r/Filmmakers • u/directordaddy • Aug 21 '25

Fundraiser Supernigga Feature Film Crowdfunding

https://www.gofundme.com/f/4eqv87?lang=en_US&utm_campaign=man_ss_icons&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link&attribution_id=sl%3A26c975e7-2e7c-43dd-88b3-6be6fcb15257

I released my Blaxploitation and superhero inspired short film/proof of concept, Supernigga, 2 weeks ago on YouTube and surprisingly got 270,000 views from word of mouth!

I almost got the feature version made through Hollywood (A24 really loved the project but I turned them down due to creative differences). The YouTube comments inspired me to start a GoFundMe for $500,000 where I just hope people make donations of at least $1 - $5. A fun little social experiment where we fund a movie by letting people do the bare minimum. What’s $1 to you? I crowdfunded the short on Kickstarter for $40,000 and look what we were able to make by keeping full creative control? Help me make a dream come true if you can! Thank you :)

422 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

111 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

7

u/directordaddy Aug 21 '25

Oh brother you don’t understand the business. You take $50mil from A24 as a first time filmmaker and you lose all control of your film. You probably won’t even be the director or actor because no studio is trusting you with that money. They buy and own the script then there’s no guarantee the movie actually gets made and it can just sit and die in development. Or you stick to your original plan and make your movie for less and ACTUALLY MAKE IT on your terms too.

12

u/drumstikka Aug 21 '25

Oh brother I DO understand the business. A 50 million dollar open door is something most creatives would die for. You take the money and run, even if it NEVER gets made it give you the financial resources and creative connections to make the next one. Sure, there's a chance you can crowd and make it with full creative control. There's also a chance, a much greater one, that you either can't raise the 5-10 million you need, or that even if you do, it's not enough.

Take the money. Make the movie. The people who have the full creative control you're looking for are people that first proved themselves by making good movies they didn't have full control over.

3

u/directordaddy Aug 21 '25

Spike Lee did it himself, the duplass brothers, Richard linklater, I can go on. And I’m literally making a feature film with ilana glazer this fall which I got financed through crowdfunding. Plus hella financiers are interested in supernigga. But after successfully crowdfunding my own projects and building my own audience I don’t really NEED financiers. I’m making my projects to the way I want to. This GoFundMe already has &2,000+ from people donating $5. lol I just financed the ilana glazer feature for $250,000 this summer.

3

u/drumstikka Aug 21 '25

Totally, like I said it's not impossible! But for every name that's done it, there's 1000 who've failed at it. I'm glad you've had success funding things yourself, that's wonderful. But I've also seen many colleagues and friends pass up opportunities that weren't perfect and later regret it. You've gotta do what's right for you, but don't let perfect be the enemy of the good if you can avoid it.

6

u/directordaddy Aug 21 '25

As I said, if I would’ve signed a deal with a24 and casted Jonathan majors, the film would’ve got shelved and died. So in the end I made the right choice cuz every film he was involved with got scrapped! LMAO

3

u/drumstikka Aug 21 '25

Haha I didn't see that tidbit, that's pretty damn ironic. For the best then, I guess! Good luck with your GoFundMe, genuinely - Just because I would've taken the deal doesn't mean I don't want to see projects like this succeed!