A Personal Appeal from Tennyson E. Stead

Dear Friends of 8 Sided Films,

This e-mail is both the most rewarding update I have ever written, as well as an urgent appeal for help. Many people within our extended community have watched our team at 8 Sided Films continue to produce compelling entertainment on a shoestring, and to plant the seeds of a theatrical audience.

First, I am pleased to announce that our science-fiction web series THE STARMIND RECORD finished the festival circuit with two awards in hand. LA Web Fest awarded us Outstanding Achievement Awards in both Directing and Editing, both of which I was honored to accept in person.

Everything 8 Sided Films has done is part of a larger plan to build an audience and share our future with them. It is with profound pride (and no little amount of terror) that I announce that our future began about three months ago, and that our first theatrical release is now in heady development:

http://www.indiegogo.com/quantummovie

The film is Quantum Theory: When a defense contractor steals next-gen reality-bending quantum technology, the two sassy geniuses who invented it will stop at nothing to get it back!

Quantum Theory's producing team is a short-list of those collaborators who have brought the most value to my work, and who simultaneously have demanded the most from me - as well as one new member of the family in Quantum Theory's star, America Young. I've written volumes on her value as a performer and producer. Here, I will simply say that meeting her was like finding the other half of a codebreaking key.

We have our cast and crew. We have our movie theaters. For the first time in my film finance career, investors are asking me how they can get involved! The story we are telling is more fun than anything any of us have ever done. This is it.

Our biggest challenge is going to be making sure the audience shows up in numbers strong enough to drive the film's theatrical expansion, and our most immediate need is getting together the development money to meet our investors halfway.

Bringing our community together is the solution to both of these challenges. First and foremost, I'm asking everyone I know to share our IndieGoGo campaign: http://www.indiegogo.com/quantummovie If you can give something yourself to help us get started on our way, then we are immeasurably grateful. At the same time, I am asking you to share this website with your own community. Help us enlist new voices. That process, three years down the line, is what will make the biggest difference in theaters.

If you haven't already, I also ask you join the 8 Sided Forum: http://www.8sidedforum.com/?xgi=61xIBb1rZ0ixFO Come meet America and the unparalleled Danielle K. Jones, our stars on Quantum Theory! In fact, everyone I'm working with is there - and everything I've done revolves around sharing these excellent people with the world. Having you there will help, and every one of these people is worth knowing.

This is it. This is the big push, and I'm asking you to be a part of it. Please, spread the word.

Thank you.

Yours truly,
Tennyson E. Stead

Tennyson E. Stead on Film Courage!

Karen and David gave me the chance this week to hijack their industry blog, and here's what I wrote:

WHY NOTHING IN FILM HAS CHANGED IN 1,000 YEARS & WHY ANYONE WHO SAYS DIFFERENT IS TRYING TO SELL YOU SOMETHING

"Tenny, you idiot!  The technology of film is only 100 years old!"
   

Ha!  Simmer down, sparky.  SOME of the technology behind film is only 100 years old.  Yes, I wrote this headline pretty much exclusively to get your attention - but what I said is true, and I'm sticking to my guns on this one.

Bear with me, because making an explosive point about the business of film is only part of what I promised to deliver unto the excellent folks at Film Courage.  In addition, I've promised to make that point with anecdotes both specific and personal...

Read the rest on FilmCourage.com!

Whomsoever shares the Quantum Theory IndieGoGo... could RULE THE GALAXY!!!

So... Earlier today, I asked the interwebs for ideas about how to spread our IndieGoGo video (http://www.indiegogo.com/quantummovie) in a way that strengthened the community, rather than stifle it with spam and noise.  "Interwebs, what kind of contest or game could possibly make this fundraise of ours any more exciting than it already is?"

The interwebs are silent.

My brain, however, was roaring defiantly into the sky.  My fevered thinking was that I needed to do something so nerdy and goofy that the earnestness alone would win people over.  This had to be something my cast would be excited to do, and it had to be something that reflected who we are at our core.  More than anything, this contest had to be an opportunity for us to get to know our audience, and vice versa.

For all of these reasons, America Young and Tennyson E. Stead - the star and the writer/director of Quantum Theory - do hereby challenge he or she with the most Quantum Theory IndieGoGo referrals (http://www.indiegogo.com/quantummovie) to:

I'm talking LAN party, late '90's, Brood War Expansion drunk and belligerent StarCraft!  Lemme ask you a question:

Do you think you can handle THIS?!!

How about THIS!!!

If our winner is in Los Angeles, they and their chosen champion (or possibly champions, depending on how this all shakes down) will join us at the North Hollywood OCTOCAVE for a night of beers, whiskey, trash talking and non-stop siege-tank violence!  With the latest in cutting-edge freeware screen-capture technology, we will record the game - as well as commentary, interviews, and tactical analysis - for an epic blow-by-blow internet video recap!

Should our winner be from outside Los Angeles, we will exercise the virtual LAN capabilities of Windows 7, get real creative with Skype, and convene virtually upon the battlefield.

If you are serious about charging our bunker-turret-tank kill box, then please donate at least $1 to the IndieGoGo Campaign (http://www.indiegogo.com/quantummovie).  This gets our IndieGoGo following your referrals, so we can see how many folks you sent our way.  Even one dollar gets IndieGoGo on your trail.  From there, use the links on our IndieGoGo page to make sure every referral is counted!

This is a silly contest, to be sure - but that was pretty much the appeal for us!  We need more opportunities to get silly with you guys, and to get to know you better.  Give us feedback!   Let us know what you think!  Based on what you suggest, we may well have other prizes for those who spread the word - but this is something America and I thought would be super fun to do.

So saddle the hell up!  Anoint thy Templars!  Beget thy hydralisks!  Dropships coming in, five by five... and we are gonna get some!

An Important Request from Tennyson E. Stead

Dear Friends and Family, both known and unknown:

This is the message my friends and supporters have been waiting for me to send. This is the moment all my screenwriting, all my social media work, my years in the trenches of film finance, the fundraising, the theater, the short films and webisodes, the festivals, awards, and acclaim surrounding THE STARMIND RECORD, and all the amazing people who have rallied around these projects come together with a clear, focused intent.

Best of all, what we are creating is already capturing the imagination of our audience!

The film is Quantum Theory: When a defense contractor steals next-gen reality-bending quantum technology, the two sassy geniuses who invented it will stop at nothing to get it back!

Our script and the experience of our outstanding producing team have earned us a magnificent cast, the best production resources, growing social media support, and a crack at theatrical distribution! To make Quantum Theory an independent success in theaters, there are two things we need:

1. $200,000
2. The audience members to drive theatrical expansion

Crowdsourcing the money online is a GREAT first step to building the audience, so the success of our IndieGoGo campaign is critical. If you like our video:

If you like our video (and we think you will!) then we ask that you share it everywhere you can. On Twitter. On Facebook. Show it to your agent! Expanding our community is the only way to make Quantum Theory a success, and we need your help to do it!

Thank you for the support you have shown for both myself and my stories. Now is the time for the folks who support me to speak, and speak loudly. Please, watch our video. If it makes you laugh, if it charms you, if it makes you feel excited or curious.... tell people! Please, tell as many people as you can.

Thank you.

Yours truly,
Tennyson E. Stead

BREAKING NEWS: The Starmind Record at LA Web Fest

So, there are some updates!  Tentative, short-term plans are for:

SATURDAY, April 7
9AM:  Screening block including THE STARMIND RECORD, in the Laguna Room
11AM: Panel discussion of  "How we made our web series without asking for permission" including Tennyson E. Stead and Gerard Marzilli
6PM:  Screening block including THE STARMIND RECORD, in the Laguna Room


SUNDAY, April 8
7PM: Red Carpet
8PM: Awards Ceremony


Again, these plans are tentative.  8 Sided Films cannot account for last-minute schedule changes to LA Web Fest programming, but we will be there to entertain any and all attendees!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Starmind Record at LA Web Fest

Finally, we have some details about the LA Web Series Festival this weekend:

TODAY, Friday April 6 at 5PM, The Starmind Record will be screening with three other in-competition shows.  This will be the first of two screenings this weekend, and the second is to be announced.

SATURDAY, April 7 at 11AM, Tennyson E. Stead and Gerard Marzilli will in a panel discussion on "How we made our web series without asking for permission".

SUNDAY, April 8 at 8PM is the LA Web Festival Awards Ceremony.  Be sure and arrive early to negotiate the red carpet mayhem!

For tickets, the address, and other details, the website is http://www.lawebfest.com. If you're coming to any or all of these events, look us up!

Rock Over America Magazine Interviews Tennyson E. Stead

Mark Lewis asks Tennyson E. Stead what it is a director actually does, and discourse ensues!

CHECK IT OUT!