Morgan Spurlock Partners With Indiegogo on Documentaries (EXCLUSIVE)
Morgan Spurlock’s production company Warrior Poets and crowdfunding platform Indiegogo have formed a strategic partnership to help usher Indiegogo-funded films through the production process, Variety has learned exclusively.
The first film as a result of this partnership is “We Believe In Dinosaurs,” a feature length documentary about creationists who built a $100 million, 510-foot Noah’s Ark in Kentucky in order to debunk evolution — asserting that God created dinosaurs 6,000 years ago. The film, currently in post-production, follows the designers and builders of the ark from blueprints to opening day and aims to illustrate the current conflict between science and religion.
“We Believe in Dinosaurs” launched its Indiegogo campaign Thursday to raise $50,000 to complete post-production and start marketing. Top premium is a “Seismosaurus” perk, which provides an executive producer credit for a $5,000 donation. Producers are Monica Long Ross, Clayton Brown and Amy Ellison, all of Chicago-based 137 Films.
Spurlock told Variety that the Indiegogo partnership evolved out of discussions over the past year about “We Believe in Dinosaurs.” Warrior Poets plans on coming on board about four films a year, with films most likely to be documentaries.
Spurlock founded Warrior Poets following his Oscar-nominated 2004 documentary “Super Size Me.” Warrior Poets’ feature credits include “The Eagle Huntress,” “One Direction: This Is Us,” “POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold,” “Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope,” “Mansome,” “Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?” and “Freakonomics.”
Warrior Poets will provide production and post-production services as well as film festival, financial and distribution strategy and consultation for Indiegogo-funded films, with Spurlock coming on board as executive producer on each film. Warrior Poets will offer backstop distribution through iTunes Movies & Virgil Films — ensuring that these films have the guarantee of a release.
“I am so proud to partner with an innovator like Indiegogo whose platform allows dreams to come true for a host of incredibly talented filmmakers,” Spurlock said. “We wish to accomplish many great things with this partnership, but above all else, we hope to play a central role in blazing the path for the next generation of filmmakers.”
Indiegogo’s track record includes helping comedy troupe Broken Lizard to raise $4.4 million last year for “Super Troopers 2.” In April, the platform raised $1.7 million for the sci-fi movie “Code 8,” starring Robbie Amell and his cousin Stephen Amell.
“Indiegogo is evolving into a single solution for filmmakers to bring their projects to life, from funding to production and distribution,” said David Mandelbrot, CEO of Indiegogo. “We’re excited to partner with such a renowned production company that will help filmmakers and creators throughout their creative lifecycle and help film fans get access to even better films.”
Indiegogo has helped raise funds for “Free in Deed,” which was nominated for a Spirit Award; Gotham Award-winning/Emmy-nominated web series “Her Story,”’ Sony Pictures Classic “Miles Ahead,” directed and starring Don Cheadle, “Hardcore Henry,” the first-person action film which sold for $10 million dollars to STX and “Tower,” the SXSW Grand Jury award-winning documentary; and “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” by director Ana Lily Amirpour.
The crowdfunding platform previously partnered with Vimeo. It announced at this year’s Sundance Film Festival that it had formed a strategic partnership with Ava DuVernay’s Array to promote and support independent films by women and minority filmmakers.
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