AMERICAN🪶INDIAN (The Movie) by Peter Pardini 🎥
My name is Peter Pardini, and I have been dreaming about this day for a long time. In late 2015, I came up with an idea to make a thriller set on an Indian reservation and I asked my wife Katherine (an actress/producer) if she would join me in trying to get it made.
The log line is:
It's 1988. A Native American hitman tries to get involved in his identical twin brother's new casino business.
"The Buffalo" Concept Art by Faith Randolph.
American/Indian is a dark thriller with comedic elements in the style of the Coen Brothers, David Lynch, etc. But most importantly, it will be a movie told in our voice as filmmakers.
We had a dream cast in mind for our lead characters, including Academy Award-Winner Wes Studi (Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Hostiles) and Adam Beach (Flags of Our Fathers, Windtalkers, Suicide Squad). It felt like a pipe dream because we did not have any connection to either but after many emails, phone calls, and eventually meetings, we now officially have both in the roles that were written for them.
We don't have the funds to make the feature film but the feature script is getting great response from potential financiers and we are being asked to first create a PROOF-OF-CONCEPT piece for the film. This is what Damien Chazelle (director of La La Land & First Man) did for his movie Whiplash. In order to receive funding to make the real thing, he had to shoot a piece of the movie to prove himself as a director.
For us, this means shooting 3-4 scenes and miscellaneous "shots" selected from the feature script so that I can cut together the scenes as well as a 1-2 minute teaser trailer showing the style and concept of the film.
This may be the only way to get this movie made. We have everything else in order from major cast to the crew, and this proof-of-concept should push us the extra step forward.
Katherine is co-producing the short with Erik Reese, an extremely talented director in his own right as well as a great producer. Our cinematographer is Kevin Schlanser, an award-winning filmmaker who is going to make the short look incredible. Wes Studi and Adam Beach will both be producing the feature film with Katherine and Erik when it's ultimately made.
"Slim's Showdown with the Buffalo" Concept Art by Faith Randolph
What We Need & What You Get
We are looking to raise $5,000 for the short materials, which we want to shoot over three days in August in Austin, TX.
This will cover:
Crew travel, equipment, food, props and set design and all the little things that arise in making a film.
Check out the perks!
We truly appreciate it.
The Impact
We know this project is an opportunity to tell a unique story that has never been seen on the big screen before. Wes and Adam are two of the most talented actors in the world and this is an amazing opportunity for us to collaborate with them and make something truly memorable.
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!
"Buffalo in the Road" Concept Art by Faith Randolph
"Joe and the Casino" Concept Art by Faith Randolph
FILMMAKERS
PETER PARDINI (writer/director)
Peter directed and produced Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago, the official documentary about the band Chicago. It premiered on CNN Films to 2 million viewers and later on Netflix and Amazon Prime. He also directed festival favorite Black Cat and Rolling Thunder (also featuring Wes Studi) as well as FAT: A Documentary, which was #1 on iTunes and Amazon in its initial release.
KATHERINE MUISE (producer/actress "Candace" )
Katherine is an actress and producer, who has appeared in such films as Now More Than Ever: The History of Chicago, Magical Red Wedding, Black Cat and has appeared in ads for companies like 7-Eleven and Lone Star Credit Ag. She has worked closely with Peter to produce many films and shorts and will be playing the character of Candace in the feature film.
WES STUDI (actor, "Slim" & "Joe" )
Wes Studi has appeared in more than 80 film and television productions, including Hostiles, Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Geronimo: An American Legend, Being Flynn, Avatar, Comanche Moon, Streets of Laredo, Mystery Men, Kings, The New World, Hell on Wheels, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and Seraphim Falls. He also brought Tony Hillerman's "Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn" to life in a series of PBS specials produced by Robert Redford called Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits, and A Thief of Time (2004).
In 2019, he won an Academy Award for his lifetime of work in motion pictures.
ADAM BEACH (actor, "Carl" )
Adam Beach is best known for his roles as Victor in Smoke Signals, Frank Fencepost in Dance Me Outside, Tommy on Walker, Texas Ranger, Kickin' Wing in Joe Dirt, U.S. Marine Corporal Ira Hayes in Flags of Our Fathers, Private Ben Yahzee in Windtalkers, Dr. Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa) in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, NYPD Detective Chester Lake in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Officer Jim Chee in the film adaptations of Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits, and A Thief of Time. He starred in the Canadian 2012-2014 series Arctic Air, and played Slipknot in the 2016 film Suicide Squad. He also performed as Squanto in Disney's historical drama film Squanto: A Warrior's Tale. Most recently he has starred in Hostiles as Black Hawk, and the Netflix original film Juanita as Jess Gardiner.
ERIK REESE (producer)
Erik Reese is a producer and director, known for Dead Bullet, Train to Stockholm and Pickaxe. He has worked closely with the film company Sabi and has directed and produced numerous commercials and short films as well as feature films.
KEVIN SCHLANSER (cinematographer)
Kevin Schlanser is an award-winning filmmaker and cinematographer. His film The Ataxian won Best Documentary at the 2016 Sedona International Film Festival. He has also shot numerous shorts for famed comedy juggernaut Funny or Die.
"Bo Strickland" Concept Art by Faith Randolph
RISKS
As with any production, there are risks due to day of "acts of God" like weather, food being late, production delays due to something on set breaking, etc. Outside of the obvious risks, we are pushing forward on this and shooting August 1-3 unless something changes that we don't foresee right now.
That being said, if this production does not go forward for any reason whatsoever, we will return your donation to you.
~ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/american-indian-teaser-trailer--2/x/12396195?create_edit=true#/ ~
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