Midler shared the GoFundMe link and Gould hopped on late in the campaign to help raise funds - it looks like they're no longer accepting donations, probably because they surpassed their stated goal. (The bulk came from anonymous $10k donations, but quite a few familiar names are listed: Colleen Camp, Frances Fisher, Jack Huston, Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Stacy Keach, Don Johnson, casting director Ellen Chenoweth, even Cindy Sherman.)

[beamish14]

I wonder what precipitated Forrest basically bowing out from the industry about 20 years ago. He’s such a low-key great, almost cozying presence in every film appearance. Nick Redman posted a picture on FaceBook of them having lunch in Santa Monica a number of years back, and I remember that he did a Dion Bros./Gravy Train reunion with Stacy Keach at the American Cinematheque, geez…15 years ago?

[MichaelB]

I wonder what precipitated Forrest basically bowing out from the industry about 20 years ago.

It may be a coincidence, but his last film came out the year he turned 70. So he could well have consciously decided to retire.

We assume actors will carry on acting till they drop, but it's not at all unknown for them to retire just as if it was a more conventional job. Gene Hackman springs to mind, and he made his last film in his early seventies.

Although retired actors are more likely to be lured back by something tempting, as with Joe Pesci and The Irishman or Billie Whitelaw and Hot Fuzz. The latter came about because the script specified "a Billie Whitelaw type", and Edgar Wright idly wondered what would happen if they sent the script to Whitelaw herself. She'd officially retired by then, so he was expecting a polite refusal, but it just so happened that (a) she loved the script, and (b) her son had seen Shaun of the Dead and urged her to say yes - which is why the final role of one of the greatest actresses of the twentieth century features her going berserk with a machine-gun while screaming "Fascists!".

[What A Disgrace]

Deaf Crocodile have a new Kickstarter for an exclusive cover for the film Visitors From The Arkana Galaxy, which looks bonkers.

[Red Screamer]

The last days of a crowdfunding campaign for the next project of Spanish-French experimental filmmaker Ado Arrieta. For the curious, Re:voir dedicated a box set to his work not long ago.

[Ashirg]

Kickstarter campaign for Tod Browning's The Show blu-ray from Redwood Creek Films

[swo17]

Puppetoons Vol 3

I loved the first two, with the first volume in particular having Duke Ellington’s Perfume Suite.

I paid $115 for this two years ago and forgot about it. Never received a single update since but it just arrived in the mail today!

[colinr0380]

With Visitors From The Arkana Galaxy and The Pied Piper completed, Deaf Crocodile have said in their messages that they will be running another Kickstarter project with exclusive artist cover which will be officially announced in October.

And Ben Model has mentioned in his updates that his next Kickstarter is also coming in October with the 1926 film The Bat, which was apparently one of the inspirations for Batman!

[Lemdog]

Ben Model has a kickstarter for Roland West's The Bat (1926) that is almost funded.

[swo17]

Sadly Hal Hartley's planned and successfully Kickstarted production of Where To Land has had to be cancelled due to the pandemic after having been delayed for the last year, so Hartley has decided to issue refunds (or is offering his Blu-ray of The Girl From Monday and The Book of Life, a CD soundtrack of songs that were planned for Where To Land and the screenplay in book form) to all those who contributed. Hopefully he might run the campaign again in the future, because its pretty clear that this situation was out of his hands somewhat.

Launched today

[swo17]

Where to Land update:

Hi,

It's Hal again.

There are four days left to my current Kickstarter for Where to Land (Again) and I'm only at 52%. Some of you have already pledged but I thought you might know others who might pledge similarly. And if you haven't pledged and are considering it, please know I don't expect everyone to be in the same circumstances they were in four years ago. I appreciate your past generosity and encouragement.

But! If you're up for it: something like a riot of pledges is required in the next few days. Here's the link to the project page:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/26 ... land-again

Thanks for everything,
Hal

[colinr0380]

I did my pledge a couple of days ago (thanks for reminding me with that previous post swo!), and fingers crossed that the whole campaign gets to its goal.

[beamish14]

I did my pledge a couple of days ago (thanks for reminding me with that previous post swo!), and fingers crossed that the whole campaign gets to its goal.

I kicked up mine to a higher tier. It’s insane that he is struggling to raise a very modest sum for a feature. He’s super professional and always ships out merchandise very quickly, too. I’ve purchased multiple Blu-Rays and books from his store

[Adam X]

His Kickstarter’s have always scraped through in the last few days, but this one’s sadly looking a little defeated. What’s more, it’s for a new film! And it’s planned to be a reunion of sorts with Bill Sage, Robert Burke and Edie Falco set to appear. It’ll be a poorer world that doesn’t have more Hal Hartley films in it.

[swo17]

You won't be charged anything if the project doesn't fund, so this is a great risk-free opportunity to experience the thrill of donating $150,000 to something

[hearthesilence]

Where to Land update:

Hi,

It's Hal again.

There are four days left to my current Kickstarter for Where to Land (Again) and I'm only at 52%. Some of you have already pledged but I thought you might know others who might pledge similarly. And if you haven't pledged and are considering it, please know I don't expect everyone to be in the same circumstances they were in four years ago. I appreciate your past generosity and encouragement.

But! If you're up for it: something like a riot of pledges is required in the next few days. Here's the link to the project page:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/26 ... land-again

Thanks for everything,
Hal

They made it to $300K with almost a day to spare.

[Adam X]

Which is great news, and the Kickstarter ends on his birthday, too! For some reason, this has been feeling potentially like Hartley’s last film, so I’m glad it worked out in the end.