Thank You, Venice! - The 90291: Venice Unzipped Lantern House Fundraiser!

Oh, Venice. How great are you?! We had one big shindig at the Lantern House on Saturday night to raise funds for our upcoming documentary 90291: Venice Unzipped. It was awesome, and I'm still beaming over it.

Documentaries take money to make, so that was the impetus for the affair, but really, it was all about our community and how much we all love our Venice. Our film is going to examine income inequality in the United States, with a zoom lens on Venice as an extreme example. When you have 6 million dollar homes with a tent city in the alleys behind them (or in their yards), something is wrong. We are going to talk about it, and try to come up with some solutions together, as we celebrate what is really the last beach community of color. 

If you've never been to an event at the Lantern House, you really should try. It's so perfectly Venice, with art everywhere, and an eclectic vibe that really feels like what we're about. The chandeliers in the trees, and the several little bungalows making up the whole space transport you into a magical scene that truly was perfect. Eternal thanks to Scott Mayers - and his gargoyles - for opening up his home to share with us.

The event at the Lantern House was hosted by myself and my co-producers on the film, Colin Keith Gray and Megan Raney Aarons ("The Sibs") from Grainey Pictures. The wonderful women of Fiore Designs handled the floral decor and the food, and it was all just gorgeous. 

Spirits were donated by Venice Duck Brewery and Jim Robb, while desserts were provided by local artisan chocolatier, Chocolate Wonder Love and Erewhon. All were excellent, and so good that they vanished before I could even get any, but I was fine with that.

It truly was an event by and for the community. Local businesses donated super cool stuff for our silent auction, from beautiful photography to dinners at local restaurants to clothing to hotel stays to classes to even a basket full of Ruby's Doobies! All were extremely appreciated, and beyond generous to our cause. 

D.J. Rick spun the tunes, and our first musical guest was my dear friend, Lacey Kay Cowden, who entranced the revelers, even under the challenging circumstances of being in the time slot when people were still arriving, and highly vocal during her set. She is a pro, and a treasure. Thank you, Lacey!

People mixed and mingled, and then we gathered them all up to hear an introduction from our host, Scott Mayers, who is the owner of The Lantern House, and a true raconteur. He told stories of when he first moved in, and had to duck bullets in his shower ... how things change - and stay the same.

Colin and Megan gave speeches about our film, and our hopes for making it a true community project. We asked for help in casting our families that we will be following over the next year, and if you have any suggestions to that end, they may be given to Andrea McHugh HERE. 

We showed a trailer of our film, and if you were not able to be in attendance on Saturday, you can watch it HERE. It should give you a good idea of what we're trying to do, and the conversation that we're trying to have. 

I gave a little spiel about how I've been telling the real stories of real Venice for over a decade now through the Free Venice Beachhead, and right here at Blogtown, and how people should know by now how much this town and its denizens mean to me. And how much I value being a part of this community that embraced me - and I, it - when I moved here over 20 years ago now. I didn't move here to live on a corporate campus ... I moved here to live in one of the most uniquely cool places on Earth. 

And I"ll fight to keep it that way ... as will pretty much everyone who was there, I'm sure. I also got to introduce my wonderful friend, Michael Dorman, as our next musical guest. He stars in the excellent Patriot on Amazon Prime (one of my favorite shows!), and who is also one of my very favorite musicians. He gifted us with a short set that featured the awesome - and appropriate - "I Ain't No VIP!" My little friend Mia (age 8) said, "He's like Bob Dylan, but better." She's not wrong. See:

I'm so SO grateful to all the local businesses and artists who donated to our silent auction. To everyone who shared our invitation to the event on social media. To everyone who donated to our fund to make this film ... and you can continue to do that HERE (THANK YOU!!!) pretty much until it premieres. 

To everyone who showed up to this super fun party. To everyone who ever supports anything I do. I looked around the entire evening and knew that this is the community where I belong, and my eternal thanks to everyone who makes me feel like that. If you couldn't for whatever reason do any of the above (?), you still can. And you'll feel good about it, and will also be thanked effusively. Try it! Helping others feels good, and that's the point of this entire endeavor. Community. 

After the speeches and performances, it was time to get down and party - and that we did. In fact, Mr. Mayers (our hero) graciously agreed to extend the party hours, and we all just went for it. The silent auction winners were announced, and many people went home with extra cool things that all really do define Venice. I especially loved the happy trio that got the Juice Magazine swag they wanted!

I also need to shout out to my brother, Paul, both for donating a gorgeous photo to our silent auction, and for always supporting me in everything I do. Love you, Pablito! 

And now we'll set off on the journey of actually making this film - and we'll continue to need your help and your input, to make it a project that really, truly reflects ALL of Venice. Please join us on this trip, follow along with our progress, and know how very, very grateful we are to everyone for your involvement. 

Wow, Venice. You really are the best. 

90291: VENICE UNZIPPED - A Film For Our Community

Friends ... all you have to do is walk down any street in Venice to know that there is a massive issue with income inequality in our community. I believe it is THE issue of our time for our entire country. The way that you begin to understand any issue is through the stories from the people that it affects. So, when feeling an intense need to DO SOMETHING about it, and sharing stories about it, you start to come up with ideas for solutions ... and the way to do that is always knowledge. Learning about the roots of an issue, and going from there.

My friends Colin Gray and Megan Raney Aarons ("The Sibs") are longtime Venice residents and filmmakers, with several successful documentaries already under their belts, and they saw the same multi-million dollar houses with tent cities in their Venice backyards that I did, and once we got to really talking about it all, we felt that Venice could be zoom-lensed on as an example of what is happening across this nation ... and begin to do something about it.

90291: VENICE UNZIPPED is the film we are setting out to make. We'll embed with three families - one homeless, one middle class, and one wealthy - living in almost unimaginably different circumstances here in Venice. We'll also talk to friends and neighbors across all income and cultural divides, interview local and national thought-leaders from multiple points of view, and attempt to make some sense of it all. Will it be a cautionary tale about what not to do to a vibrant, diverse community ... or a success story about how people came together to preserve what is wonderful and historical about this place, and how we looked after our own? Time will tell ... and shooting begins soon.

All films take funds to create, and we are holding our first fundraiser at The Lantern House in Venice on June 16th, and we would love for all of you to be involved. Come to the fun event. Send a little (or big, if you can!) tax-deductible donation via our fundraising link HERE. (A detailed equity investment prospectus is also available upon request HERE. Donate to our silent auction of unique Venice items (let us know asap if that's a way you'd like to contribute, so that we may also promote you in the process!). Share your own stories with us, or point us in the direction of a good tale. This is going to be a film for our entire community, and thus, entire community involvement is crucial to telling the whole story.

We are also starting our search for the three families we’ll be embedding with in our documentary.  If anyone has a suggestion for a family who might be willing to participate in our film, please contact us HERE.  We’re looking for one homeless couple / family with or without kids, one middle class family with kids, one wealthy family with kids.  We will be very mindful of everyone’s time and space.  The plan is to film these families for 6-8 days total, each family, over the next year.

The fundraiser information, donation links, and the link to our brand new trailer are again all below. Please read, watch, share, and chime in to let us know what you think! This project is for all of us.

As a friend of Venice Beach and this eclectic, world renowned community… We Want You!  Come be a part of our feature documentary's grass roots fundraising event on Saturday June 16th from 7- 9pm.  Hot links to RSVP and for tax-deductible donations are in the attached PDF, as well as below.  

What:  90291: VENICE UNZIPPED fundraiser

Where: The Lantern House, Venice

Parking: Bike, walk, or park on street

RSVP: 90291veniceunzippedrsvp@gmail.com

Support: To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit:  https://www.documentary.org/project/unzipped

Sizzle link: https://wdrv.it/5b54d127c

The film:  90291: VENICE UNZIPPED is a provocative feature documentary about income inequality in America, told through the lens of one community and three families living in the same 90291 zip code, but at the opposite ends of the growing income divide.  In the film, we’re embedding in Venice, California, the once gritty, artistic and working class beach city, now the epicenter of gentrification in Los Angeles and a growing homelessness crisis. We’ll follow three families - one homeless, one middle class and one wealthy - living in almost unimaginably different circumstances, while putting a human face on Venice’s vanishing working and middle class.  We’ll then follow a proposed homeless housing project that’s splitting the community in two, make connections to gentrification and affordable housing issues in other cities, and investigate how poverty is being criminalized in America.  Is Venice, the last beach city of color, a cautionary tale about an eclectic community’s demise, or can solutions be found for protecting other income diverse cities across the United States?

Style: The film's point-of-view is investigative, fact-based, and deliberately non-partisan.  Rounding out our embed coverage will be interviews with local and national thought-leaders from multiple points of view.  

The team: Brought to you by long time Venice locals - writer / director Colin Keith Gray and producer Megan Raney Aarons (AKA “The Sibs” - Atari: Game Over, Being Canadian, Freedom’s Fury);  journalist / co-producer CJ Gronner (Blogtown); political consultant / co-producer, Marc Baranov;  EPs Amaechi Uzoigwe (Run The Jewels) and Lorien Gabel (Interlog, PINGG); Supervising Producers Matt Green (Refuge Wild) & Andrea McHugh (Hell’s Kitchen, Oprah Winfrey Show, Ghost Hunters); Emmy award winning editor Mohamed El Manasterly (The Square); DP Tyler Heckerman (The Cape); and Emmy award winning VR director, Ben Tricklebank (Clouds Over Cuba). Project is produced by GRAiNEY PICTURES and EVO Films USA.  

Schedule: We'll film Summer of 2018 through Spring 2019. Plan is to then complete the film by Fall 2019 in time for submission to Sundance and other premiere festivals. Goal is to then debut at a major festival and release the film Summer/Fall 2020 in advance of the 2020 Presidential elections. A larger social impact campaign will then launch around the film release to provoke further debate on the issues . Project elements include a virtual reality (VR) short film, an interactive website, an augmented reality app, and a comprehensive educational initiative.

Giving Back:  With a topic this pressing, we feel it’s important we give back.  90291: VENICE UNZIPPED will donate ten percent (10%) of the film’s total profits to leading grass roots organizations and NGOs that are actively engaged in income inequality & homelessness issues in Venice, and across America.

Funding: The project is being funded through a combination of equity investments in the Unzipped Movie LLC, non-recoupable grants, crowd-funding contributions, and tax-deductible donations to the film through its' fiscal sponsor, the International Documentary Association (please make donations by clicking on the Make A Donation tab above). A detailed investment prospectus (PPM) is available upon request.

Why you?  We'd truly value your involvement & support at our fundraiser as we craft, cast & compose this important story.  Filming to begin this Summer across Venice. 

We can't wait to make and show you this film! THANK YOU!!!