Colton
Seattle, Washington | Film Feature
Drama, Thriller
'Colton' examines an ordinary man's motivations behind his allegiance to an online hate group. Melding drama and suspense, this feature tells the story of how disenfranchisement and alienation might lead a person to embrace a hateful ideology, and how it might affect his family, friends and society.
Colton
Seattle, Washington | Film Feature
Drama, Thriller
1 Campaigns | Washington, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $19,000 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
77 supporters | followers
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'Colton' examines an ordinary man's motivations behind his allegiance to an online hate group. Melding drama and suspense, this feature tells the story of how disenfranchisement and alienation might lead a person to embrace a hateful ideology, and how it might affect his family, friends and society.
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
The Story
This film continues the story begun in our film series How They Attack Us, in which a woman, Lacey, is convinced of a conspiracy by some far-reaching entity to collect and control people for some nefarious but unknown purpose. In Colton, the plot is explored further, as Lacey confronts more evidence that the alleged conspiracy may have credence.
Concurrently, the story follows Colton, a disenfranchised young man living in a town in rural Washington state. He is being greatly influenced by an online presence that is fanning hatred and intolerance of diverse ethnicities and lifestyles. The leader of the group coaxes his followers to take up arms against this 'enemy.' Colton follows these ideas intently. Eventually he is recruited and coerced to participate in a plot to eradicate a secretive and remote organization that The Leader believes is plotting his own group’s destruction.
How and under what circumstances Lacey and Colton cross paths is the heart of our story.
-----------------------------------------------
Paranoia, disenfranchisement and alienation are what fuels our two characters, both of them on opposite sides of the political spectrum. The thing is, we know these people. They're familiar faces in the crowd in this election year, at a point in our history that has brought our country to a great divide of hearts and minds. People are angry, and their fear and anger has been channeled toward our leaders, their policies, laws and the entire political mainstream.
What alarms me most is that so many people who are disillusioned with the situation could so easily resort to hatred and the scapegoating of others as the source of the problem. Many are confusing patriotism with fascism, religious piety with zealotry, and are even willing to support a racist demagogue as president of the United States.
Colton is one exploration of what might happen when one ordinary man is propelled by extremism to the point of committing a violent act.
The story told in the film is an allegory about the vast divide between ideologies we are experiencing in our country. It presents parallels to events in the news, as we collectively witness belief systems that differ from one another being no longer tolerated. By placing the events of this film in a context we can hopefully identify with, with characters we can relate to and care about, we hope to explore the very real toll this exclusionist thinking takes on our humanity and our very lives.
But Colton is fiction, and the plot moves like a suspense thriller, with plot twists and surprises along the way.
The series prequel, How They Attack Us, involved three characters and took place over one night. Colton takes up where the previous series left off, but tells a much more ambitious story, involving more actors, different locations and new production priorities.
Colton will be professionally made with the highest intention of artistic success, shot in a gritty, realistic style with available light. It will be digitally recorded on location in western Washington, and use only a minimal number of crew: the director, cinematographer / cameraman and sound recordist. Actors are all non-union performers, but are respected and established artists working within the Seattle acting community. The very modest budget will be prioritized to compensate talent fairly for time spent on the project, allow for minimal location expenses, and to hold enough in reserve to add necessary polish in post production.
As there are no easy answers in the charged political environment in the United States, there are no easy answers presented in Colton. I believe films with complex issues and characters who reflect our own struggles, are important in exploring our national and social priorities, and more importantly, in exploring what makes us human. Our cast is already working hard to create real and visceral characters in telling a story that mirrors our own. We would very much appreciate your support. Thank you for your consideration.
- Kevin McKeon
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Acting Talent
Costs $7,600
We can't tell our story without people to tell it. We're proud of our large cast, all seasoned actors with some challenging work ahead.
Cinematography
Costs $3,400
Our crew is small, but mighty. This is the talent that captures the moments that make the film. Because, we gotta have something to look at.
Equipment Rental
Costs $2,800
Renting the essentials for a basic camera package: Lenses and grip equipment. Location sound gear: Mikes and recording equipment.
Composer
Costs $2,000
The talented Sky Grove is scoring the film, helping create the mood, augmenting the shadow and light, amping up the tension and emotions.
Musicians and Recording
Costs $1,200
In a digital world, we still need the human touch of talented musicians to make Sky Grove's score come alive. And a place to record them.
Special Effects
Costs $1,600
There's a couple things we have to do in post. We won't tell you what they are, though, so you won't look for them. No spoiler alerts here.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
About This Team
Kevin McKeon (Producer, Writer, Director) is an established director, actor and writer in the Pacific Northwest. With an extensive background in theatre, McKeon penned a successful stage adaptation of David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars that has been produced at major theatre companies in Seattle, Portland, Baltimore, Hartford (CT), Denver, Philadelphia, San Jose, Nevada City (CA) among others. Writing commissions include an adaptation of Anna Karenina, produced by Portland Center Stage. As an actor he has received numerous Seattle Times Footlight awards and has been twice nominated for the prestigious Gregory Award. Stage directing credits include Great Expectations, Anne Tyler's Breathing Lessons and Snow Falling on Cedars. His films are How They Attack Us (2014) and A Formula for Mayhem (1993). He has taught acting at UC Davis, Cal Poly Pomona, California Institute of the Arts and the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, CA.
Emily Fortuna (Producer, Actor) is a software development engineer with a love of film and the arts. Emily graduated Magna Cum Laude from Rice University and received a Master of Science degree from the University of Washington. Specializing in artificial intelligence, she is the author and co-author of several academic publications and is the recipient of numerous prestigious international, national and state awards, and is a 2009 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship recipient. As an actor, she was a costar on Dead of Night for NBC Universal, and is experienced on stage and in new media. She is certified in stage combat and is an accomplished violinist.
Ben D. McFadden (Producer, Actor) is the Artistic Director of The Collision Project, a theatre collective in Seattle. He holds a degree from Cornish College of the Arts, and has appeared in film and television, and on stage at Seattle Shakespeare Company, Seattle Children's Theatre and Book-It Repertory Theatre, among others. He is a certified combatant in several types of stage combat.
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
The Story
This film continues the story begun in our film series How They Attack Us, in which a woman, Lacey, is convinced of a conspiracy by some far-reaching entity to collect and control people for some nefarious but unknown purpose. In Colton, the plot is explored further, as Lacey confronts more evidence that the alleged conspiracy may have credence.
Concurrently, the story follows Colton, a disenfranchised young man living in a town in rural Washington state. He is being greatly influenced by an online presence that is fanning hatred and intolerance of diverse ethnicities and lifestyles. The leader of the group coaxes his followers to take up arms against this 'enemy.' Colton follows these ideas intently. Eventually he is recruited and coerced to participate in a plot to eradicate a secretive and remote organization that The Leader believes is plotting his own group’s destruction.
How and under what circumstances Lacey and Colton cross paths is the heart of our story.
-----------------------------------------------
Paranoia, disenfranchisement and alienation are what fuels our two characters, both of them on opposite sides of the political spectrum. The thing is, we know these people. They're familiar faces in the crowd in this election year, at a point in our history that has brought our country to a great divide of hearts and minds. People are angry, and their fear and anger has been channeled toward our leaders, their policies, laws and the entire political mainstream.
What alarms me most is that so many people who are disillusioned with the situation could so easily resort to hatred and the scapegoating of others as the source of the problem. Many are confusing patriotism with fascism, religious piety with zealotry, and are even willing to support a racist demagogue as president of the United States.
Colton is one exploration of what might happen when one ordinary man is propelled by extremism to the point of committing a violent act.
The story told in the film is an allegory about the vast divide between ideologies we are experiencing in our country. It presents parallels to events in the news, as we collectively witness belief systems that differ from one another being no longer tolerated. By placing the events of this film in a context we can hopefully identify with, with characters we can relate to and care about, we hope to explore the very real toll this exclusionist thinking takes on our humanity and our very lives.
But Colton is fiction, and the plot moves like a suspense thriller, with plot twists and surprises along the way.
The series prequel, How They Attack Us, involved three characters and took place over one night. Colton takes up where the previous series left off, but tells a much more ambitious story, involving more actors, different locations and new production priorities.
Colton will be professionally made with the highest intention of artistic success, shot in a gritty, realistic style with available light. It will be digitally recorded on location in western Washington, and use only a minimal number of crew: the director, cinematographer / cameraman and sound recordist. Actors are all non-union performers, but are respected and established artists working within the Seattle acting community. The very modest budget will be prioritized to compensate talent fairly for time spent on the project, allow for minimal location expenses, and to hold enough in reserve to add necessary polish in post production.
As there are no easy answers in the charged political environment in the United States, there are no easy answers presented in Colton. I believe films with complex issues and characters who reflect our own struggles, are important in exploring our national and social priorities, and more importantly, in exploring what makes us human. Our cast is already working hard to create real and visceral characters in telling a story that mirrors our own. We would very much appreciate your support. Thank you for your consideration.
- Kevin McKeon
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Acting Talent
Costs $7,600
We can't tell our story without people to tell it. We're proud of our large cast, all seasoned actors with some challenging work ahead.
Cinematography
Costs $3,400
Our crew is small, but mighty. This is the talent that captures the moments that make the film. Because, we gotta have something to look at.
Equipment Rental
Costs $2,800
Renting the essentials for a basic camera package: Lenses and grip equipment. Location sound gear: Mikes and recording equipment.
Composer
Costs $2,000
The talented Sky Grove is scoring the film, helping create the mood, augmenting the shadow and light, amping up the tension and emotions.
Musicians and Recording
Costs $1,200
In a digital world, we still need the human touch of talented musicians to make Sky Grove's score come alive. And a place to record them.
Special Effects
Costs $1,600
There's a couple things we have to do in post. We won't tell you what they are, though, so you won't look for them. No spoiler alerts here.
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
About This Team
Kevin McKeon (Producer, Writer, Director) is an established director, actor and writer in the Pacific Northwest. With an extensive background in theatre, McKeon penned a successful stage adaptation of David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars that has been produced at major theatre companies in Seattle, Portland, Baltimore, Hartford (CT), Denver, Philadelphia, San Jose, Nevada City (CA) among others. Writing commissions include an adaptation of Anna Karenina, produced by Portland Center Stage. As an actor he has received numerous Seattle Times Footlight awards and has been twice nominated for the prestigious Gregory Award. Stage directing credits include Great Expectations, Anne Tyler's Breathing Lessons and Snow Falling on Cedars. His films are How They Attack Us (2014) and A Formula for Mayhem (1993). He has taught acting at UC Davis, Cal Poly Pomona, California Institute of the Arts and the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, CA.
Emily Fortuna (Producer, Actor) is a software development engineer with a love of film and the arts. Emily graduated Magna Cum Laude from Rice University and received a Master of Science degree from the University of Washington. Specializing in artificial intelligence, she is the author and co-author of several academic publications and is the recipient of numerous prestigious international, national and state awards, and is a 2009 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship recipient. As an actor, she was a costar on Dead of Night for NBC Universal, and is experienced on stage and in new media. She is certified in stage combat and is an accomplished violinist.
Ben D. McFadden (Producer, Actor) is the Artistic Director of The Collision Project, a theatre collective in Seattle. He holds a degree from Cornish College of the Arts, and has appeared in film and television, and on stage at Seattle Shakespeare Company, Seattle Children's Theatre and Book-It Repertory Theatre, among others. He is a certified combatant in several types of stage combat.