Middle Eastern-American Actor/ Comedian, Maz Jobrani Launches Crowdfunding Campaign to Raise Money for Indie Film, "Jimmy Vestvood, Amerikan Hero"

Online, November 1, 2012 (Newswire.com) - JIMMY VESTVOOD AMERIKAN HERO is a whimsical comedy that can only be described as THE PINK PANTHER meets COMING TO AMERICA. The story is centered around Jimmy Vestvood, an overzealous private investigator who finds himself at the center of a Hitchcockian murder mystery while keeping his overprotective mother in the dark. The story embraces many comedic elements including slapstick humor, the nuances of being a foreigner in a big city, and the bumbling detective who is in over his head yet accidentally cracks the case. Inspired by film noir, the plot is exciting and contains several unexpected twists.

At a time when tensions in the Middle East dominate news headlines, whether it be suicide bombings in Afghanistan, U.S. drone attacks in Pakistan, the Syrian massacres, sectarian violence in Iraq, or a potential war between the U.S. and Iran, the idea of a Middle Eastern immigrant's dream to become an American hero is not only intriguing, but has the potential to be transformative.

"In my 15 years as a Middle Eastern-American actor in Hollywood, I have yet to see a role of a Middle Eastern hero in American cinema," explains Jobrani. "I don't blame anyone in particular for this, I just think it's because we haven't had writers, producers and directors who have been too concerned about how Middle Easterners are depicted in American movies. That's why I have chosen to change that trend and make this film. I believe it is a crucial time to have characters in American movies that portray Middle Easterners in a positive light. Along with my co-writer and producer Amir Ohebsion, we have set out to break new ground and transform hearts and minds through comedy with this movie."

They have chosen to go the crowdfunding route to appeal to those who appreciate the significance of this project and want to support it in an effort to change the image of Middle Easterners in America. Their goal is to raise $250,000, which will afford them the opportunity to make the film without sacrificing their vision.

About Maz Jobrani (actor, writer, executive producer)
Maz Jobrani has been seen in numerous television shows and films over the years. Most recently, CBS put in development "Nobody Trusts Maz", a comedy starring Maz about raising a family in modern day, multi-ethnic America. As a stand-up comedian, he is a founding member of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour which took Maz all over the U.S. and the Middle East, and later aired on Comedy Central. He followed up this ground breaking tour with his own solo tour titled "Maz Jobrani, Brown and Friendly", which again took him all over the world and culminated in a Showtime comedy special. In motion pictures, Maz has starred in "Friday After Next", "The Interpreter", and "13 Going on 30" among others. On TV, he was a regular on ABC's "Knights of Prosperity" and recurred on ABC's "Better off Ted." He has also guest starred on "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "The West Wing", "24", "NYPD Blue", "ER", "Traffic Light", "Whitney", and "Men At Work". He has performed his standup on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson", and "Lopez Tonight." He is also a recurring panelist on NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" and co-hosts a podcast called "Minivan Men" about fatherhood. Maz has been featured on NPR, CNN, The BBC, and in print in The New York Times, Time Magazine, and Newsweek.

About Amir Ohebsion (writer, executive producer)
Amir Ohebsion's first feature screenplay, "The Apology", won the grand prize at the Slamdance Screenplay Competition and is currently in pre-production in Germany. His other screenplays include the super-natural thriller "Deathday", a Slamdance as well as a Skyline Awards finalist; "YogaGuy", a reverse fish-out-of-water comedy (set in India) developed for a major production company; the reincarnation comedy "The Metamorphosis of Radha"; and "Jimmy Vestvood, Amerikan Hero" - based on a character created for comedian Maz Jobrani. In addition to being a screenwriter, Amir is the founder of Soul Mining Productions which has staged theatrical plays to consistent sell-out audiences. Most recently, he wrote and produced "Death, A Very Serious Comedy" which premiered in Los Angeles at the prestigious Wilshire Ebell Theatre. Currently, Amir is writing a screenplay adaptation of a novel, and producing the remake of his satirical play "The Belind Date" which is slated to open in Los Angeles in January 2013.

About Ray Moheet (executive producer)
Ray Moheet began his career at J. Michael Bloom & Associates when he was just 22 years old. With other agents at Bloom, he later branched out to form a new company, Mitchell K. Stubbs & Associates (MKS). As Vice-President of Comedy at MKS, Ray procured some of the best emerging talent in the business. After a decade as an agent, Ray joined Levity Entertainment Group (LEG) in 2010. Ray has produced numerous comedy specials for Showtime, including Bryan Callen's "Man Class", Sebastian Maniscalco's "What's Wrong with People?", and Maz Jobrani's upcoming "I Come In Peace". He also produced the feature film "Shirin in Love" (currently in post-production) and has several other projects in active development. Most recently, Ray sold a multi-ethnic family comedy starring Maz to CBS entitled "Nobody Trusts Maz" on which Ray will serve as an Executive Producer.

To learn more, please visit http://crowdfunding.indiegogo.com/jimmyvestvood
Press Contact: Stacey Pokluda 310-577-4652 [email protected]