Less than two weeks ago, we blogged that the Blue Like Jazz movie was all but dead, based on blog posts from author Donald Miller and director Steve Taylor that said that they just didn’t have the money to make the movie.
Turns out a couple twentysomething guys in Franklin, Tenn., Jonathan Frazier and Zach Prichard, are among many who didn’t want to hear that news. So Frazier and Prichard launched SaveBlueLikeJazz.com, a grassroots effort to raise $125,000 by October 25 in hopes of keeping the film alive. All funds are being raised through Kickstarter.com, an online fundraising site. If $125,000 isn’t pledged by October 25, no money will exchange hands.
Frazier and Prichard write on the site that “since the book itself is so unique, why should the funding come traditionally? We submit that the funds for this movie should come from the people who the book actually impacted. It should come from the more than a million people who bought the book. It should come from the fans.
“We are just a couple of normal guys who decided to take a chance. When we heard the news about the film being halted, we thought to ourselves; “There’s got to be another way.” We dreamed big and now here we are. We know this is possible. Blue Like Jazz has reached a massive amount of people, and if it were to become a film, it would reach even more. Most importantly, we believe that this is going to be an incredible story. Think about it… investors back out, the movie’s put on hold and the fans step up and say; “No, we will fund this movie.” That is a story we want to be a part of. Will you join us?”
Here’s a video from the site:
