Tuesday, October 26, 2010

RIVERVIEW MEDIA SUPPORTS BLUE LIKE JAZZ

Nashville, Tenn. Oct. 4, 2010… Two Nashville, Tenn. based men have launched a viral campaign to raise $125,00 in only one month to save the making of “Blue Like Jazz,” the movie based on the book of the same title from New York Times’ Bestselling Author Donald Miller. With over 20 days to go, the online efforts have already surpassed the halfway mark in only six days and have caused an unparalleled stir on www.kickstarter.com, the site where fans can donate to the making of the film, causing it to be the most popular project on the website. Miller’s Blue Like Jazz has sold 1.3 million copies to date, and the writing of the movie’s screenplay was even highlighted in his latest New York Times bestseller A Million Miles In A Thousands Years. The movie, to be directed by Steve Taylor, was set to start production in Nashville, Tenn. and Miller’s hometown of Portland, Ore. when financial backing fell through. After seeing the news on the author’s blog, two fans of Miller’s famous Blue Like Jazz, Zach Prichard and Jonathan Frazier, created a grassroots style effort to save the film with the launch of www.savebluelikejazz.com. One of the movie’s investors committed to matching the amount raised if their campaign reaches $125,000. To see the original video post from Prichard and Frazier, visit www.savebluelikejazz.com. “Blue Like Jazz was a huge book for us,” explains Prichard. “One could say that it is our generation’s Mere Christianity. It comes at faith, religion and Christianity in such a unique light…one we weren’t accustomed to seeing. We believe this story is important, and we believe that if this film is made, it could change things in way’s unthought-of. We want to see this come to fruition, and if $125,000 is all that stands in the way, then we say… ‘Let’s do this.’ We have seen incredible response in less than one week’s time. People from all over the world have stepped in to become a part of this story, including donors from Sweden, Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom. Early on, it was evident to us that we were merely a small piece of a much greater story, and we haven’t looked back since.” The website encourages viewers to download and pass along “Save Blue Like Jazz” posters, place Twitter hash marks of #savebluelikejazz, “like” on Facebook and, most importantly, donate on www.kickstarter.com. Pledge incentives include recorded voicemails from Miller, “Associate Producer” credits in the film’s end titles, t-shirts, screening tickets, digital downloads, personal “thank you” calls from the film’s director and more. The public has resonated with Prichard and Frazier, whose efforts have created over 1,300 Facebook fans and an estimated 900 financial supporters. The website raised $15,000 in the first 36 hours after the launch. Notables such as Derek Webb, Dan Haseltine and Charlie Lowell (Jars of Clay), Jeremy Cowart, Robbie Seay Band, Bebo Norman and Michael Hyatt (CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing) have echoed the campaign’s endeavor on Twitter. www.savebluelikejazz.com saw 36,000 plus page visits in the first 48 hours alone. Relevant Magazine, Christianity Today and local news stations have covered the campaign as well. "This movie was dead,” adds Miller. “I pronounced it dead, knowing we had to film in a few weeks and most of our investors backed out. It was the fans that brought it back, and it's certainly alive and kicking. I simply can't believe we are watching this happen. It's filmmaking history. I never thought I would get to watch anything like this happen. "