FEATURE: CEMENT SUITCASE – a feature comedy about a guy who can't let go

So, my friends... I long ago promised you a trailer was right around the corner. Well, we changed up our strategy a bit and it turns out I was LYING.

But now, today, I am no longer lying. The trailer is HERE!

The catch is that you can only watch it on Kickstarter, where you will feel hopelessly compelled to learn more about our project and get out your credit cards. Evil, I know. :)

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/836086693/cement-suitcase


Maybe not coincidentally, last night we gathered together the producers and a few other people and watched the first rough cut of the movie. This was the first time I or anyone else except Rick had seen the whole thing. As many of you know, the rough cut is really the stage where you can feel lost in your own movie. The sound design isn't done, everything's sort of rough – if it's ever going to feel lifeless and dull, this is that time. I've been through it on almost every project, where you question what you're doing and why.

That didn't happen last night. I was blown away by probably the nicest rough cut I've ever seen. This movie, guys, I'm telling you... it's got something good going on! I'm going to be so excited to get it out to the world.
 
It is, and I don't think any of us thought we'd change our minds completely when we already had a trailer in hand almost finished. I'm sure all 6 of you paying attention were sad, and I'm sorry about that! The good news, I feel really confident that a lot more than 6 people will be paying attention soon. :)
 
Searcher said:
Wow. That's hardcore. The world needs more people like you. If there's a God then you deserve to have really good luck with traffic lights next time you're in a hurry.
Click to expand...

You know, I don't think I ever saw this reply. In case it wasn't clear, I was kidding. But I will take the luck with traffic lights, regardless.
 
Seems like a few more than 7 are probably interested. We've been live for under 48 hours and already 36% funded. Wow. Did we set our sights too low? Either way, I look forward to meeting and exceeding our goal; we can definitely use every dollar we receive, and each person who backs the project is one more person we have on our side when it comes time to sell the movie! We're already getting some nibbles from people who want to see the rough cut and possibly be even more involved, which is outstanding.

Zak, Ted Hope, and a bunch of other people have said it, but it's certainly true: Kickstarter is great for raising money, but don't neglect the other thing it can be even better for: raising awareness of your project and getting critical people to take notice. If we keep on this pace I think we'll be well on our way.
 
I've been gone and completely off the grid at SXSW and other... uh... undisclosed activities, but man, how cool to come back and see that we just hit 90% with over half our time still to go!
 
I claim the right to 14K pledge!

Lucky you I have an unopened box o'cereal to eat instead of a bird.
 
In the short amount shown in the kickstarter, it is clear that your lead actor can do a quality job. Nice work bringing this onto 'film' and great work with your audio guy. Adding some additional 'exterior' sound to the clean dialogue will really make this 'sound' like a very well done movie, as it already 'looks' like a great movie with all the light modifiers and good angles.

You have me wondering what the plot is, but to be honest, it really does look good so far! Congratulations, and let me know how I could help on anything you are doing in the east.
 
Will do. We don't work on the east coast very often, but from time to time it comes up!

Obviously a lot of sound work is ahead for us, and that's part of what we're raising funds for. If we keep raising money we will probably be able to do a nice surround mix for the film.
 
Thanks Zaza! Much appreciated... the film is getting there, we'll be sending out festival submissions in no time!
 
We had a great test screening last night. A lot of people are very negative on the idea of test screenings and focus groups, but I think that outside of being beholden to a studio that wants to take EVERY note seriously, they can be one of the best things for your film. This was our second such session, this time focused on getting a group of people with little or no experience/exposure to the entertainment industry (that can be hard to find in LA!). The group was great at pointing out scenes that weren't working, scenes that they all loved, aspects that were confusing that we wouldn't have thought of, and so on. Of course, we have complete freedom to interpret their suggestions or discard them if we like, so it was awesome to see which positive and negative points everyone agreed with, and which provoked dissent or even intelligent debate amongst the members of the group (probably the best thing that could happen)! At the end of the night, the producers' notes all pretty much lined up, so we now have a pretty good idea of where to make cuts and changes to prepare the film for the next stage.
 
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