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War film movie buffs!
WE’RE BACK in a third and FINAL Kickstarter for a groundbreaking full-length major motion picture–like Braveheart--but set in the pre-Columbian New World. To help you catch our vision, we’ve produced an action-packed 14-minute PILOT SHORT FILM, which–as part of this campaign–we’re releasing for the first time FREE right here in this video exclusively on Kickstarter for the next 30 days only. Once our campaign ends, our pilot short will be taken down, so please, text, email, and private message our campaign to EVERYONE you know so they can watch it before it’s gone.
Before we show you our full pilot short film, here’s a 40-second TRAILER:
Would you buy a ticket to this movie? My guess is, you would! Reign of Judges is a period-action film based on a best-selling book that’s sold over 140M copies. A book translated into 145 different languages and teeming with explosive–high-stakes–adventure as current as the daily news. Of its 239 chapters, 73% deal with war, terrorism, murder, secret combinations, political conspiracies, and other conflict. It also mentions Jesus Christ almost two times more than the Bible.
Our film is based on the popular, yet controversial, Book of Mormon. Pulitzer Prize-winning Historian, Daniel Walker Howe, says, “True or not, the Book of Mormon is a powerful epic written on a grand scale with a host of characters [of]… heroic good and atrocious evil… the Book of Mormon should rank among the greatest achievements of American Literature.” The U.S. library of congress did a nationwide survey in 2016 where the public voted the Book of Mormon the fourth Most Influential Book in the largest economy in the world. Why would Yale University Press, the University of Illinois Press, Doubleday, and even Penguin Books all republish the Book of Mormon in its entirety?
Baptist Minister, Lynn Ridenhour, fully “embraces the Book of Mormon“ and frequently preaches from its pages. Five-time Academy Award-Nominated writer, Earnest Lehman, quoted three verses from the Book of Mormon in Alfred Hitchcock’s Family Plot:
Book of Mormon Musical is the 7th highest-grossing Broadway show of all time and the vast majority of the world believes the Book of Mormon’s fantasy. So what? As they say, “truth is stranger than fiction” and supporting our campaign doesn’t mean you’re supporting the Book of Mormon. It means you’re supporting a universal story of a mighty war hero who freed his people from slavery in the pre-Columbian New World. Doesn’t that sound awesome?! As Tyrion Lannister well said (and Forbes noted as great leadership advice) in the finale episode of Game of Thrones:
STORIES change the world and–whether written or spoken–the crowning jewel for any great story is to find its way to the silver screen as a major motion picture. This is why, after a wildly successful multi-season run, Downton Abbey recently released a major motion picture in theaters. It’s rumored Game of Thrones will do the same. Few stories are more epic and compelling than Captain Moroni in the Book of Mormon. Think Captain America but in the ancient Hebraic and indigenous cultures of the pre-Columbian New World. More on this in our KSL Studio 5 interview below:
At this point, you might be thinking, “Great. I like watching movies but I’ve never helped fund one.” Just remember, your favorite movie wouldn’t exist if someone didn’t risk millions to fund it. So, here’s the golden question…
YEEEEEEESSSS. And backing our film could arguably be one of the most important things you ever do in your life. If this sounds audacious, the following facts may change your mind:
If you can’t relate to these statistics, be grateful–because they represent the vast majority of the world and if you want to influence the world the best way to do it is through cinema, TV, and VOD–and there’s no evidence whatsoever of that changing. This is why Thomas Edison said in 1923, “Whoever controls the motion picture industry controls the most powerful medium of influence over the people.” (as quoted in the “China Review”, Vol. V Aug. 1923, No. 2, p.34)
THIS–besides my passion for the art–is the reason I’m a filmmaker. But, there again, maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t care about influencing people, I just want to be entertained.” Great! You just saw our trailer and you’ll shortly see our full pilot short film. After watching, I’m sure you’ll agree, it has huge entertainment value. But movies influence us and every movie is a sermon. Great films first entertain, second uplift, and third inspire a meaningful message.
As Eric Metaxas said in his 5-star book, “If You Can Keep It“:
But, as powerful as movies are, irony impels the fact that–especially nowadays— fundraising for film is far more difficult than fundraising for any other type of business venture. Out of over 27,000 successfully-funded films right here on Kickstarter only 7 have ever raised more than $1M. What’s more telling is, 62% of all film projects on Kickstarter fail to meet their funding goal–the largest failure rate of any category. In fact, in all Kickstarter’s history, 98.5% of all film projects raised less than $100,000.
Our first Kickstarter funded our pilot short film. Our second funded Blu-ray+DVDs of our pilot short film. Most people have no idea how much it costs to run a successful fundraising campaign. Our first Kickstarter was a MIRACLE–we barely spent $1,500 in Facebook and raised over $220,000 ($50K outside Kickstarter). A year later, Facebook had increased their prices so drastically we had to spend $15,000 to raise $270,000 ($100K outside Kickstarter). For this third and final campaign–in all sincerity–we’re hoping for another miracle because, we don’t have $15,000 to spend on Facebook. It may surprise you to learn that some recently-crowdfunded campaigns spent well over $1M in marketing to achieve fundraising goals of $10-$11M. Think of that number–$1,000,000+ to market a crowdfunding campaign!
We have over 35,000 Facebook fans. Many have commented things like, “If all our fans pledged $300 we’d have well over $10M raised by now.” Sadly, Will Smith’s Gemini Man just bombed at the box office. How is that possible when he has over 116M social media fans?? Here’s a secret social media giants don’t want you to know: Less than 2% of fans ever see your posts. Gone are the days of “viral” videos. Here are the days of “PAY to PLAY”. Social media fans simply aren’t real unless you have money.
Now, let me tell you what our amazing supporters have accomplished in this bootstrap effort on a shoestring budget. Between our first and second Kickstarters and through our website ReignMovie.com over the last year and a half, more than 11,000 backers have raised $1.4M. After dozens of volunteers helped us coordinate dozens of premieres in a first-ever worldwide theatrical release of a pilot short film, we sold nearly 10,000 tickets in 34 U.S. States and 4 different countries, totaling $100,000 box office. Anyone in movies will tell you, short films aren’t supposed to be profitable, yet we’ve sold over 13,000 Blu-ray and VOD copies of a 14-minute pilot short film and, amazingly, it has been profitable!
The majority of funds we’ve raised are from support received outside Kickstarter and these funds can only be spent on the production of our full-length feature. If we fail to hit our minimum $20M goal by December 31, 2019, we’ll have to return all non-donated funds raised outside Kickstarter. In other words, we risk losing everything if we fail to reach $20M before the end of 2019. Obviously, we know we’re facing a seemingly insurmountable mountain. But, as William Blake said:
And the great news is, we asked all 30 of our shareholders (outside Kickstarter) for a 3-12 month extension and nearly all of them enthusiastically agreed to extend. So, to be clear, this Kickstarter is to raise operating capital (in exchange for an awesome campaign reward or for no reward if you choose) to help us keep what we’ve raised outside Kickstarter and to support our full-length feature fundraising efforts for another 12 months. Our fundraising efforts cost roughly $25,000 per quarter. So…
It took Marvel over a decade to green light Iron Man, Hugh Jackman over a decade to green light The Greatest Showman, and Ryan Reynolds over a decade to green light Deadpool. After 6 years (going on 7) Reign of Judges is still ahead of schedule.
We know we won’t reach our $20M goal through crowdfunding–we simply don’t have the marketing funds, so moving forward, our plan is changing. We will use our extension period to network and build solid relationships with as many studios, producers, and potential high-net worth supporters as possible. And, we’re already having success. Just in the last two months, we’ve connected with several high net-worth individuals who could, by themselves, fund our entire film. And it only takes ONE to catch the vision and understand that supporting a great film effort, like ours, could potentially influence the world more than any other cause they might espouse.
Though there’s no guarantee of studio distribution we’re confident we’ll have no trouble getting it. Due to the success of our pilot short film, we already have a written invitation from Lionsgate to screen our full-length feature for potential acquisition.
In a recent Emmy Award-winning documentary, Evangelical Scholar, Paul Gutjahr, calls the Book of Mormon “Absolutely fascinating,” and, in his book he says its “… an important artifact in… American history and culture… with global influence.” The late Catholic theologian, Stephen Webb, calls the Book of Mormon “Panoramic,” saying, “[It has] wars and battles and all sorts of action… [and] it’s kind of odd to say this but there’s more Jesus in the Book of Mormon than there is in the Bible.” Finally, the late religious figure, Spencer W. Kimball, said of the Book of Mormon in 1963:
Reign of Judges stands to be the first North American (Book of Mormon) war epic set in the pre-Columbian New World. The first of a powerful saga taken from a limitless well of action-packed adventures. Why not be bold? Why not support an epic movie with such awesome potential? Why not support a campaign to entertain and influence the world in a monumental way?
Please, read our full endorsements below, from which acclaimed makeup artist, David Atherton (Dances With Wolves) says, “Having worked with Oscar-winning directors and… legends in their fields, I know Reign of Judges is in good hands with Southam at the helm.” My team and I have proven our ability to attract, excite, and negotiate top talent in Hollywood to this project. All of the following cast and crew were part of our pilot short film and are also attached to our full-length feature effort:
In addition, here’s what people are saying about our project:
The world is changing–and in many ways not for the better. And where virtue diminishes, so too does FREEDOM diminish. Help us reignite a worldwide Spirit of Freedom. Help us fund the first full-length Book of Mormon war epic set in the pre-Columbian New World. Now, without further ado, we give you our full pilot short film. Please be sure to also watch our 10-minute behind-the-scenes which plays immediately following the film.
RAISE $100,000 TO KEEP OUR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS ALIVE FOR 12 MORE MONTHS.
ALL FUNDS RAISED OVER $125,000 WILL BE APPLIED DIRECTLY TO OUR FULL-LENGTH FEATURE PRODUCTION FUND.
CONTRIBUTE if you have the means to do so! Backers get updates along the way, exclusive rewards, and will be the first to know when (hopefully not if) our full-length feature is funded.
SHARE with your friends and family! One family in Canada (love you Potters!) sold over 300 tickets to one of our Canadian premieres. Let them inspire you. Besides, if your loved ones don’t know about Reign of Judges (99% chance they don’t), a riveting pilot short film is the perfect way to introduce them! PLEASE, text, email, and private message our campaign to EVERYONE you know so they can watch it before it’s gone!
The vast majority of funds will go toward our full-length feature fundraising efforts. Any concerns about our handling of the funds, both from this campaign and from any profits derived from our full-length feature (if successfully funded and produced), are taken VERY seriously. So seriously, in fact, we have committed in writing (contract available upon request) to use these funds for future films, TV/VOD Series’, or any other motion picture effort to portray events and characters based on the Book of Mormon.
Please visit the FAQ page on our website, ReignMovie.com, for thorough and thoughtful answers to the following questions below (and more):
YOU CAN ONLY PLEDGE IN ONE REWARD CATEGORY. In order for us to get the highest credit possible on Kickstarter, please pledge in the highest reward category you can afford. In your exit survey, sent after the campaign closes, you will be able to add additional items to your order (à la carte) from any other reward category. You can also INCREASE (or change) your pledge any time before the campaign closes.
What you saw in our campaign video was internet quality in stereo sound and likely viewed on a 3-5″ screen. PLEASE, do yourself a favor and pick up a Blu-ray+DVD so you can watch it the right way–in FULL HD with Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound! We likely won’t be doing another run of these so once they’re gone, they’re gone. And, remember, after our campaign ends, our pilot short film will be taken down from online viewing, so grab one (or several) while they last! What’s included?
All specs on these are the same as the regular edition, except these are from the first 2,500 created and they are hand-replicated with unique numbers.
Glossy, epic, and ready to frame!
Other awesome rewards:
We hope, during our 12 month extension, to fully fund our first full-length motion picture. When full funding occurs (hopefully not if), we estimate a 12 month turnaround, from pre-production to worldwide theatrical release, which release we anticipate before the end of 2021–pending full funding.
The purpose of this Kickstarter is to raise operating capital (in exchange for a reward of your choice or for no reward if you choose, which we recommend) to help us keep what we’ve raised outside Kickstarter so far and to fund our full-length feature fundraising efforts for another 12 months. We have a perfect track record of delivering on our campaign promises. That said, this film project has the same risks as any other TV/Film project. Particularly, at this stage, there is a risk our full-length feature will never be made do to lack of funding. In such a case, all respective rewards tied to the completion of our full-length feature (Executive and Associate Producer credits, for example) will not be able to be delivered. In such cases, by pledging to this campaign, you agree to consider those pledges a donation in the event we are unable to fund our full-length feature during our extension period.
If we reach our goal, with the exception of rare extenuating and unforeseen circumstances, we GUARANTEE the fulfillment of all rewards not tied to the completion of our full-length feature within no more than 3 months from successful campaign close. We have already made a powerful and epic pilot short film. We partnered with the best talent in Hollywood to ensure our pilot short film meets the absolute highest production standards and it definitely paid off.
We promise our supporters to pour every bit of passion we have into this undertaking (just like we have done and demonstrated thus far). At the end of the day, if it isn’t enough, the chips will fall where they may. But, the louder the statement our supporters make through their support of this campaign the easier our job becomes.
The writer/creator of this project, Darin Southam, has written and directed over 30 successful film projects. He’s never gone over budget and has always met his deadlines. Consequently, he also completed the pilot short film for Reign of Judges early and under budget.
Our ongoing commitment is this: we will, in good faith, advocate the production of our full-length feature until it is produced and made available with an intended worldwide theatrical release.