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Call Me Ishmael — Call This Number to Talk About a Book You Love

Posted on November 23, 2015 at 4:34 am

Call Me Ishmael (the name taken from the first line of Moby Dick) is a new crowd-funded project that invites everyone to call in to talk about a book they love. This is not a book report. It doesn’t have to be fancy or erudite. It’s like talking to a friend about a really great book that moved you or inspired you or made you laugh or cry. You can listen to comments about books from The Fault in Our Stars and The Catcher in the Rye to Man’s Search for MeaningThe Storied Life of A. J. Fikry and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (I love it when she says, “Go read it, go read it, go read it!”)

Is there a book you love?  Call 774-325-0503 and tell Ishmael about it.

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Books Crowdsourcing

An 18 Year Old Interviews Himself at 56

Posted on November 15, 2015 at 8:00 am

Filmmaker Stoney Emshwiller is raising money to complete a film he began when he was 18 years old — in 1977. He recorded half of an interview, wondering how his life would turn out. Now at age 56 he is raising money on Rockethub to complete the film. This little sample is charming but also wistful, bittersweet, and touching. How many of us live up to our dreams at 18? How many of us at 56 are happier that we didn’t?

Emshwiller writes about what he did in 1977:

I interviewed my future self. Using state of the art (for its time) equipment, I recorded one side of a time-travel talk show.

I sat in a well-lit chair in a completely black studio and, like some teenaged Johnny Carson, chatted with an invisible older me. During this one-way conversation, I asked my older self tons of questions about my future – from career to family to art to friendships to sex. Then I recorded many different reactions to each possible answer, ranging from polite nods, to joy, sadness, annoyance, surprise, and outright horror.

I’m glad to see he has raised enough for his modest $10,000 budget and is close to his stretch budget of $25,000. Can’t wait to see the film.

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Crowdsourcing Shorts

You Can Help Support This new Ed Asner Film on Indiegogo

Posted on August 1, 2015 at 4:18 pm

Ed Asner stars in this new film about a young man who finds a book at his grandmother’s memorial, with a series of fantastical tales that his grandfather wrote for his grandmother. Each is a different romantic fantasy about how they meet. Those stories help him find his own love.

The filming is over, and the filmmakers need some help for post-production so that it can be released. They have an Indiegogo campaign and I’ve contributed. Look for me in the credits as an associate producer, and for $100 you can be one, too!

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Behind the Scenes Crowdsourcing In Production
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