Thursday May 23,
2013
Hello from Steve
Thompson / Thompson Communications:
As we head into the
Memorial Day weekend, I want to thank everyone who has extended help to us: our
donors, the media outlets who have covered our effort so far, and to everyone
else who has helped spread the word about our project.
Our IndieGoGo campaign to
cover the development expenses ends next Friday, May 31st, so I have installed a
Donation button on my Thompson Communications
page describing our project, because I will not be giving up after next
Friday.
Mary Jones was the first to
cover us, by graciously allowing me to appear on her show and talk about Cliff
and our project. Two media outlets that reach the La Jolla, CA area, where
Cliff grew up, will be covering our project, but I don't know when those stories
will be published. Tommy Lightfoot
Garret has covered our project on his Highlight
Hollywood site, as has General
Aviation News.
I have written to a number
of people who had contact with Cliff, including John Travolta, Harrison Ford,
and Michael Caine, asking for quotes on our project, and asking them if they
would at least consider offering a few comments about Cliff on camera, in our
project. If any of them even provide me
with a quote on our project, that will help us
tremendously.
There are expenses in
developing a film like this pertaining to consideration of the legal entity that
will actually be producing the project, obtaining the rights to include clips of
the films we have in mind, then developing a basic script outline that will
enable us to formulate a detailed production budget and
schedule.
I will not ask my attorney,
or our director Brian Gillogly, to provide these services for free. I too have financial responsibilities, so
neither am I in a position to spend a great deal of time on the project without
compensation.
Those who know me
personally know that I have one guiding force in my life. I manage our family's business, and I only
do things that I know my father would have approved of with our family
assets. I apply the very same
principle to our project: Everything I do I believe Cliff would have
approved.
My original idea was to
raise the development and production funds through crowdsourcing, like our
IndieGoGo campaign. Schedule screenings
individually by region through TUGG, then
possibly find a distributor to handle DVD sales.
In my opinion, the
Development stage is absolutely necessary, so if the IndieGoGo campaign doesn't
pan out for us, then I will find another way to fund the Development and
eventual production.
For today, I would request
that you still continue to help us by spreading the word on our IndieGoGo
campaign, and consider making a donation.
I am receptive to comments
from everyone. One comment I have
received is that it is possible that asking donors to fund the Development looks
like some sort of scam. I suppose that's
possible, but it would be a pretty damned small sized scam, created by someone
who can easily be tracked down.
I can assure you that
dishonoring Cliff is the absolute last thing on my mind, and I also
assure you that I won't be absconding with the funds we
raise.
In my mind, nothing about
the project has changed: Cliff Robertson
was a terrific man, who helped a great deal of people. His accomplishments as actor, pilot, and
humanitarian are nothing short of astounding.
I will do everything I can to see to it that a documentary honoring him
is made.
I believe Brian Gillogly is
the one who can take our passion and put it up on the screen for us, and my
attorney is the one who can guide us towards attaining our goals by avoiding
unforeseen problems.
Thanks again for your
help, please let me know if you have any questions.
Have a great Memorial
Day weekend!
Best
Regards,
Steve Thompson
Thompson
Communications
856-942-4434
s t e v e @ c i n e m a n e w s w i r e . c o m
