Gym Rat
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Thriller, Drama
Gym Rat is a suspenseful, atmospheric film (think Nightcrawler & Taxi Driver) that speaks to the social media driven, body image obsession & comparison culture today. It depicts how destructive it can be to obsess over image and achievement without a healthy sense of identity, while offering hope.
Green Light
This campaign raised $9,625 for post-production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
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Gym Rat is a suspenseful, atmospheric film (think Nightcrawler & Taxi Driver) that speaks to the social media driven, body image obsession & comparison culture today. It depicts how destructive it can be to obsess over image and achievement without a healthy sense of identity, while offering hope.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Our protagonist Lonnie Milsap navigates a world of diverse and colorful characters that match his own often absurd behavior, from his reckless pursuit of a pump to his fixations with The Hulk. A budding romance offers a ray of hope and stability but Lonnie's obsession with winning and clashes with his bigoted bully of a boss at the gym where he works (and sells steroids), threaten to derail it. As he spirals deeper into a cycle of drugs and violence we have to wonder if he will take that hard look in the mirror before it's too late.
We are big fans of fitness and bodybuilding. In recent years, we have seen a troubling trend with numerous bodybuilders dying at a young age due to PED abuse and even suicides. It's a perfect example of how we can look great on the outside and be dying on the inside. Gym Rat is a compelling and entertaining exploration of how we can be so focused on measuring up with appearances and achievements that we lose sight of what's most important. And for those who feel above it all, who may be tempted to judge or dismiss the outsiders and freaks they don't understand, we want to challenge those assumptions that other people are really all that different. Finally, this is a hopeful story, that even those seemingly doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes still have a chance at redemption.
Plus, we think we're overdue for some more movies about fitness and bodybuilding!
Director's Statement
It doesn’t take much convincing to believe stories that work are meaningful. Superficiality usually doesn’t work out well in reality — why would a superficial concept fare better within a fictional narrative? This story could have easily been just something to make people laugh — but I don’t ever want to do that. I want Gym Rat to have a climactic point that is affecting in its tragedy, there must be something to say. Lonnie Milsap is a grown-up, male version of Little Miss Sunshine’s Olive Hoover. And Greg Kinnear’s character Richard Hoover isn’t all that different from the Gym Rat antagonist Phillie in the sense that he wants to see Lonnie win at all costs. These types of characters drive dysfunction in already dysfunctioning protagonist characters because of their need for approval. From the very start of the script, Josh and I talked about Pumping Iron with Arnold Schwarzenegger and how he was such an antagonist to everyone he was in competition with. He was putting people down and almost whispering horrible things to their psyche, a little like Satan on their shoulder. I wanted Lonnie to feel like he was facing an Arnold type at every waking moment, a person in deep need of admonishment would be dumped on with discouragement. I wanted to explore what it is like to be the human being in a society that is looked down upon and given up on. And the result of that is this person then goes through life with a chip on their shoulder, their existence is dedicated to proving people wrong by any means necessary because they want approval. This is what happens when your dignity is founded in something other than your person being valued as one of God’s creations, nothing more. I wanted to argue that worth isn’t defined by an accomplishment, or how many letters you have behind your name...
When we set out to film Gym Rat in 2019, we had committed to not wait for someone to give us permission (or a bunch of money) to make the movie we wanted to - but to take whatever steps we could to keep moving forward (without sacrificing quality). We have endeavored to prove ourselves step-by-step and to do the possible, even when the pandemic shutdowns made completing this seem far-fetched. And as we have surmounted each obstacle and shown we can do a lot with a little, the resources for the next phase of the project have come through. While this has been a long journey (Fast, Cheap, Quality, choose two as they say), filled with grit and determination, we can finally see the finish line fast approaching.
We have already filmed and edited Gym Rat and now we are ready to start the final stages of Post Production with Sound/Music/Color. We already have a Post team we trust that are committed and willing to work for their lowest price possible. For those of you just joining us now this means you get to see the results of your contributions in as little as a two months. Our goal after raising our finishing funds is to complete post production and begin pursuing festivals and worldwide distribution this fall with the finished film. In fact, Gym Rat has already received a waiver for the Macon Film Festival in Georgia and we started evangelizing the film at the Cannes Film Market (Marche Du Film) earlier this year in France and have some strong interest from distributors all over the world in seeing the finished product. Come be a part of a movie that's going places and going soon!
Stretch Goal
Our stretch goal, if we exceed our primary one, is $22,000, which would enable us to get a theatrical-release quality sound mix/master. We have connections to a phenomenal sound mixer who was trained by an Oscar winner with state-of-the-art facilities who is willing to do this for us at a fraction of normal rates. If we raise any additional funds beyond that it will go towards our film festival run for submission fees, marketing etc.
NOTE: This year has been especially hard on actors as the strikes responding to increasingly unfair terms by the studios all but eliminate opportunities to exercise their art. As a SAG-AFTRA indie film, Gym Rat showcases performances from a bunch of these very talented actors that you'll be giving voice to as you help us bring the film to the big screen.
Movie Magic Behind the Scenes in Prison!
^Head over to The Team tab at top to meet the Gym Rat crew ^
Follow our campaign on Seed&Spark (even if you can't back it financially) to stay up-to-date on Gym Rat and help us get seen by a bigger audience (plus find out when new incentives are released weekly)!
Please join us on social media too @gymratmovie to be part of our online community!
https://instagram.com/gymratmovie
https://facebook.com/gymratmovie
https://twitter.com/gymratmovie
If you like supporting and being a part of independent film, let people know about Gym Rat!
YOUR social media post, text, email or conversation with a friend could make the difference in the success of this campaign.
Feel free to use one of these examples:
I'm pumped to see this film GYM RAT, a thriller set in the bodybuilding world. Check out the teaser at gymratmovie.com or @gymratmovie
I just backed @gymratmovie - Some really cool perks for supporting the film! You can join us on gymratmovie.com
If you like movies and you like fitness you need to check out @gymratmovie - there's still time to get in on the action!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Design and Scoring
Costs $8,000
Sound design + an original score by composer Justin Durban: Nearly 200 credits, scored trailers for some of the biggest movies on the planet
Color Grading
Costs $2,500
Color grading by an experienced colorists with state of the art equipment to give the film that cinematic look and make the visuals pop!
VFX
Costs $1,000
Basic VFX on the footage for things like replacing phone and monitor screens and fixing/enhancing a few shots.
Stock Drone Footage
Costs $500
Adding a few drone shots to increase the production value and cinematic scope of the picture!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Gym Rat writer and director Korstiaan 'Kors' Vandiver is as an award-winning filmmaker with over 12 years of experience in the film/TV industry. His scripts have landed attachments and interest from actors such as Ryan Gosling, Idris Elba, Skylan Brooks, Nate Parker, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and even Oscar-winners such as Mahershala Ali. As a BTS and documentary producer for the famed Sundance breakout hit "The Birth of a Nation" Kors contributed to script notes for the film. He has produced projects with creatives such as Issa Rae, Omari Hardwick, Armie Hammer and more. His work has been showcased and purchased by companies such as Fox Searchlight, CBS, HBO and National Geographic just to name a few. As a director Korstiaan Vandiver's short films have won numerous awards including “LU” starring Nate Parker which played at a Sundance Board member special screening in Park City, Utah and screened in HBO's Urbanworld Film Festival in New York. Gym Rat is his feature film directorial debut.
Our producing team includes: Spencer Folmar (PGA), producer/director of several features including "Generational Sins" (2017) and "Shooting Heroin" (2020) that have been covered in top news outlets such as FOX, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and the Washington Times; Ron Newcomb a filmmaker with 28 Producing credits. Co-owner of The Fantasy Network and founder of the VIP Film & TV Summit; Mike Zhu, who has worked on the Corporate Strategy Team at Disney, led strategy and planning for ABC and ABC Studios and is currently the Head of Strategy at wiip; and Bruce Nahin (PGA) is a prolific Business Affairs consultant and Executive Producer with over 300 IMDB credits to his name.
In addition to our unique story and compelling visuals, we are very proud of our stellar cast ensemble. In addition to Josh Murray (Inheritance, Killing Lincoln, General Hospital) as Lonnie, Greg Orvis (Vikings, Angel Has Fallen) plays our antagonist Phillie, the maniacal gym owner. The lovely Lena, who captures Lonnie's heart and tries to steer him away from the dark side is portrayed by former Miss Puerto Rico, Mariana Paola Vicente (Self/less, Ozark, Get Hard). Also appearing are Gabriel Jarret (Real Genius, Poseidon, Apollo 13), Diahnna Nicole Baxter (Bosch, Scandal), Amaris Davidson (Insidious 3, Disaster Movie) and Miles Burris (The Righteous Gemstones, Young Rock) to name a few. We are rounding out the cast with several cameo's from the bodybuilding and fitness industry including Chef Rush and 3x Ms Olympia winner Whitney Jones, to reinforce the realism in the world of the film!
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Our protagonist Lonnie Milsap navigates a world of diverse and colorful characters that match his own often absurd behavior, from his reckless pursuit of a pump to his fixations with The Hulk. A budding romance offers a ray of hope and stability but Lonnie's obsession with winning and clashes with his bigoted bully of a boss at the gym where he works (and sells steroids), threaten to derail it. As he spirals deeper into a cycle of drugs and violence we have to wonder if he will take that hard look in the mirror before it's too late.
We are big fans of fitness and bodybuilding. In recent years, we have seen a troubling trend with numerous bodybuilders dying at a young age due to PED abuse and even suicides. It's a perfect example of how we can look great on the outside and be dying on the inside. Gym Rat is a compelling and entertaining exploration of how we can be so focused on measuring up with appearances and achievements that we lose sight of what's most important. And for those who feel above it all, who may be tempted to judge or dismiss the outsiders and freaks they don't understand, we want to challenge those assumptions that other people are really all that different. Finally, this is a hopeful story, that even those seemingly doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes still have a chance at redemption.
Plus, we think we're overdue for some more movies about fitness and bodybuilding!
Director's Statement
It doesn’t take much convincing to believe stories that work are meaningful. Superficiality usually doesn’t work out well in reality — why would a superficial concept fare better within a fictional narrative? This story could have easily been just something to make people laugh — but I don’t ever want to do that. I want Gym Rat to have a climactic point that is affecting in its tragedy, there must be something to say. Lonnie Milsap is a grown-up, male version of Little Miss Sunshine’s Olive Hoover. And Greg Kinnear’s character Richard Hoover isn’t all that different from the Gym Rat antagonist Phillie in the sense that he wants to see Lonnie win at all costs. These types of characters drive dysfunction in already dysfunctioning protagonist characters because of their need for approval. From the very start of the script, Josh and I talked about Pumping Iron with Arnold Schwarzenegger and how he was such an antagonist to everyone he was in competition with. He was putting people down and almost whispering horrible things to their psyche, a little like Satan on their shoulder. I wanted Lonnie to feel like he was facing an Arnold type at every waking moment, a person in deep need of admonishment would be dumped on with discouragement. I wanted to explore what it is like to be the human being in a society that is looked down upon and given up on. And the result of that is this person then goes through life with a chip on their shoulder, their existence is dedicated to proving people wrong by any means necessary because they want approval. This is what happens when your dignity is founded in something other than your person being valued as one of God’s creations, nothing more. I wanted to argue that worth isn’t defined by an accomplishment, or how many letters you have behind your name...
When we set out to film Gym Rat in 2019, we had committed to not wait for someone to give us permission (or a bunch of money) to make the movie we wanted to - but to take whatever steps we could to keep moving forward (without sacrificing quality). We have endeavored to prove ourselves step-by-step and to do the possible, even when the pandemic shutdowns made completing this seem far-fetched. And as we have surmounted each obstacle and shown we can do a lot with a little, the resources for the next phase of the project have come through. While this has been a long journey (Fast, Cheap, Quality, choose two as they say), filled with grit and determination, we can finally see the finish line fast approaching.
We have already filmed and edited Gym Rat and now we are ready to start the final stages of Post Production with Sound/Music/Color. We already have a Post team we trust that are committed and willing to work for their lowest price possible. For those of you just joining us now this means you get to see the results of your contributions in as little as a two months. Our goal after raising our finishing funds is to complete post production and begin pursuing festivals and worldwide distribution this fall with the finished film. In fact, Gym Rat has already received a waiver for the Macon Film Festival in Georgia and we started evangelizing the film at the Cannes Film Market (Marche Du Film) earlier this year in France and have some strong interest from distributors all over the world in seeing the finished product. Come be a part of a movie that's going places and going soon!
Stretch Goal
Our stretch goal, if we exceed our primary one, is $22,000, which would enable us to get a theatrical-release quality sound mix/master. We have connections to a phenomenal sound mixer who was trained by an Oscar winner with state-of-the-art facilities who is willing to do this for us at a fraction of normal rates. If we raise any additional funds beyond that it will go towards our film festival run for submission fees, marketing etc.
NOTE: This year has been especially hard on actors as the strikes responding to increasingly unfair terms by the studios all but eliminate opportunities to exercise their art. As a SAG-AFTRA indie film, Gym Rat showcases performances from a bunch of these very talented actors that you'll be giving voice to as you help us bring the film to the big screen.
Movie Magic Behind the Scenes in Prison!
^Head over to The Team tab at top to meet the Gym Rat crew ^
Follow our campaign on Seed&Spark (even if you can't back it financially) to stay up-to-date on Gym Rat and help us get seen by a bigger audience (plus find out when new incentives are released weekly)!
Please join us on social media too @gymratmovie to be part of our online community!
https://instagram.com/gymratmovie
https://facebook.com/gymratmovie
https://twitter.com/gymratmovie
If you like supporting and being a part of independent film, let people know about Gym Rat!
YOUR social media post, text, email or conversation with a friend could make the difference in the success of this campaign.
Feel free to use one of these examples:
I'm pumped to see this film GYM RAT, a thriller set in the bodybuilding world. Check out the teaser at gymratmovie.com or @gymratmovie
I just backed @gymratmovie - Some really cool perks for supporting the film! You can join us on gymratmovie.com
If you like movies and you like fitness you need to check out @gymratmovie - there's still time to get in on the action!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Sound Design and Scoring
Costs $8,000
Sound design + an original score by composer Justin Durban: Nearly 200 credits, scored trailers for some of the biggest movies on the planet
Color Grading
Costs $2,500
Color grading by an experienced colorists with state of the art equipment to give the film that cinematic look and make the visuals pop!
VFX
Costs $1,000
Basic VFX on the footage for things like replacing phone and monitor screens and fixing/enhancing a few shots.
Stock Drone Footage
Costs $500
Adding a few drone shots to increase the production value and cinematic scope of the picture!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Gym Rat writer and director Korstiaan 'Kors' Vandiver is as an award-winning filmmaker with over 12 years of experience in the film/TV industry. His scripts have landed attachments and interest from actors such as Ryan Gosling, Idris Elba, Skylan Brooks, Nate Parker, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and even Oscar-winners such as Mahershala Ali. As a BTS and documentary producer for the famed Sundance breakout hit "The Birth of a Nation" Kors contributed to script notes for the film. He has produced projects with creatives such as Issa Rae, Omari Hardwick, Armie Hammer and more. His work has been showcased and purchased by companies such as Fox Searchlight, CBS, HBO and National Geographic just to name a few. As a director Korstiaan Vandiver's short films have won numerous awards including “LU” starring Nate Parker which played at a Sundance Board member special screening in Park City, Utah and screened in HBO's Urbanworld Film Festival in New York. Gym Rat is his feature film directorial debut.
Our producing team includes: Spencer Folmar (PGA), producer/director of several features including "Generational Sins" (2017) and "Shooting Heroin" (2020) that have been covered in top news outlets such as FOX, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and the Washington Times; Ron Newcomb a filmmaker with 28 Producing credits. Co-owner of The Fantasy Network and founder of the VIP Film & TV Summit; Mike Zhu, who has worked on the Corporate Strategy Team at Disney, led strategy and planning for ABC and ABC Studios and is currently the Head of Strategy at wiip; and Bruce Nahin (PGA) is a prolific Business Affairs consultant and Executive Producer with over 300 IMDB credits to his name.
In addition to our unique story and compelling visuals, we are very proud of our stellar cast ensemble. In addition to Josh Murray (Inheritance, Killing Lincoln, General Hospital) as Lonnie, Greg Orvis (Vikings, Angel Has Fallen) plays our antagonist Phillie, the maniacal gym owner. The lovely Lena, who captures Lonnie's heart and tries to steer him away from the dark side is portrayed by former Miss Puerto Rico, Mariana Paola Vicente (Self/less, Ozark, Get Hard). Also appearing are Gabriel Jarret (Real Genius, Poseidon, Apollo 13), Diahnna Nicole Baxter (Bosch, Scandal), Amaris Davidson (Insidious 3, Disaster Movie) and Miles Burris (The Righteous Gemstones, Young Rock) to name a few. We are rounding out the cast with several cameo's from the bodybuilding and fitness industry including Chef Rush and 3x Ms Olympia winner Whitney Jones, to reinforce the realism in the world of the film!