"Let's Go To The Movies" Transcript

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Hey everyone.

A few weeks ago, I announced the formation of Telos Pictures, a production company dedicated to producing LGBTQ films and series for an LGBTQ audience. Our wildest hope was to raise six-thousand dollar to produce two short films to use as a proof-of-concept to try and raise further money down the road for more expansive productions.

As of March 11th, we have raised... and I'm kind of shocked to be able to say this...

[Shows IndieGoGo bar: $41,541 CAD raised from 474 backers; 692% of $6,000 Flexible Goal, with 31 days left.]

...almost seven-hundred percent of that goal. To everyone who has donated, whether it be a dollar or thousands of dollars, I cannot thank you enough.

Growing up as a gay kid who wanted to make movies where I could see people like me? Witnessing this immense outpouring of support has been mind-blowing! Truly! From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. It's thanks to your generosity that Telos will not only be able to produce short films, but go even further.

We're already in pre-production on two short films:

[On Screen]: "The Final Girl" (with shiny knife behind it)

"The Final Girl", a look at what happens to the lone survivor of a slasher movie-style serial killer, once the killer has been caught and the fame goes away.

And, a modern-day adaptation of John Polidori's The Vampyre, about a newly-out gay man who becomes enthralled by a charismatic and youthful creature of the night.

And we're very excited to say that, thanks to your generosity, we've been able to expand the budgets of these shorts, so that everyone working on them can be paid fairly. No working for experience, and no calling in favors. The artists in front of and behind the camera will be paid what they really deserve.

And, we're not stopping there. We're also on pre-production on a series entitled "She Comes at Night", the story of a lesbian who survives the brutal gay-bashing of her queer friend group, and seeks revenge when the gay panic defense leads to the killers being let off with a slap on the wrist. Think "promising young woman meets John Wick".

But we want to go even further. We have several feature films planned that will not only star gay, lesbian, and bisexual characters, but transgender, non-binary, and asexual characters as well. And we don't mean witty supporting characters who pop in for a scene or two. Actual. Lead. Characters.

I've also been busy talking to LGBTQ artists from around the world who wanna help out on these projects. Sound designers. Concept artists. Visual effects artists. And composers. So we're putting together a team of super talented queer artists that will help bring Telos Pictures films and series to you in the highest quality-form possible.

Now, I cannot possibly ask for more donations from the people who have already given to Telos. All of you have gone above and beyond anything I ever expected. (Although, if you're lucky enough to have some money burning a hole in your pocket, by all means.)

So I just wanted to ask to share this video if you can. To let more people know about Telos: our mission, our determination, and our goals. Every donation means more stories can be told, more queer artists can be employed, and hopefully show those most at risk in our community that they are not alone. And that there are people who want to help tell their stories to the world.

I've also added a very special new tier: the Angel Investor Tier. This is for someone with way too much money on their hands, but wants to see a specific type of queer story told. You get all the perks of the Telos founder tier, plus you get to pitch and idea to Telos that we'll figure out how to make happen. The link to the IndieGoGo campaign is in the description of this video, where you can also ask me any questions that you might have about Telos Pictures.

So again, thank you so much for everything you've done for us. A month ago, Telos was a dream of an idea. Now it's real, and becoming stronger and clearer every single day. Something that's given me hope at a time that so many politicians are trying to erase us. And that hope is all because of you! Thank you... all... so much, truly, honestly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much!

Now let's go to the movies.

[Lyre music plays as the greek-style column holding up the Telos Pictures logo in white marble is shown on screen, fading into the Telos Pictures logo itself.]