Is It Crazy to a Film During a Pandemic? Not For These Two Mad Hatters - Mark Brown

It’s Never Too Crazy To Create Art. Even During a Pandemic.

It’s official, my friends Michael Fitzpatrick and his husband Greg Ivan Smith have completely lost their minds. They’ve decided to shoot a feature film. Now. During a pandemic.

God love them.

Not willing to just hide under their bed covers, Michael and Greg are using this extended period of “postponed employment” to finally shoot the feature version of their award-winning horror short, Remission.

So they are driving across the country – yes, you read that correctly – DRIVING across the country from Los Angeles to shoot in upstate NY. And they will be doing the entire project alone, in quarantine, just the two of them.

Someone forgot to pay their brain bill.

Since they’re working under the SAG-AFTRA Ultra Low-budget Production Agreement, they’ll be acquiring a payroll company, insurance, making union benefit contributions, along with purchasing or renting what always seems to be an endless amount of other necessary items to make a quality film of this length.

But quality doesn’t come cheap.

Michael and Greg have created a Seed&Spark campaign in order to fund the film, with a goal of raising $15,000 (a small amount in the world of features, but a huge amount for this project).

I’ve known Michael and Greg for decades (and how weird and scary is it to say y0u’ve known someone for decades?) and I absolutely adore them. (Michael was my best man at my vows renewal ceremony) I know it’s not the best of times (One may even call it the worst of times) to donate money to a project, but any amount will make these loveably chuckleheads dance for joy.

You can donate on their Seed&Spark campaign page. They have some great incentives for each pledge-level and a donation makes you a real part of their team, with updates coming to you along the way: from pre-production through filming, to their film festival journey and beyond.

Creating art is of vital importance right now, please consider being a part of theirs.

Thanks so much.