I got a frustrating email on Monday. It contained no message or subject line, only a link to a GoFundMe campaign, and I was annoyed. If I’m going to spend my time learning about your thing, I want you to spend a moment to tell me why. Then I clicked the link, annoyance turned into grossed-out delight, and I pledged twenty bucks.
The link was to Michael Butts’s fundraising effort for “I’m a Werewolf, But That’s OK” a short film he wants to make with Scott Crain of Bar Sinister Films and Ryan Rehnborg of Surly Urchin Studios. The film is about
…a middle-age man’s journey of attempting to get his life back on track by attending AA meetings, salvaging his marriage, and forming a bond with his teenage daughter—all while coming to terms with the fact he’s a werewolf.
Michael’s trying to raise $10,000, an amount I’m coming to think of as a direct alias to “One (1) Short Film Budget”. The money will go towards the usual expenses: cast, crew, film equipment, post-production, food services, location permits, and film festival fees.
Michael and his collaborators aren’t the first to try and crowdfund a short werewolf film, and they won’t be the last, but where these guys stand out from the rest – and what got my attention and my $20 – is the four teasers they just released. If these clips represent the humour (black), production values (high), music (perfect) and visual style (exquisite) they intend to employ on the final product, I hope they quintuple their fundraising goal.
Watch these teasers and if even one of them makes you react, kick in a few bucks for a credit in the film, a reward, or just for the satisfaction of supporting a seriously cool werewolf project.