“WISP” Gets Picked Up for TV and Other Unexpected Updates.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t think “WISP” was going to happen this year. As the scope of the film got bigger, the budget drastically inflated, and we found ourselves in the unenviable position of having assembled all the makings of a fantastic film but only about half the money we needed to actually make it. After a relentless marketing campaign and a fund raiser that fell embarrassingly short, we were seriously looking at ‘Plan B’ options.

The money we did raise for “WISP” was dragged in on the heels of “Inked in Erie”, the TV Reality Show I’ve been producing for the I AM TV Cable Network. I’m proud to say, while the network is regional (they reach about 300,000 viewers in the Erie County PA area), the show has been very well received and has built a substantial audience.

Right now, independent networks like Hulu, Amazon and Netflix are all in a race to produce their own original series and I AM TV is no different. So when they talked to me about doing “WISP” as a TV Series with an offer to let us slow it down, and get into the back story and characters, and play out the suspense over 13 weeks… well, it wasn’t a tough decision to make.

Writer A.D. Moore has done a top to bottom re-envisioning  of the story, adding even more twists, turns and icky tingle sensations.

We begin principal photography on July 29th, when we’ll be shooting the Pilot, plus three more episodes. The show will begin airing this fall on I AM TV.

Since no one is going to be able to wait for glimpses of “WISP”, I AM TV will have a camera crew following around the production for their show “Erie on Set”. The show’s Executive Producer is Jeremy Korwek, and he’ll be documenting the production “Project Greenlight” style. Very cool.

In other news… the GMD Films web site is currently under a massive reconstruction. More than just a facelift, it will be a new site that reflects the new direction the company is heading in. I’m about halfway done building it, so please be patient.

I’m also knee-deep in pre-production for “WISP”, so I’ll be updating the production blog more often in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

- PG

It’s Time to Join the Hunt.

  None of us here at GMD Films ask for much more than an audience to gather around the fire to hear us weave our strange tales. So, our first fund raiser is unique in it’s purpose.

  We have not ever used ‘crowd funding’ to raise the budget for our films, not once – not ever. And we’re still not. Every GMD Films Production has raised it’s budget on the success of the films before it, and that’s something we take a certain pride in.

  What’s different about our first fund raising campaign, is we are asking you to help us make “WISP” better. We’re looking to cast a ‘Horror Icon’ as our Serial Killer (at a cost of $5,000 – $10,000), round out our cast with some ‘Indie Film Icons’ (these are people you already know and love) and we want to put more money on the screen.

 
  By ‘more money on the screen’, I’m talking about four Police Cars instead of two. An extra day on a killer location. Adding some additional hands to the FX Team, a dedicated Make Up Artist for the beautiful ladies on our cast, and being able to shut down a street corner for a car chase stunt.

  In short, a few smaller things in the background that add several thousand dollars to our budget but look like a million bucks on screen.

  Now, if you’re reading this blog, you’re a fan. You’ve been hanging around the GMD Films camp for awhile, and you know we’ve never once asked for anything from anyone.

  This fundraiser is important, or we wouldn’t ask. To show our gratitude, the cast and crew have come together to offer some pretty remarkable rewards for pitching in.

  A personal phone call from certified smoke show Paula Marcenaro Solinger? Yes. Screen used props from the movie? Of course. Autographed DVD’s, Scripts, and chance to be on screen with the best-of-the-best in Indie Film? You bet.

  And look, we know times are tough. If they weren’t, we wouldn’t be trying to raise the extra money we need to make “WISP” epic. Whatever you have, we’ll take it. Skip your Grande latte one day, a pack of smokes, or the change left over from a hard night of drinking. We’ll put it on the screen, and you can hate yourself in the morning.

  But don’t’ wait. We have deadlines on this. Contracts to sign, commitment checks to write, locations to book, flights to pay for. We have 14 days of food to prepare. Hotel rooms. Costumes to buy.

  Visit the “WISP” Fundraising Page right now and make a donation so big it feels like passing a kidney stone.

  I promise you, we won’t let you down. You won’t regret this.

- Paul