Q: What’s the movie about?
A: After losing her mother, 13-year-old Julie comes to La Porte County, Indiana to live with her grandmother, Karen. Karen, a former star of stage and screen, wants desperately to connect with her granddaughter in a meaningful way and share her history. But the two of them—each stubborn in her own way—butt heads at every turn. Soon, Karen makes a remarkable discovery: Julie’s powerful, unique singing voice. Will the sudden discovery of Julie’s talent be enough to bring the two together and allow Karen to pass on her legacy?
Q: What’s the name of the movie?
A: The movie’s title has not yet been determined.
Q: When will film be made?
A: We are currently in preproduction. Principal photography will run June 21 through August 15, 2013.
Q: When will the film be released?
A: Probably sometime in 2014.
Q: Where will the movie be made?
A: The movie will be filmed in four principal locations:
- La Porte County, Indiana
- Southwest Michigan
- South Bend, Indiana
- Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Q: How can I help?
A: You can help by donating yourself or something you have. We would also appreciate any help with fundraising.
Q: What do I get if I contribute my services?
A: Fun! And depending on your contribution you may receive deferred compensation (meaning you get paid if the movie is profitable) or movie credits.
Q: Who wrote the story?
A: John’s wife and collaborative partner, Dorothy Tristan, wrote the story and together they developed the screenplay.
Q: Who’s starring in the movie?
A: Dorothy Tristan, who also wrote the screenplay, will be playing the lead role of Karen. In her long and storied career, Dorothy has starred alongside many A-list actors, including Al Pacino, James Earl Jones, Donald Sutherland, Jane Fonda and Stacey Keach. She’s appeared on television in shows including The Waltons, The Incredible Hulk, Gunsmoke and Kojak. Her film credits include End of the Road, Scarecrow, Klute, Man on a Swing, Rollercoaster and many more.
Q: Who is Dorothy’s young co-star?
A: Grace Tarnow will be appearing as Julie in her first feature film appearance ever. Grace was chosen from hundreds of pre-teens who auditioned—director John Hancock was so impressed by her performance that he cast her just minutes after her callback audition.
View Grace’s audition video below.
Q: Who else is in the movie?
A: The community of La Porte, Indiana. After watching the independent film Bernie, director John Hancock was inspired by the idea of using actual townspeople to play the film’s Greek chorus. He turned to the La Porte community to find the rest of the cast for his film, and discovered remarkable talent that will truly bring this story to life.
Q: Why is our Indiegogo campaign much lower than the films’ actual budget?
A; Our entire film budget is $300,000, but we’ve set our goal at $25,000. We’ve done that for one main reason: flexible funding on Indiegogo allows us to take home the money we raise whether we hit our goal or not. If we hit our goal, 4% of what we raise goes to Indiegogo in the form of fees. If we don’t hit our goal, that percentage increases to 9%–so we decided it would be best to shoot for a modest goal that we know we can hit!
Q: What will the money raised be used for?
A; Most everyone involved in this film is working on deferment. That means that the cast, crew and community are banding together to make this project successful with no guarantee that they will be paid. However, we still have significant financial needs to make this project get off the ground. The money we raise will go towards equipment rental, sets, costumes, props, costumes, props, legal fees, entry fees in festivals, publicists, feeding the cast and crew and more.
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