The funds are rising. The totals are expanding. The Doctor's Case is that much closer to being solved.
The problem is one befuddling first-time filmmaker James Douglas more than his famous characters Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Douglas was impassioned to turn his favourite short story (written by Stephen King as a tribute to Holmes inventor Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) into a short film. He won approvals for the project from King's Dollar Baby program that grants filming rights to worthy noncommercial proposals.
Douglas then set to work attracting technical and creative partners to help him turn the proposal into a plan, and the plan would then be turned into a film. As a professional actor himself, and one of the senior administrators at creative hotspot Barkerville, he had a lot of resources close at hand, or within short degrees of separation.
Since it was, by rule, a not-for-profit venture, all kinds of professionals agreed to join the effort for highly favourable wages or other incentives the project would provide. The concept was so exciting for its own sake, everyone Douglas approached either signed on with gusto or reluctantly declined with extra promises to work with him on future projects.
One of the key components was raising funds from people who understood this was an investment in a local film industry, and in a piece of locally made art, not a moneymaking venture. The coffers of their crowd-sourcing account (www.kickstarter.com, click the magnifying glass, type in The Doctor's Case Movie Project and voila) started to swell. Money continues to amass.
"It is going quite well. We will get close to 50 per cent of our goal today, with eight days to go, and according to the Kickstarter trajectory that is actually doing quite well," said Douglas.
The stated goal was $40,000 and as of Monday afternoon, the total was $18,430 provided by 149 different donors. Douglas knows there are other sponsors who have promised to pledge but have not yet done so, and the momentum of money often attracts random donors as well, since it's a seen as a credible cause.
"We are very confident we will make it," said Douglas. "It's even possible that we will exceed the stated goal, which only means we can do more to make this a better production."
The overall budget for The Doctor's Case is more than $100,000 which, in the short-film industry, is a tiny amount of production money.
"The only reason we can do it is because some really key professionals have worked out arrangements that didn't involve big payments of cash. People like (actor) Denise Crosby, (actor) Michael Coleman, rock star music producer Ken "Hiwatt" Marshall, they have taken The Doctor's Case to a much higher level just by being really accommodating and believing in what this film represents."
The premise of the story starts with Dr. Watson, Holmes's famous associate, now in his nineties, relating to the reader a memory of the one and only time he solved a serious case before his famous detective companion. Holmes is by now 40 years in his grave and Watson is nearing the end of his own life, so he feels it's finally time to tell this rare tale from the exploits of their younger days.
"My love of Sherlock Holmes and my love of Stephen King are, I think, authentic," said Douglas.
For those who authentically pledge money to The Doctor's Case, incentives are given. Donors can earn thank-you gifts depending on the amounts given. If the overall total exceeds the $40,000 goal, every previous donor will also get additional rewards for being there early with their support.
