THE PATH TO CROWDFUNDING WITH NEIL D’MONTE AND NEO EDMUND CO-CREATORS/ARTISTS/WRITERS
Neil D’Monte and Neo Edmund have worked in the world of entertainment for over a decade. Their wide range of experiences has taught them what it takes to make a project happen in the Hollywood system. It has also taught them how that same system can suck the creative life out of a project like a horny vampire in heat. Who hasn’t sat in a movie theater weeping over a soulless adaptation of a beloved comic book, video game or novel?
The business of silver screen entertainment has become largely about studios making as much money as possible. Most films have to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Bigger, dumber, and loaded up with expensive special effects has become the cornerstone of the Hollywood filmmaking machine.
Making it all the worse, there isn’t much room in the market for anything new or original. Do we only want to see vapid and vacuous remakes of TV shows from the 70’s and 80’s? The people say HELL NO! Do we want entertainment options for our box office dollars other than weird spin-offs of old board games? The people shout HELL YES! How do we know? The mass success of crowd-funding proves it time and time again!
There are many theories on why crowd-funding has become a powerful resource in pushing forward independent projects. Neil and Neo believe that it has a lot to do with giving the power to the people to decide what they want to see, read and, listen to. If the crowd wants to see a project go forward, they have the power to give it the greenlight. If the people think a project is a pile of puke, stink, and bile, they can send it to an early grave. There simply is no better way to test the potential of a new project than to ask the people if they are willing to fund it into reality.
“Neo and I have had meetings with major Hollywood execs for Clan of the Vein,“ says Neil.
“While we could have used the cash, we did not like the fact that our original story would be watered down until there was no substance left. We felt like our honor would be at stake if we signed the project over for a quick buck. So we decided to tough it out for a few years and do it ourselves so we could stay true to our creative vision. It was really hard walking away from a deal, but we are much happier knowing we will be getting this one
done on our own terms.”
This being said, Neo and Neil believe that crowd-funding shouldn’t reduce creators to the likes of panhandlers standing on a freeway off-ramp asking for free money. In the early days of Kickstarter, they rejected the idea because the system lacked incentives for the funders. Neil and Neo have opted to offer a wide-range of incentives, ranging from original artwork to items autographed by many of their famous friends. There will even be props and collectibles directly inspired from the pages of the graphic novel, created exclusively by several world-class artists that have offered to support their cause. Anyone want a limited edition faux bronze bust of a character from Clan of the Vein, hand-crafted by an Emmy Award-winning sculptor? Yep! That’s the level of coolness the incentives are going to be for Neil and Neo’s upcoming Kickstarter campaign.
So what is the project and why is it worth supporting?
First of all, this is not just another vampire hunter story. Really, it’s not! Neil and Neo take the business of killing vamps much tougher than a simple stake through the heart. It all started with Neil’s twisted artistic vision. He created dozens of amazing art pieces depicting a world rich with dynamic characters and mind-blowing locations, interlaced with dazzling action sequences.
“What stands out above all is the unique nature of the mythology, crafted from vampire lore from all around the world,” says Neo.
“These are not typical bloodsuckers and they sure don’t sparkle — unless they are on fire after being blown to bits. We wanted to tell an atmospheric thriller deeply rooted in the middle of an epic yet tragic love story spanning thousands of years; a love story between our main character Ian MacBane and the woman who haunts him through his vampiric paintings and visceral dreams.”
From the very beginning, Neo and Neil have dreamed of doing Clan of the Vein as a big summer action film. They knew to achieve this dream they would have to prove that their vision for the project would appeal to a mass audience. This revelation came after dealing with film execs that wanted to turn the story into one about vampires kidnapping and ransoming rich people for a quick buck. Yeah! That really happened.
Neil and Neo decided to build a fanbase in the world they love more than any other: the wonderful realm of comic books. With years of professional experience working in comics, they felt confident that they would be able to create a book that would appeal to hardcore comic fans as well as casual readers. The book would also serve as an excellent tool for pitching their vision for the film version. Hollywood execs LOVE visuals. The more art you can bring to a meeting, the better they can see YOUR vision.
Instead of going with a straight adaptation of the screenplay, Neil and Neo opted to use the comic as a pre-Act 1 set up, laying in some of the back story elements tied together through an action driven narrative. Neo started scripting the plot while Neil drew the pages, a few of which they managed to get colored by artist Jason Walton.
True facts! Colorists and letterers deserve to get paid for their time and printing, and distribution needs financial backing.
After much consideration and encouragement from their friends who had their own successes on Kickstarter, Neil and Neo have decided to take their shot in the amazing new world of crowd-funding. After carefully studying the successes and failures of others who have traveled this path before them, they know without doubt that the quest to crowd-fund their project will be a full-time commitment. Onward!
CHECK OUT MORE ON CLAN OF THE VEIN –
A GRAPHIC NOVEL HERE!
BIOS:
NEO EDMUND (Co-creator/writer) has worked in the entertainment industry as a writer, story development executive, and a film producer for over ten years. As an author, he has written for film, television, feature animation, and comics. He recently published his first novel titled A Tale of Red Riding: Rise of the Werewolf Huntress. He is currently writing and co-producing two films titled Of Light and Darkness and Solitary The Movie. Neo has also written on projects for companies including Jim Henson Studios, The Hub, Zenescope, Silver Dragon Books, History Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Spike TV, JumpStart Interactive, Branded Films, Platinum Studios, FOX Studios, and Genetic Entertainment.
NEIL D’MONTE (Co-Creator/artist) is an artist, film actor and musician born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. A graduate of the USC School of Fine Arts, he began his career as a comic book artist on titles such as Praxis Comics’ Gate of the East Wind and independently published titles Invictus, Templar and Sacrament. In his 10-plus year film career, Neil’s artwork can be seen in The Mummy, Day of the Dead and Bunraku. He is also an actor in films like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Bunraku, TBK2: The Toolbox Murders and Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation. Neil is currently storyboarding the upcoming film Tell. In addition to his work as an actor and artist, Neil also tours the alternative rock music scene as a drummer, and is now taking on co-writing and directing as his next set of challenges.
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