Tag: Webseries

I want to take this moment to talk personally to everyone who has been following the progress of our next film production American Gunslingers from the beginning. If you visit the crowdfunding campaign link at Seed&Spark, we have given potential backers a lot of insight about the story, the production, our team via Team Highlights, and why we need funds for the production. What I have rarely talked about is why this project is personal to me.
With every past project that I have completed, I am usually drawn to story elements that I can relate to in my life. Chris Corulla and I knew we wanted the basic premise to be about two brothers finding a treasure by following a map tattooed to their arms. But it was Drew Henriksen, our screenwriter, who came up with the backstories and found ways to make each character three-dimensional. What ultimately came out of his script that made it personal for me was how this story talks about depicts innocent children who are forced to grow up after tragedy, the life choices they make that set them on opposite paths, and how they are reunited to right the injustice of their past. There is no better way to tell this kind of story than in the old west where those themes and conflicts are directly in your face.
On a professional level, I have made several projects set in current times where I have had to work with the resources that I had available. After the success I enjoyed with my last feature film, Vendetta Games, as well as my award-winning short, The Saxophonist, I felt that I needed to push myself to another level. It could not be more of the same. There had to be a push to make something that forces me to be detail specific in all my artistic choices and elevate the quality of my work as a filmmaker. I believe a western gets me out of my comfort zone and there will be a great deal to learn from this experience not only as a filmmaker but also as a human being when the time comes to be away from city life to shoot this project out in natural locations.
No matter how this campaign pans out after Saturday morning, this journey will continue one way or another. I really hope each of you will continue to support the American Gunslingers team past these remaining 48 hours that we have left to reach 80% of the Seed&Spark goal. Thank you.
-Andre Joseph