Here at Film Threat, Nathan and David Zellner hold a special place in our heart. We released a feature film of theirs, Frontier, on Film Threat DVD, and we’ve watched as, year in and year out, the duo came up with new shorts or other film projects to capture our interest. Now they’ve got a new film, Kid-Thing, that they’re crowdfunding on Kickstarter, and we decided to run Nathan through the Certified Film Threat in Progress questionnaire treatment…
Assume no one at Film Threat has heard of you: who are you, how long have you been making films? What films have you made?
My brother and I have been making films since we were kids, eventually finding our voice with a handful of short films that toured around the festival circuit. Beginning in 2005, we had three shorts at Sundance: Flotsam/Jetsam, Redemptitude, and Aftermath on Meadowlark Lane, followed by our first feature premiere Goliath in 2008. Goliath is the story about a man going through personal life crisis punctuated by the loss of his beloved pet cat Goliath. The film was distributed by IFC Films in 2010 and is currently available everywhere on DVD. We’re also the creators of the controversial web series Fiddlestixx about a monkey with brain powerz.
All of our shorts are available online at zellnerbros.com
What is Kid-Thing? What is it about?
Kid-Thing is a fever-dream fable about Annie, a rebellious girl whose existence is devoid of parental guidance. She spends her time roaming the land, shoplifting, vandalizing and making prank phone calls. Her routine is broken one day while playing in the woods; she hears an old woman calling from a mysterious hole in the ground, asking for help. Scared and untrusting of the unseen stranger, Annie deliberates on her course of action.
Where did the idea for Kid-Thing come from?
The story had been kicking around for sometime and was originally conceived as starring a boy. Last year we shot a music video for Ola Podrida’s “This Old World” starring a 9-year-old girl named Sydney Aguirre, who’s the daughter of a friend of ours. She had such a strong presence and was so great to work with that we decided to adapt the story to her.
Who is in the cast? Anyone we’re familiar with?
We like to use people who fit the part and usually cast and/or write with someone in mind, which is why we didn’t have to look far to find “Annie.” This isn’t the first time we’ve worked with Sydney, she has a cameo at the end of our short The Virile Man when she was 3-years-old. Her father also did some break dancing for us in Goliath.
When did you start filming? How long is the shoot?
We’ve been shooting in installments over the fall, based around the actress’s school schedule.
What problems/concerns/horror stories did you already have or still potentially foresee for the film?
Mainly that we have a specific amount of time to complete production before the actress hits a growth spurt.
Is this your first attempt at crowdfunding?
Yes.
Why did you decide to crowdfund?
For smaller projects it seems like a viable option for financing and a good way to spread the word/get people involved in your project from an early stage.
Do you have other financial resources or investors in place beyond the crowdfunding?
Initial funding came from a grant and out of pocket, and Kickstarter should hopefully help us finish it out.
Why did you choose Kickstarter over another crowdfunding solution?
Kickstarter has made an impact on the indie film community, people are already familiar with the process and the idea behind it.
Where is the crowdfunded money going?
Most of the money we will receive will go towards completion of production and finishing the film, be that editing, sound, music, coloring, and other post work.
If you do not hit your financial crowdfunding goal, what then?
Unfortunately there are always credit cards… maybe a car wash.
In a perfect scenario, where are you and your film a year from today?
Ideally premiering at a festival. We’re really happy with the project and are eager to share it with an audience.
Why should someone give your production money?
We have a proven track record. We also have good incentives. We slow dance well and give good hugs. Plus you’ll be backing a really unique, original film.
If you’d like to know more about Kid-Thing, or we didn’t ask all the questions you’ve got, go ahead and comment below or head over to the Kid-Thing Kickstarter page and comment there. Next week we’ll be back with a new project for you to check out but, until then, we hope you enjoyed this closer look at Kid-Thing.
DISCLAIMER: Donating or investing in a film or film-related project is always a risky endeavor, so it is important to keep that in mind before deciding to get financially involved with any film project. Film Threat, FilmThreat.com and our parent company, Hamster Stampede, LLC hold no liability or responsibility regarding any of the projects showcased on our site, their content or performance or the content or performance of any of the sites linked to in this article. Our involvement with the featured project is strictly what you see here: we find a work-in-progress project that sounds interesting to us, we ask all the questions we’d like to know the answers to and then we share that information with you, the audience. This should not be considered as personalized investment advice. What happens after you read this is your decision, and, again, before parting with any money for any film, think it through and BE CAREFUL.
