It worked for Zach Braff’s latest film Wish I Was Here, and the folks behind Blue Bayou hope it’ll work for them. The cast and crew recently set up an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for the production of the Charleston-based film. And although they have private financial backing, they’re still looking for $200,000 to bring the film to the screen. Like any other Kickstater-like project, anyone who does donate receives a gift based on that donation, ranging from a thank you with production updates for $1 to a digital copy of the film, script, and poster for $25 or if you’re a big spender you can be credited as a co-producer. That title costs you $10,000, but you’ll also get other swag like a copy of the movie, poster, script, plus two tickets to the L.A. premiere.
“We just want the general public to be involved and feel like they helped make this movie the way it was intended,” says star Shy Pilgreen. “In Hollywood a lot of times, the writer writes the script and he goes to see the movie and he’s like ‘What is this? What happened to my script?’ Whenever we get to make the movie, you get to see the movie that was written.”
Blue Bayou is a psychological thriller with some murder and love thrown in. Pilgreen plays Kate, a woman who’s been involved in abusive relationships for almost her whole life and one day she snaps. She winds up on trial, accused of murder. During the trial, the psychologist assigned to her case, Drew (Tyler Christopher, General Hospital), falls for Kate — and she falls back. The movie then leaves audience questioning whether Kate murdered her abusive husband out of circumstance or if she’s using her past as an excuse. Pilgreen believes the movie will spark discussion after the final credits.
That’s the nature of this whole project. Whether it’s discussions after the film or the people involved with it, it is a passion project. “When I read the script, I couldn’t put it down,” Pilgreen says. “I think it’s really relatable. Even if you haven’t been through it personally, you know someone that has or can sympathize with the characters.”
And she wants that passion to spread to residents of the Holy City. Not only is the film based here in Charleston, but it plans to film here too. They’ve already scouted locations around town, including a Henry’s, Midtown Bar and Grill, Colonial Lake, and places along the Battery.
For more information about the project, visit the campaign’s ndigogo page.
Stay cool. Support City Paper.
City Paper has been bringing the best news, food, arts, music and event coverage to the Holy City since 1997. Support our continued efforts to highlight the best of Charleston with a one-time donation or become a member of the City Paper Club.