Invest in One of These Days

When a photo shoot producer asks a PA, the aspiring, passionate photographer Lara, to hold onto an important client’s shoe, she misplaces them and goes on an absurd journey with a foot-obsessed woman named Pearl to find the shoe, while also trying to solve the mysterious disappearance of her roommate Jenny’s boyfriend.

Lara’s roommate (and old college friend) JENNY is fighting with her boyfriend STEVE… again. Lara thinks over their relationship, noticing that over the years, Jenny has always taken Lara along into cooler social circles in exchange for Lara intervening with her frequent boy problems. Lara promises herself this is going to change, and chooses not to get involved with Jenny and Steve fighting this time. When Jenny cries in her arms, looking for sympathy, Lara sticks to her plan - even though she sees Steve's HAND a bit bloody after their fight. Jenny notices her cold response.

In the morning, Lara works as a PA on an important shoe brands photo shoot. Steve was supposed to be there but he’s nowhere to be seen. The Producer says if he’s a no show tomorrow, Lara won’t be asked back either. At the end of the shoot, they give Lara the pair of shoes to hold onto, and she has to bring them back later tonight. While taking photos at a park after, Lara tries on the shoes and one of them is stolen right off her! With her career on the line, Lara meets Pearl: an ocean obsessed woman with a bit of a foot fetish, to help find the shoes. They end up in a car chase with a couple guys who want to resell the shoes to sneaker-heads, and meet Steve’s brother Paul, whose been looking for him too.

Lara, Paul and Pearl arrive at Lara’s apartment to confront Jenny about where Steve is, only to be thwarted into a chaotic Shabbat dinner party. KEVIN, a network assistant, flirts with Lara. KYLIE, DEREK and FRED talk incessantly about how good their art is, and put Lara down for not preparing for her future. As the dinner goes on, an improv show breaks out, Paul is locked inside Jenny’s room, and Jenny asks Lara to move out. This crushes her. Lara tells the Producer she can’t return the shoes, who says they had plenty of pairs all along.

In the weeks ahead, Lara moves into a new apartment. She attends a Photographers group to meet new friends. Nights later, she runs into Steve, who explains how he and Jenny had been doing a role-playing murder mystery to spice up their love life, as an explanation for his disappearance. One night, Lara’s neighbors are throwing a party. Alone, inside her new apartment, Lara listens to her neighbors’ party music and starts dancing. It becomes a full-out cathartic release.

The confidence needed to go about making ONE OF THESE DAYS is only informed from my experiences putting together and finishing my first two feature films, ROMAN CANDLE and FRIENDS FROM HOME.

Back in 2019, about a year or so out of film school I was living in NYC but eager to keep my filmmaking spirit alive. Between a full-time job to pay the rent, lack of funding, and frequent collaborators separated by location, it was difficult to pull a creative project together at first. However, I had always admired filmmakers who scraped together their first feature films with minimal resources and a proactive attitude: Christopher Nolan’s FOLLOWING (1998), John Cassavettes’ SHADOWS (1959), Martin Scorsese’s WHO’S THAT KNOCKING AT MY DOOR? (1967).

After seeing The National's "I Am Easy to Find" a music video/short film hybrid showing short scenes from one lifetime, I was inspired to create a similar story focused on vignettes of a romantic relationship. Coming from my own experiences with a long term romantic relationship and its aftermath, I felt passionate about expressing a truthful process of how two people’s dynamic can change in real time.  I expanded the story as we went, and balancing our full-time jobs, different locations, and a shoe-string budget, my collaborators and I were able to come together and film a bit of the story at a time on weekends.

In the summer of 2020 we finished filming, spending only an initial $10,000 on the project. With the help of a successful Indiegogo campaign focused on post-production, we raised an additional $8,000 to complete the film by spring 2021. 

Afterwards, I was lucky enough to bring ROMAN CANDLE to 12 film festivals across the country. I traveled to Beloit, Wisconsin - Syracuse, New York - Tallahassee, Florida - Richmond, Virginia showing ROMAN CANDLE to new audiences. I won Best Director at the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival, Best Drama through Film Invasion LA, amongst nominations for Sarah Hubner through NoHo Cinefest, Best Screenplay through Syracuse International Film Festival, and more. For a film we made for nearly nothing on the streets of New York, it proved that my team and I could get an award-winning film finished and out there with only the resources we had. 

In the fall of 2020, I was moving to LA and Mike Koslov was looking for a roommate. We decided to take a road trip from NY and make a movie along the way. It was an adventure that reignited our friendship and sent us on an unforgettable road trip throughout the US. We started this movie without a traditional script. Instead, all we had was an outline focusing on two childhood friends rediscovering their connection on a road trip. The idea was to be inspired by the locations we traveled to and find a human story as we went. It was a pretty terrifying task. 

Despite many unknowns and working with no budget, we ventured out. We traveled for 31 days. Over that period, we fleshed out scenes as we drove down highways and shot at locations that would have been impossible with a bigger crew. With limited camera and sound equipment, we shot all over the country. We captured scenes wherever we could—overlooking the waters of Niagara Falls, next to the geysers of Yellowstone, along the Golden Gate Bridge, and more. Over the last few years, Mike and I have poured our hearts into this project and couldn’t be prouder. This was the definition of a homegrown, independent film. Produced for less than $5,000, our film has just started its own festival run, recently winning the Spirit of Independent Filmmaking award at the Stony Brook Film Festival, showing at Cinema on the Bayou, NoHo Cinefest and more. 

My first two features examined relationships changing in real time. ROMAN CANDLE focused on an intimate romance, its everyday intricacies and the beat by beat process of how love can fall apart. FRIENDS FROM HOME tells a relationship story through the lens of a long-term male friendship. I’m interested in how people are caught in routines together, and the experience by which we either break or embrace patterns.

Like any emerging filmmaker, I’m excited to tell stories on a wider canvas. However, what’s really important to me is sticking to films that are truthful to my own experience and feelings. ONE OF THESE DAYS similarly captures the process of questioning yourself and those around you. For Lara, our lead, she’s a photography assistant, always doing tasks for others, and finds herself subservient and tired in her friendships as well. She walks her roommate Jenny’s dog and contemplates how she often intervenes with Jenny’s fights with boyfriends in exchange for social opportunities.

ONE OF THESE DAYS follows the absurd events that bring Lara to a moment that unravels her perspective. As a strange, manic energy of the day continues, Lara starts to question the dynamics in her life. She’s searching for a shoe that’s not hers, trying to find Steve, a man she’s not responsible for, and caught at a dinner full of people saying her passions aren’t enough. It brings Lara to a breaking point. Our story is a humorous, action-packed and melancholic ode to feeling suffocated by the social and economic climb, going in circles with the people you’ve been comfortable around, and not recognizing any part of yourself anymore.

Our budget is $298K. This includes $240K for production, $40,000+ for post-production, and initial marketing & packaging. We already have $50K invested, and need your help to close the gap!

ONE OF THESE DAYS plans to make its original investment back through a detailed release strategy. With enough of the production budget and cast in place, ONE OF THESE DAYS would go into production in 2025, with plans to submit as either a WIP or completed picture to curated festivals.

Securing a festival premiere at a prestigious festival presents the film with a unique opportunity to screen for the best buyers and distributors. 

FESTIVAL BENEFIT & DISTRIBUTION: 

The route after a festival premiere is distribution. This is where there can be different outcomes. At key festivals, there’s the opportunity to showcase to distributors from there, releasing the film for a day-and-date release simultaneously in select independent theaters alongside digital platforms. Our team is passionate about independent theaters, and feel the current independent landscape has allowed exciting films to emerge with this strategy. Depending on which route we take, the film will have a 2026 release.

Utopia is a great example of a successful independent distributor we have in mind. Utopia released THE SWEET EAST, a comparable film. The Sweet East, similar to our film, follows Talia Ryder’s character as she goes down a rabbit hole with idiosyncratic characters and discovering her own identity in the process. The Sweet East also represents an example of a path for theatrical distribution.

The Sweet East premiered strategically in New York and LA, setting up special event Q&A screenings involving the cast & crews. This was paired with critical review releases. From limited theater engagement, word of mouth generated and a slightly bigger theatrical release ensued in the following weeks, which was profitable past a $300K mark. If secured by a similar distributor, this can be a viable path for our movie.

SELF-DISTRIBUTION:

Another avenue for our film is self-distribution. In today’s unpredictable independent landscape, it’s hard to guess which films garner attention. Often it’s up to the filmmaking team to have a marketing plan. Under self-distribution, we would screen ONE OF THESE DAYS in LA, and NY and with successful enough premieres, these would garner attention, in addition to out-of-home ads, online buzz we generate, and can re-coup enough costs to promote the film for online distribution. Part of the budget would be allocated toward social media campaigns, finding online review sites, in-person q&a’s at these screenings and releasing the movie through specific aggregators. With this strategy, we retain most to all of the Net & Gross Profits.

Our marketing budget would be allocated toward propelling ONE OF THESE DAYS to the forefront of the conversation, for young urban audiences (18-35) in key markets like New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin. We’d focus a four-week media blitz by leveraging a strategic mix of digital, social, and audio partnerships surrounding the launch of the film. 

Collaborations with tastemakers like Cherry Picks, an entertainment, media, and lifestyle site geared toward female film fans with a 3.4 million reach, and hosting a Q&A screening at venues like Vidiots, an LA local video store that is a growing epicenter for showcasing the work of emerging artists with thousands of industry members subscribed to their newsletters, which will cultivate pre-launch anticipation. 

Additionally, we will target an online presence on platforms like popular film sites Letterboxd, and Indiewire alongside local partners like LA's Book Soup, a beloved local bookstore located in the heart of LA for many film enthusiasts and industry people, that will ensure maximum reach of our key targeted audience. Then, foster word-of-mouth conversations through post-release buzz on user and critic review platforms like Letterboxd and Rotten Tomatoes, as well as garnering conversation from Film Independent, a widespread organization made up of 7500 film independent members and reaches an audience of 70,000 through newsletter subscriptions. This campaign aims to propel the film towards a wider audience while also keeping awards season recognition in mind. 

This multi-faceted approach is projected to generate 1-3 million impressions and will carve out an assured way to find the right audience and guarantee a return on investment. 

We’d use images from the film across all platforms, from an out of home billboard spot in LA/NY with an eye grabbing creative to instagram posts, fun missing shoe ads to emulate the story, running ad spots in the uber app and in car programs in taxis to clickable ads on newsletters and more. 

GETTING INVOLVED: 

$50K+ Executive Producer

At $50K or above, you’d be credited as an Executive Producer, one of the most coveted titles, with IMDB and on-screen credits. Your investment would be worthwhile and go toward the production of the film. As an EP, you’ll be involved as you’d like in every step of the production and post-production process. We’d also invite you to visit our on-set production to see our process in action, with an opportunity to even be in the film as well. You’d be invited to review a cut of the film and give notes on it if you’d choose, have a free invite to premieres and events. Here’s a list of some of the incentives: 

• “Executive Producer” credit listed on IMDB, prominently credited on-screen, and credited on the movie poster text. 
• Un-limited set visits during production shoot (travel accommodations are not included).
• A guaranteed cameo!
• One-on-one informational zoom calls with the Director, and Producers before shooting.
• Invitation to the production wrap party.
• Participation in reviewing and giving feedback on the Producers cut of the film during post-production.
• Behind-the-scenes interview with you that will be used on the DVD extras.
• A percentage of the film’s Net Profits, mutually agreed to through a separate agreement.
• 2 Tickets to premiere and festival screenings. When Producer is offered sufficient complimentary tickets to festivals and premieres that Producers will attend, Producers will make available a minimum of 2 tickets to these festivals and premiers to you as an EP.
• Photo Book of BTS photos.
• Getting to keep a production-used Slate from the film.
• Limited edition theatrical poster signed by the cast & crew. 
• DVD/Blu-Ray of the film. 

$25-$50K: Co-Producer

• “Co-Producer” credit listed on IMDB, prominently credited on-screen. 
• Set visits to 1-3 days during production shoot (travel accommodations are not included).
• One-on-one informational zoom calls with the Director, and Producers before shooting.
• Invitation to the production wrap party.
• Participation in reviewing and giving feedback on the Producers cut of the film during post-production.
• A percentage of the film’s Net Profits, mutually agreed to through a separate agreement.
• 2 Tickets to premiere screenings and one festival screening.
• Limited edition theatrical poster signed by the cast & crew. 
• DVD/Blu-Ray of the film. 

$10-$25K: Associate Producer

• “Associate Producer” credit listed on IMDB, prominently credited on-screen. 
• Set visit for 1 day during production shoot (travel accommodations are not included).
• Invitation to the production wrap party.
• Participation in reviewing the Producers cut of the film during post-production. First to see the finished film.
• A percentage of the film’s Net Profits, mutually agreed to through a separate agreement.
• 2 Tickets to premiere screenings.
• Limited edition theatrical poster signed by the cast & crew. 
• DVD/Blu-Ray of the film. 

There are plenty of incentives to being involved with this film: 

-Garnering a credit and bragging rights. When ONE OF THESE DAYS is a hit, you get to say “I’m a producer on that!” 

-Being a part of a rising cast & crew’s film resume, with potential future collaborations in the future. Our team are determined and only growing our presence in the independent film scene. You never know what an opportunity like this can hold, it can be a great way to get to know our team and expand your own involvement with future projects. 

-Helping tell a story that is prescient and relatable. ONE OF THESE DAYS channels many of the feelings young adults are having in the modern world: fighting an uphill battle with their career ambitions, constant financial hardship, relationships changing, the pressure to turn personal hobbies into virtue signals for social media relevancy, and finding a home that’s suitable for you. 

HOW IS MONEY DISTRIBUTED?

All revenue earned by the Film (currently titled “One of These Days”) to the Company (Blank Slate Films LLC) shall be collected by a 3rd party Collection Account Manager(s) or Management Company(s) (“CAM”), which shall be responsible for delivering the revenues according to the "waterfall", summarized below. 

Revenue earned and received by the Film is to be distributed in the following priority order (the “Waterfall”):

1. All of the Company’s outstanding payables associated with the production of the Film, including but not limited to expenses, fees, residuals, and reimbursements; 

2. Paying any debt or deferrals incurred by the Company associated with the production of the Film;

3. Equity investors up to a maximum of 120% of their investment amount;

4. Any deferred monies, salaries, and/or fees owed to producer(s), director(s), talent(s) or parties associated with the production of the Film who deferred payment at the time of production will get paid the remainder of their earnings due to them at this time;  

5. The remainder of Revenues received by the Company which is considered "Net Profits" from the Film, is to be distributed on a pro rata, pari passu basis, in accordance with the agreed to contractual division arrangements and guidelines. 

RISKS

•  The Company’s goal is to produce a commercially profitable movie. The Company’s projected results are dependent on the successful implementation of the Company’s business plan and strategies and are based on hypothetical assumptions and events over which the Company has only partial or no control. 
•  Those that submit funds through WeFunder will not have any control or say as to how and when those funds will be used once received through WeFunder by Company’s management, they shall be relying entirely on the judgment of the Company’s management. 
•  If and when production of the Film commences, no assurance can be given that the Film will receive market acceptance when produced. The Company faces all of the risks inherent in a motion picture business, including the expenses, difficulties, complications and delays frequently encountered in connection with the production and distribution of a motion picture, and the competitive environment in which the Company intends to operate. 
• The development, production, completion and distribution of the Film is subject to numerous uncertainties, including financing requirements, personnel availability and the release schedule of competing motion pictures. There may be additional problems which could adversely affect the Company’s profitability, including (without limitation) public taste, which is unpredictable and susceptible to change; competition with other motion pictures and/or shows, motion pictures and other leisure activities; advertising costs; uncertainty with respect to release dates; and the failure of other parties to fulfill their contractual obligations and other contingencies. No assurance can be given that the Company will be able to successfully develop, produce, distribute, or realize any revenue from The Film. 
• The motion picture industry is highly speculative and involves a substantial degree of risk. No assurance can be given of the economic success of any motion picture. As participants of WeFunder, you need to be aware of the substantial risk of your investment, in that the Film may not be commercially successful, and the Company may be unable to recoup costs associated with the production of the Film or realize revenues or profits from the sale of the Film.
• Each investor’s risk with respect to the production of the Film includes the potential for a complete loss of their investment. Even if we make distributions, there can be no assurance concerning the timing or amounts of the distributions. You may be required to bear the economic risk of the investment for an indefinite period of time.
• The professionals and key personnel working on this production also may be involved in other projects that some may claim are in conflict of interest or substantially similar to the Film, and/or that take them away from the production of the Film and cause delays, all of which may increase the cost of production of the Film. 
• There is no guarantee of return on investment. There is no assurance that a purchaser will realize a return on its investment or that it will not lose its entire investment. 
• The production and distribution of a motion picture involves the passage of a significant amount of time. Distribution and exhibition of motion pictures generally and of the Film may continue for years before gross proceeds or net proceeds may be generated, if at all.
• Natural disasters and other events beyond our control could materially adversely affect us. Our business operations are subject to interruption by natural disasters, fire, power shortages, pandemics and other events beyond our control and could make it difficult or impossible for us to deliver our services to our customers and could decrease demand for our services.