as august started to bloom and the heat became unbearable in southwest MO, our contracts arrived with an apology from our legal team. it was with both elation and more than a little foreboding that we began preparing the documents for circulation. if you’ve never dealt with these kinds of documents, they can be fairly dense and formidable in length and scope. of course neither james nor myself had ever read anything like it, and even the extensive research i had done on producing couldn’t prepare me for the lessons in legaleze we were about to learn.

we pored through the text trying to make sure everything was in order, and yet with speed because we knew we were about to lose confidence from the people we hoped would invest in our film. after countless reading sessions where i would read a page, proof it, then hand it to james for a second glance, we arrived at a definite correct set. the document not only outlined our specific financial needs for the film, but the state of indy film at that time, relevant articles about the future of film and the impact on locations (tourism, etc), operating agreements for the company that would produce the film, budgets, and subscription documents for those who said yes to investing. it was a massive undertaking to complete in such a short period of time. keep in mind that for each budget item, we had to have an actual quote to back it up#–so this meant research, phone calls, and a lot of tiiiiiime. we promptly paid to have several complete sets printed and set about confirming meetings#–with our companies formed in June of 2003, we had one year to raise the funding. we got the first batch of documents from the printer and started to make some phone calls. which is when we started to wonder if we might be too late.

little rock:
little rock, AR is a wonderful place for the arts. full of people who love culture, and see the necessity in supporting it. james has been a regular performer at the arkansas rep for several years now, and he had met some people through the theatre who also happened to love indy film. we made out first meeting arrangements for these people, because one of the gentlemen had invested in an indy film in the past. he’d already read our script, loved it, and wanted to hear our vision for getting the film made and marketed.

on the way down, we were alternately scared, and excited. this was it! we were finally making something happen! i can’t speak for james, but it felt like such a validation to say i was really a producer, and i was really on my way to a meeting about our very real film. even though i’ve performed so many times both in front of and behind the scenes, to take on the task of creating something from the very beginning, and see it through to completion was such a thrill#–even if we were just in the baby stages. when we got to little rock, we stayed with friends (more wonderful people met through the rep) and waited for the meeting with our investors. we had no idea how much they were interested in contributing, but we didn’t care#–this was our first shot at pitching the script, and we were going to go in guns blazing.

the meeting started by watching the film that our investor (let’s call him Tom) had bought into a few years prior. the film had some great cinematography, some good acting, and an original plot. it wasn’t the same style or genre as our film, and a little more edgy. i began to worry that Tom might think we weren’t quite what he was looking for.

after the film, we sat down and let it all rip. we talked about the story, the filmmakers involved, the location, the numbers, why we thought the film would be successful, how we wanted to market it, where we wanted to show it (festivals) and how we planned on getting it accepted into them. i felt like were just talking a mile a minute#–the entire time, i kept asking myself to just slow down and stay calm. but the future of our film was riding on this conversation!

to be honest, i wasn’t sure when to stop talking. somehow, we got around to the ($500,000) question. yes, or no? after talking it over with his wife, we (nervously) got our answer. sitting in his living room, my stomache so in knots i had to physically get up and use the bathroom at one point, we waited for Tom to shoot us down. but he didn’t. in fact, he said of all the films he’s been looking into and researching, ours looked the most likely to be successful. he loved the script, loved our enthusiasm, and thought our presentation was sound. we had our first yes. Tom wasn’t able to invest much, but he was incredibly supportive#–the perfect way to start our quest for funding.

that was the beginning (and end) of our streak.

what happened?
after the meeting in little rock, we couldn’t find a break. none of the people who had shown interest early on wanted to meet. we’d worn out the excitement we’d built when we first arrived, and stretched into the financial quagmire that is late-summer branson, MO#–the time of year when everyone has spent their funds for advertising and venture, and when the tourism numbers are more important than anything else. slowly, we started to feel doors shut, people no longer calling us back, and "no thank you’s" coming in the form of unanswered emails.

it was such a vast difference from the spirit we’d found when we first arrived#–but unsurprising since we’d been in town for almost four months, promising and not delivering. quite frankly, we lost our credibility too much to repair it#–at least in the eyes of the people we initially met. there are only so many times you can reschedule a meeting or say "the contracts are ALMOST finished" before you look unprofessional and foolish. i don’t know what that number is, but we clearly passed it.

with fall right around the corner, and our director heading back to grad school, we were forced into looking at weathering the winter in missouri and raising funds in the spring. in the winter, everyone with money leaves MO and heads to warmer climes#–plus, we had to make completely new connections. we got our first shot at creating some new alliances when we got a chance meeting with a local senator on the MO film commission, and an arts patron looking for new opportunities in the arts.