'I'll Be Next Door for Christmas,' First Holiday Movie to Use Equity Crowdfunding, Launched by Filmmakers With 4 Emmys® and an Oscar®
Anyone Can Own a Piece of Hollywood Now - the First Feature-Length Narrative, Investment Crowdfunded Movie in the United States Launches
STUDIO CITY, Calif., May 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- That Christmas Movie LLC (startengine.com/startup/thatchristmasmovie) recently launched an investment crowdfunding campaign to produce the witty family comedy "I'll Be Next Door For Christmas" — the first such opportunity of its kind in the United States. Investors responded and the campaign reached over 300% of its minimum goal within days on the premier equity crowdfunding platform, StartEngine.
"Unlike Kickstarter campaigns — where you simply make donations or buy rewards — equity crowdfunding gives you a financial interest in an actual company. We're giving audiences more than a movie. We're giving them a chance to be part of the filmmaking process, as well as the chance to make money while doing so," said producer/director David Willis, founder and CEO of That Christmas Movie LLC (thatchristmasmovie.com). "Not only is I'll Be Next Door For Christmas the world's first Christmas movie to use investment crowdfunding, it is the very first feature-length narrative film to successfully do so in the United States. Now, the average person can have something big Hollywood stars get — a chance to make money from a movie."
"We believe in this project, and we're excited to tell the story," said executive producer Jay Kogen, winner of four Emmys® for The Simpsons and Frasier, and currently executive producer on the hit Nickelodeon show School of Rock. "One of the cool things about people outside Hollywood becoming involved in a project like this, is that when it's finished and it's been released, it's a pretty good feeling to say, 'Hey, I made that happen.'"
The project, which is currently accepting investments, was made possible by the JOBS Act, which was signed into law with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2012; and Regulation Crowdfunding, which went into effect in 2016. This means the 90-plus percent of the population who weren't previously allowed to invest in startups can now take advantage of these opportunities.
Donald Markowitz, Oscar® winner for the hit song "I've Had the Time of My Life" from Dirty Dancing, will be writing a brand new Christmas song for the project.
Actress Jennifer Tilly, known for her Oscar®-nominated role in Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway, is attached as a co-star.
Willis, who is also a co-writer on the project, says, "Not many people have heard of investmentcrowdfunding yet, and we find we have to do a bit of explaining. But for investors, it boils down to this big difference from Kickstarter — if the movie makes money, you make money."
Marc Cherry, creator/executive producer of Desperate Housewives, is also a fan. "I've known David Willis for my entire professional career, and I know him to be a smart, incredibly funny artist who approaches his art with the same kind of passion that I do. He has keen insight into human behavior, a deliciously skewed take on the world, and a heartfelt desire to break new ground in the world of filmmaking."
The investment crowdfunding campaign is currently accepting investments here: https://www.startengine.com/startup/thatchristmasmovie.
Additionally, the producers are giving the public a chance to be an actor in the movie. Anyone can enter a free contest to win a role in the film here.
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