Filmmakers Turn To Kickstarter.com To Save Clown Western.

Online, February 26, 2011 (Newswire.com) - ndependent movie production company Turboyeti Pictures announced today it has partnered with internet startup Kickstarter.com in an effort to resuscitate the underground cult hit, Crackwood (the movie). The film, set in the old west and featuring several notable personalities, proclaims itself to be the world's first clown-themed spaghetti western.

Shot in 2009 and first screened during San Diego's 2010 ComicCon convention, Crackwood's producers soon watched its popularity explode during a wave of focus group screenings that followed. Industry insiders began taking notice as the events grew in size while exhibiting a festive party atmosphere. The response began drawing comparisons to other successful cult movies such as El Topo and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

But major distribution and theatrical release has eluded the project because of technical aspects related to the post-production of the film.

"As fortunate as we were to get Gilbert Gottfried to narrate, and for him and Lemmy (Kilmister from the band Motörhead) to actually agree to make cameos, not to mention Ron Jeremy and Ted Lange - in a low budget indy western with clowns no less - our lack of proper color correction, computer generated imagery (CGI) and sound mixing has proven to be a financial barrier that we have yet to overcome," says writer and director, Christopher Spoto. "This post production work is an expensive but essential part of the process, especially for a film on the verge of finding real distribution. We look forward to being able to see things the rest of the way through."

With an impressive list of celebrity cameos and professional cinematography belying its modest budget, Crackwood's producers have worked hard to see that their quirky feature with such potential doesn't fall by the wayside. Bolstered by feedback from industry professionals and the enthusiasm shown by the early test audiences, they decided upon Kickstarter.com to help raise funds needed to perform the remaining work.

Kickstarter.com provides a new online platform for matching creative projects with micro-payment donors. Project creators wage fund raising campaigns upon the site attempting to raise a specific amount of money by a certain deadline. Incentives are offered in the form of rewards to contributors based on how much they pledge to the project. Every Kickstarter project must be fully funded before its time expires or no money changes hands, and amounts pledged are held in virtual escrow until the deadline passes and funds are released only if the specific funding goal is met.

"The volume based model on Kickstarter is great because there is no limit to the donation size each backer can pledge - large or small - and indy filmmaking literally takes into account every single dollar," Spoto says. "It takes nerve asking for donations to fund an experimental art form, but trying to do things on your own is nearly impossible, especially in today's tough economy. We know there are individuals out there who feel compelled to help projects like Crackwood out. Kickstarter is great because it puts the benefactor directly in touch with the artist doing the work."

Spoto points to the Kickstarter.com website where a quick search reveals the Save Crackwood (the movie) campaign. Upon the project's home page a video, pictures and other information can be found detailing the movie's history and the status of the campaign. They have set a deadline of noon, April 1st to raise the amount set forth as their fund raising goal.

"We're trying to raise $10,000, so it will be interesting to see how many folks will be interested and in a position to help," says Spoto. "Some may see it as a pity party for a b-movie, but we know there are others out there like us who feel that taking chances is the surest way to blaze new trails."