So What Is “For Nothing” All About?
For Nothing is the first novel in An Upstate New York Mafia Tale, an Amazon bestselling series. Having sold more than 250,000 copies to date, this project is a mafia-genre story that primarily takes place in Buffalo, NY and spans Western New York all the way to Upstate New York. By supporting this project you will allow us to film the story in Buffalo, NY and showcase the city, putting a spotlight on a place that is often overlooked or forgotten. You will also allow us to take the pilot to investors to get the tremendous amount of funding for a full season of mafia-style intrigue and hard-boiled detective intensity we believe you want to see.
Here is the proof of concept film (from the Nicholas Denmon Fan Page) – so we hope you have five minutes to spare! This is the type of quality you get from our team in one afternoon of filming and with only the money out of our own pockets:
*CLICK THE PICTURE TO WATCH THE FILM*
We hope you liked the concept film…more below!
In addition to helping us shine a spotlight on Buffalo, NY and supporting the art of storytelling – you will also be giving a group of young and hungry filmmakers a chance to showcase their skills. The crew, with an average age of 23, have been working together for more than five years to be ready for this opportunity. By showing folks that a project like this is possible, we hope to show other young filmmakers that with a will there truly is a way.
The Story Of For Nothing
An origin story, the pilot takes place three years before the initial story of For Nothing. For Nothing brings us on a journey as undercover cop Alex Vaughn goes deeper than ever into the organized crime family of Buffalo, NY. Motivated by justice and revenge, he seeks out the assassin that laid his friend low. Professional killer Rafael Rontego traverses the deadly politics of Buffalo’s mafia underbelly. In a city whose winter can be just as deadly as those wielding power, Rontego tries to stay ahead of the game.
Their two worlds collide in this epic thriller that takes the reader on a search for self, justice, and truth. The pilot explores all the chess pieces: mafia wars, federal indictments, and the quest for justice which set up the events that unfold at the beginning of the written series.
Who Is Behind This Project?
The Cast
Tom Sizemore as Salvatore Pieri, Boss of Bosses
Sizemore is probably most widely recalled for his role as “Sergeant Horvath” in Saving Private Ryan. The role and film received wide acclaim and introduced Sizemore’s talents to a much broader audience in a more human and well-rounded role than he had previously been given.
Sizemore then portrayed a psychotic paramedic in Bringing Out the Dead directed by Martin Scorsese followed by performances in Play It to the Bone, Red Planet, and Pearl Harbor. Sizemore then received another leading role in the high-profile military drama Black Hawk Down directed by legendary director, Ridley Scott.
Specializing in the sort of ultimate tough-guy/manly man roles that hearken back to a different era in film, Sizemore continues to be a favorite of Hollywood’s greatest directors. A commanding voice and presence on film, Sizemore will now lead a talented cast on the pilot episode of gangster drama For Nothing.
Daniel Baldwin as Old Joe Falzone, Underboss
Baldwin is an American actor, director and producer. He is the second eldest of the four Baldwin brothers, all of whom are actors. Baldwin played the role of Detective Beau Felton in the NBC TV series Homicide: Life on the Street, and has starred in Ned Blessing: The True Story of My Life (1992), Mulholland Falls (1996), Vampires (1998), The Pandora Project (1998), Stealing Candy (2002), Paparazzi (2004) and Grey Gardens (2009). He hosted “The Daniel Baldwin Show” on radio station WTLA in Syracuse from 2017 to 2019.[2][3] He has also been an emcee for the television series truTV Presents: World’s Dumbest.
James Duval as Jack Benton, Undercover Detective Liason
Duval has starred in numerous independent films, including the 2009 psychological thriller The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond and the mystery crime-thriller film Noirland directed by Ramzi Abed. He is also known for his roles in the Gregg Araki trilogy—Totally Fucked Up, The Doom Generation, and Nowhere—in addition to Frank in Donnie Darko, Blank in May, Miguel in Independence Day and Singh in Go.
Eve Mauro as Charlotte Vaughn
Most recently, Eve was cast in Crackle’s upcoming drama series The Oath, executive produced by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s (Power) G-Unit Film & Television. She will be acting alongside fellow actors Sean Bean, Katrina Law, Ryan Kwanten, Cory Hardrict, Arlen Escarpeta and Micheal Malarkey. She has accumulated a vast array of credits including The Oath (2018), Age of the Living Dead (2018-2020), Land of the Lost (2009), The Steam Experiment (2009).
Sean Gloria as Muro Lucano, Hitman
Sean won his first award for a dramatic short film, “If You Want It”, that was screened at the University of Tampa’s Campus Movie Fest (2010). That same year, a short film Sean led, titled “Scoops”, won “Best Picture” at the University of South Florida Campus Movie Fest (2010). He is also known for The Bag Man (2018), The Cuddlers, LLC (2019), Rogue Island (2016), Mr. McCuddles (2019)
Nicholas Denmon as Rafael Rontego, Hitman
Nicholas Denmon is a novelist, poet, and actor. He was most recently cast as Tony Diamond in the television series Rivals (2019), as well as in the sadistic role of Nazi guard Oskar in the WWII film Wolfhound starring James Maslow. He is known for Wolf Hound (2020), Jabberwanky (2020), Death Trap (2019), Rivals (2019), and Real Premonition (2007)
Chalet Brannan as Kira Nivsky
She has been nominated for several awards for Best Supporting and Lead roles. She has presented an ICON Award at the Pre-Oscars to Kevin Sorbo who has been in her films. Her lead role in Crepitus has helped her to surpass Actress Linda Blair as a lead in a R Rated horror feature at 12 years of age. Chalet Brannan continues to impress all she meets and has been likened to Dakota Fanning and Jodie Foster in her abilities. She is known for Tinker’ (2018), Vengeance (I) (2019), The Sparrows: Nesting (2015), Peter Pan, Land of Forever
Michael Humphreys as Alex Vaughn, Undercover Detective
Michael trained at Central School of Speech and Drama, specializing in Collaborative and Devised Theatre. He toured for two years in London’s National Theater production of War Horse. To date, mostly a theatrical actor, his stage credits include The Good Earth (Flea Theatre, New York), Fear of Drowning (Chapter Arts), Little Shop of Horrors (Theatre Clwyd), War Horse (U.K., Ireland and South Africa Tour), One Million (Greenwich Festival), Llwyth (Sherman Theatre), The Beach (National Theatre of Wales. For Nothing will be his small screen debut.
The Crew
Aeri Productions has teamed up with Cross Atlantic Media and Monk Riot as well as author Nicholas Denmon in an attempt to turn the cult series, An Upstate New York Mafia Tale (of which For Nothing is book one) into a television series. The series has sold more than 250,000 copies to date and has been an Amazon bestseller several times over.
Aeri Productions is helmed by visionary Steven Quach who has filmed for large brands such as H&M, Culvers, World of Beer, Marriott among others. He has also directed numerous short films such as Beyond the Dark, Ashes in Trinity, and the For Nothing Concept Short.
Nicholas Denmon is an international bestselling author. Dubbed the “Savior of Mob Fiction,” by Men’s Mag Daily, his series An Upstate New York Mafia Tale has topped the Organized Crime genre more than nine times. He is also from the great city of Buffalo, NY and wants to highlight his home as well as stay true to the setting of his novels. Buffalo, he feels, is often a forgotten city but is a great city rich with history and culture that would be perfect for the screen. He wants to share this with the world – all while telling a mafia story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Perks: What You Get
$1 – Our eternal gratitude and a “Thank You” message from our team.
$5 – The previous perk, plus: Exclusive online viewing of the complete short film For Nothing (and any additional episodes made from meeting stretch goals), exclusive access to our production blog, an exclusive desktop wallpaper, and your name on the “Thank You” page of our website.
$15 – All previous perks, plus: A For Nothing-themed social media skin packet, a copy of the For Nothing ebook with over 300 pages of classic mafia literature.
$20 – All previous perks, plus: An ebook copy of Buffalo Soldiers – book 2 in the series.
$25 – All previous perks, plus: A digital download copy of the script of For Nothing the pilot episode in PDF format, and all the full-orchestra For Nothing MP3 soundtrack. As well as the behind the scenes featurette on “The Making of For Nothing”.
$35 – All previous perks, plus a Vintage-style For Nothing mafia pin and thank you in the credits.
$50 -All previous perks, plus: a signed movie-style poster by Nicholas Denmon.
*MORE PERKS BELOW THE POSTER*
$85 – All previous perks, plus: An exclusive For Nothing t-shirt.
$125 – All previous perks, plus: A signed copy of For Nothing and one pair of Mobster Sunglasses.
$150 – All previous digital perks plus a cast hello video-text message from on-set.
$250 – A signed set of both For Nothing and Buffalo Soldiers, plus all digital rewards. Every book picked up from this campaign will be signed and numbered by Nicholas as well as signed by some members of our team, including the director and actors that create the pilot of For Nothing, and each book will have an original message by Nicholas Denmon on the inside cover. All of these features will only be included in books obtained through this campaign.
$500 – All the previous perks plus a signed movie poster, by the whole cast and crew.
$1000 – All the previous perks plus a signed script. There will only be 17 numbered scripts available.
$2500 – All the previous perks (except a producer credit) plus be an extra on the show. We might even give you a line or two.
$2500 – All the previous perks plus a Producer credit.
$5000 – All the previous perks (except a producer credit) plus an Executive Producer credit.
$10,000 – All the previous perks plus let’s face it at this point, you’re an Executive Producer, you’ve given us tremendous help, you’re basically family. Come spend a day with an all-access pass on set as we film the pilot!
Stretch Goals
At the $200,000 mark, we will begin work on the second episode of For Nothing and continue the story. Plus everyone that contributed will be given a free digital copy of the pilot complete with behind the scenes footage.
At the $250,000 mark, we will hire a famous mystery actor to help accentuate the tale. Plus everyone who contributed will now be thanked in the credits and receive a signed movie-style poster.
At the $350,000 mark, we will be able to embark on the third episode of For Nothing. You will all also get all the above plus the mafia-style For Nothing pin.
At the $450,000 mark, we will make episode 4 and be almost half-way through the first season. For this achievement, the entire For Nothing Kickstarter community will get digital copies of episodes 1-3 plus all the other stretch perks that were unlocked.
Where Does The Money Go?
The money for this project goes towards getting the cast and crew in one spot, feeding them, and housing them. It also goes to pay for their services as well as to give them the right equipment to work with. Everything from camera lenses, to lighting, and microphones makes a huge difference in the quality of viewing experience. We also have to put the product through post-production and then market it afterward to create buzz around the project. It is a lot to think about, but here is a pie chart that might be helpful to help you visualize the buckets where the money will be spent.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
If you want to help but can’t afford to contribute money, you can still pitch in by sharing this campaign with as many people as possible: with friends and family, on your social media, and all over the Internet. Not only will you help raise awareness for this campaign, but you might help someone who wants to support new tv shows find out about the project and make For Nothing a reality.
Any project of this type of scope comes with inherent challenges. From accumulating the proper money to make this a reality all the way to the logistics of filming in snow for 12 hour days and nights, there is truly no shortage of possible hurdles we will have to overcome. But have no fear! With your help, we know we can do it. We have done so much as a group already, that we know there isn’t anything we cannot overcome when we work together.