Tag: Connecticut

I want to personally take the time to let each of you know where we stand with the American Gunslingers project and our Seed & Spark crowdfunding campaign.

As I mentioned in an update days after our initial campaign launch, we had to postpone our initial planned shoot date from the end of May to late summer to ensure a safe film production for our talent and crew. It is no secret how the coronavirus pandemic has affected all artists around the world both professionally and personally. It is also very easy to stop moving forward on any artistic endeavors at such a difficult time when everyone is worried about their job status and putting food on the table. Trust me when I say that I’m scared at times too when I watch the news and I just want to fall back into my creative writing. All that said, quitting is not in my nature and this is the time to move forward.

What does this mean?

Since we have been quarantined at our homes these past several weeks, my team consisting of Chris Corulla ( playing the role of “Randy”), Drew Henriksen (screenwriter and playing “Dragoon”), Dan Griffin (producer), and I have had some serious discussions on how best to proceed with the project once we return to some sense of normalcy. With the theatrical business on the decline (especially now) and streaming platforms becoming the more lucrative wave of the future, the 4 of us agreed that American Gunslingers would work much better as a limited 10-part episodic, telenovela-style series. This new course in direction gives us several advantages in a revised plan that will ease the complications of producing a full-length feature film including the following:

• Using the most recent draft of the screenplay, scenes can be broken up into 10 episodes and better organized budgets by episode.
• The episodic format will add more creative breathing room to tell the fully layered stories of the main characters which would normally be cut down for pacing if it had been a full-length feature.
• We can craft a shooting schedule that works for the actors’ availabilities, more flexibility among our crew, gives us breaks in between to plan new episodes, and keeps our team focused on the specific needs of each episode rather than stressing ourselves with plotting out an entire 90 minute film.
• We will be able to save on specific costs on locations and props because we will take our time shooting and editing each episode.
• For audiences, we believe this episodic format will be binge-worthy on a streaming platform that they will return to time and time again.

We have already proved our capability in producing a western just with the teaser trailer which was shot in Long Island last summer. With additional funds, we can improve on all production needs including sound, lighting, costumes, locations, props, and horses. Once the series is completed, we will submit the pilot episode to film festivals and pitch the full 10-episode series to streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Tubi, etc.

With this new direction from feature film to series, we are now lowering our initial $25K goal to $15K. This will be enough to get the initial episodes produced. For us to receive the full funds, we only need to reach 80% of the goal and thanks to Seed & Spark, we were granted a 15-day extension meaning our new deadline is May 9th. So, all listed rewards have been reduced to increase our chances of matching our new goal.

We believe this direction will be the right way to not only tell our amazing story, but it also has the potential to be something groundbreaking in reviving the western genre to today’s audiences. The current crisis may have disrupted our path and we are mindful about everyone’s personal needs right now. But we started this journey on a dream and it is our determination to finish it.

Final requests:

• Please donate what you can.
• Share the link if you can’t contribute financially.
• Follow the campaign by clicking the “Follow” button on the right-hand side of the page.
• Most of all: STAY HOME AND BE SAFE!