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To: Travis McGee

Hey People,
I am the writer/assistant director/casting director/art director/etc for Remnants. Basically it’s my baby. I wrote the first treatment of the script in late 2006.
I am not a professionals filmmaker, I actually am a user interface designer. I did got to film school in the early 90s, but got caught up in the early days of web design, and made my living there ever since. I wrote the script as a inexpensive way to get back into making movies.

The new technology of Canon Digital SLR cameras, coupled with really fast personal computers, made me think it would be possible to pull this off on a low budget, I mean really low.
We have shot the first 30 minutes of the film for under 10k. Right now we are trying to secure funding to get the whole thing made for 90k or less. If we can pull that off, and keep the quality high, I have no doubt we can make a profit. There are lot of markets to deliver films now, from DVDs, to pay-per-view, to digital downloads.

The story is about as far from liberal Hollywood as you could get. It is actually a metaphor about how the move to socialism and government dependence is taking the country downhill.
The main character and his neighborhood represent the old fashioned ideal of hard work and personal responsibility, while the invading party represents the groups that thinks they are entitled to everything simple by existing. In a personal note, it shows how life might be different if you didn’t have to worry about working 50 hours a week, paying bills, playing video games, etc, and you were able to go back to simpler way of life. Oh and the character of Merl, the war veteran, is actually one of the heroes. His knowledge actually helps save the neighborhood. His is little wary of his neighbors at first, but they all get closer as the work through the situation together.

There is also and allusion to classic tale of King Arthur and the rise and fall of Avalon. I always liked movies that mirrored older works of fiction or movies. Much like Jaws is a retelling of Enemy of the People, or Star Wars a futuristic take on the Hidden Fortress.

The event on that causes the blackout is in part based on real science: (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3351496/Gamma-ray-burst-that-was-heading-for-Earth-detected.html).
The idea that it could be detected a few hours is a bit of a stretch, but it made for a better story. I wanted a scene that mirrored what happened when I was at work during 9/11. Everyone stopping in their tracks to watch the terrible news unfold. I also want to have part of the story where the main character is trying to get home to his family, but it stuck in huge traffic jam.

We are taking a break from shooting till after the holidays. The story takes place over a 9 month period, so it works out fine. Raising the money to finish has been tough for several reasons: This is our first film so we don’t have connections with film investors, and the subject matter is something the more typically liberal orientated film industry shies away from. If we made a movie about how bad America was, or how we are to blame for Islamic Terrorism or global warming, and we would have no problem getting money.

So in the mean time we have setup a Kickerstart page, hoping that maybe presales could help us fund it :http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1761956599/remnants-now-starting-phase-2

Thank you for your interest in our film! It really thrilling to see it connect with so many people.


109 posted on 11/19/2010 7:27:03 PM PST by philburger1 (Remnants, trailer, Remnants movie, TEOTWAWKI)
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To: philburger1

Well you sure have achieved a great “look” to what we’ve seen on the trailers. I hope it all comes together for you in the coming year.


111 posted on 11/19/2010 7:36:51 PM PST by Travis McGee (---www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com---)
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To: philburger1

I can’t wait to see it, I’m a post-apocalyptic movie, book and role playing game junky.


117 posted on 11/20/2010 3:45:05 PM PST by Nowhere Man (General James Mattoon Scott, where are you when we need you? We need a regime change.)
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