Details
1 | Award-winning, experienced filmmaker who has completed over 15 feature films. |
2 | The 1st time this story has been told in a feature film! There have been books but no feature films. |
3 | Incredible resources and support in the Southeastern U.S. such as locations, horses, etc. |
4 | Over 100 actors, riders, and living history performers ready to participate! |
5 | Completion and public release before the end of 2021. |
I am investing in The Wilderness Road to help bring this true story of the Harpe brothers, robbers and killers of innocent travelers on the Nacthez Trace in the late 1700's to an audience. Director/Producer Travis Mills is an experienced filmmaker with over 15 feature films including the western Blood Country on Amazon Prime. His dedication and professionalism to film making sets him apart from other filmmakers. His ability to find great locations, local talent, and re-creating historical time periods make his films stand apart from others. This will be my eighth feature film to work with Travis and I believe in his talents and abilities.
My goal during 2020 has been to make 12 feature-length Western films in 12 months. As of May, I am on schedule with four films in the can. The most ambitious of all these Western films is The Wilderness Road, an epic tale about the notorious bandits who robbed the killed along the early trade routes in America.
Even more amazing than the story itself is that it has never been told in a feature-length motion picture or television series! Some filmmakers touched on these characters briefly in old classics like How the West Was Won and a Disney adventure where Davy Crockett faced off against river pirates but no one has ever tackled the subject in its entirety. That is until now!
Reading the history of the Harpe Brothers and Samuel Mason (the three main characters in our film), it's like reading history as if written by Rob Zombie. When first researching the tales of these outlaws, I was immediately reminded of Zombie's The Devil's Rejects and other ghastly horror films. Hence the reason that I have see our film as not just a Western set in the early pioneering days of America but also a dark horror tale about the nature of violence and evil in human kind. What occurs in this film is as relevant as what we see on the evening news every day.
The Wilderness Road follows Big and Little Harpe (who some consider America's first serial killers) as they evade the law and the posses on their trail, robbing and killing through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi. Meanwhile, Revolutionary War hero Samuel Mason turns to a life of crime, becoming the most famous thief of the Natchez Trace. Through a series of violent events, these two forces will converge in a brutal battle of bad guy against bad guy. In truth, our movie is one where the villains are the heroes.
Scheduled for production in October/November of this year, The Wilderness Road is in active pre-production. We have held two local casting calls in the Southeast and online auditions through Actors Access. Character actor Creek Wilson has signed on to play Samuel Mason.
Every week, we are announcing a new cast member for The Wilderness Road as we add the best actors, horseman, and living history performers to our massive ensemble. Click here to join our Facebook group for weekly updates!
We are actively location scouting for the film which features historic structures, forest roads, rivers, and more. One of the highlights of our previous work has been the authenticity and astonishment of the locations we've found. The Wilderness Road will be no different as we travel to some of the most unique areas of the Southeastern United States for these scenes.
Here is a look at our budget breakdown for the production:
As pre-production continues, we are working hard on everything from crew hires to wardrobe selection . Just recently, filmmaker Mario Mattei joined our team as Director of Photography. Mattei directed Netflix documentary The Gentleman Driver and has worked as DP on numerous projects. Earlier this year, he got his feet wet in the Western world as the DP for our movie She was the Deputy's Wife. We are excited to have him back to create the fascinating dark world of The Wilderness Road.
We believe The Wilderness Road will be like nothing fans of the Western, American history, and regular moviegoers have ever seen before. It will enlighten and entertain with a story that has been begging to be put on screen!
Here are some samples of our previous work. We specialize in making high quality independent films for the right budget that will earn a profit for our investors.
A still from Bastard's Crossing, one of our 12 Westerns, which shows the kinds of interior locations and set design we will be using in The Wilderness Road.
These stills from Texas Red, also one of the 12 Westerns, shows our use of exteriors in the Southeastern United States (locations will be a big highlight in The Wilderness Road) and the use of skilled riders:
Our 2017 Western Blood Country was a big hit on Amazon and generates revenue for our investors every quarter. We hope you'll join us on a similar journey, along The Wilderness Road.
Blood Country Trailer
Watch some of our on-set work in this behind the scenes look at filming She was the Deputy's Wife:
Behind the Scenes of 1st Mississippi Casting Call
The Wilderness Road has financial statements ending May 24 2020. Our cash in hand is $0, as of May 2020. Over the three months prior, revenues averaged $0/month, cost of goods sold has averaged $0/month, and operational expenses have averaged $0/month.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this offering. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis, including information regarding the strategy and plans for our business, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. You should review the "Risk Factors" section for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.
Overview
This is a production company responsible for making a new feature film titled The Wilderness Road, a historical adventure and Western. The film follows Samuel Mason (Revolutionary War hero turned bandit) and the Harpe Brothers (notorious killers) as they are chased by the law and vigilante citizens in the late 1700s and early 1800s, leading to a violent conclusion. Our story is part history, part horror, a Western like you have never seen before.
Our main objective is to produce a feature film that reaches an audience year and year across the globe. We also hope this film leads to a group of films or streaming series covering the incredible history of the Natchez Trace, a subject whose surface can only be scratched with one feature film. The stories from this time and place are so rich that multiple narratives could be spun from this material.
Given the Company’s limited operating history, the Company cannot reliably estimate how much revenue it will receive in the future, if any.
Milestones
The Wilderness Road LLC was organized in the State of Mississippi in May 2020.
Since then, we have:
Historical Results of Operations
Our company was organized in May 2020 and has limited operations upon which prospective investors may base an evaluation of its performance.
Liquidity & Capital Resources
After the conclusion of this Offering, should we hit our minimum funding target, our projected runway is 18 months before we need to raise further capital.
We plan to use the proceeds as set forth in this Form C under "Use of Funds". We don’t have any other sources of capital in the immediate future.
We will likely require additional financing in excess of the proceeds from the Offering in order to perform operations over the lifetime of the Company. We plan to raise capital in 6 months. Except as otherwise described in this Form C, we do not have additional sources of capital other than the proceeds from the offering. Because of the complexities and uncertainties in establishing a new business strategy, it is not possible to adequately project whether the proceeds of this offering will be sufficient to enable us to implement our strategy. This complexity and uncertainty will be increased if less than the maximum amount of securities offered in this offering is sold. The Company intends to raise additional capital in the future from investors. Although capital may be available for early-stage companies, there is no guarantee that the Company will receive any investments from investors.
Runway & Short/Mid Term Expenses
The Wilderness Road LLC cash in hand is $0, as of May 2020. Over the last three months, revenues have averaged $0/month, cost of goods sold has averaged $0/month, and operational expenses have averaged $0/month, for an average burn rate of $0 per month. Our intent is to be profitable in 18 months.
This is a new company and therefore there are no material changes or trends yet that would effect the financials.
The expenses will be any pre-production costs on the movie including camera rental, production insurance, costume design, set design, etc.
We expect to need a minimum of $50,000 to bring this project to market. We plan to release to the film about a year after finishing production. We hope (but not guarantee) to generate $20,000 in revenues 3 months after release and about $65,000 a year after being released.
All of the funds raised through Wefunder will be our sole source of capital for the production of the movie.
1 | The struggle to find proper distribution channels, especially breaking into the foreign markets, could potentially impede our ability to generate revenues from this project. |
2 | Our future success depends on the efforts of a small management team. The loss of services of the members of the management team may have an adverse effect on the company. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in attracting and retaining other personnel we require to successfully grow our business. |
3 | The inability to have a good theatrical tour and/or festival run in light of the COVID crisis can have a material impact on our debut. It is unclear how the traditional festival ecosystem will change. |
4 | Schedule changes and conflicts because of the COVID virus or other unknown factors such as weather, etc. could negatively impact our ability to produce the film. There might be secondary and tertiary effects of COVID that we cannot foresee. |
5 | Procuring the necessary costumes to have big scenes with extras, causing us to minimalize the script, which could lead to a product different than what we first imagined. |
6 | Any production delays causing overtime which might effect our post-production/marketing budget. An increase in those budget items could lead us with less resources for other areas of the business. |
Director | Occupation | Joined |
---|---|---|
Travis Mills | Filmmaker @ Self-Employed | 2020 |
Officer | Title | Joined |
---|---|---|
Travis Mills | CEO | 2020 |
Holder | Securities Held | Voting Power |
---|---|---|
Travis Mills | Membership Interest | 100.0% |
Date | Amount | Security |
---|---|---|
11/2020 | $67,125 | Custom |
$50,000 | Funds will be used for the following: 1. 40 % Principal Cast/Crew Payroll. 2. 20 % Camera/Gear Rental. 3. 12.5 % Catering/Lodging. 4. 10% Costumes and Props. 5. 10% Makeup/Practical Effects. 6. 7.5% Wefunder intermediary fee. |
$75,000 | These additional funds will be used for the following: 1. 30% Hiring additional crew. 2. 10% Marketing/Social Media. 3. 52.5% Renting higher production value items like period accurate vehicles (boats/wagons). 4. 7.5% Wefunder intermediary fee. |
$100,000 | This maximum target will allow us to work with our biggest budge yet for one of our Western feature films and provide the following opportunities: 1. 30% Casting 1-2 "Name" actors in cameo roles to help with distribution. 2. 30% Increasing our ability to film in multiple states for the prime locations to tell this story with the most production value. 3. 32.5% A sizable marketing budget allowing us to promote an expansive theatrical tour and wide exposure for our VOD release. 4. 7.5% Wefunder intermediary fee. |
The Securities and Exchange Commission hosts the official Form C on their EDGAR web site.
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