An unlikely volley between two mismatched strangers proves that sometimes an expected "miss" could be the "hit" of your life!

HIT OR MISS is the story of Megan a middle-aged woman, whose mother has recently passed away. Megan is left with the task of writing a eulogy for the woman with whom she had a... complicated... relationship. At the same time, we meet WILL, a young man struggling with his own grief over the loss of his grandfather. Unable to escape the ghosts in their respective homes, the two wind up at the neighborhood coffee shop where they...HIT it off.

Hey, everyone!  Jillian Walzer here. HIT OR MISS is my creation, and yes, like Megan, I am a middle-aged, hopeless romantic currently looking for a real connection.  However, romantic love and connection are not the only human experiences we’re exploring in this short.

The loss of a dear family member is one of the hardest times to go through in life.  And while this story is not inherently autobiographical, I have had my own share of losses.

In fact, the loss of my grandmother who was a guiding light for me is something I was able to delve into through this script.

In HIT OR MISS, I get to share my grandma with you, and it’s a small way for me to honor her strength, her enormous heart, and the unconditional love she gave.

And while personal loss can be blinding, the scars from people with whom you’ve had a dysfunctional relationship can also blind you to the endless possibilities that appear before you every day. At the same time, there is outer pressure to conform to society’s ideals and those are filled with judgment, labels, and stereotypes that serve only to confine us.

(It makes you wonder how many times we’ve let something amazing pass right by merely because our preconceived notions or the voices in our heads have gotten in our way!) 

This being a romantic comedy (and I promise you it is!), I find this is a perfect place to gently challenge audiences in a couple of small ways to question what is considered standard through the lens of positivity and joy.

HIT OR MISS was originally written for, and had its world premiere in Georgia, on the Merely Players Presents stage!! 

And at the same time, Off The Walz's first film, COWBOY JOE, was in pre-production.  Jillian says it was one of her best decisions to immediately sit back down and adapt HIT OR MISS for the screen. 

Jillian was most recently was nominated for Best Actress in her self-penned, award-winning short film, “Cowboy Joe.”  the film has also won ‘Best Atlanta Short’ at Out On Film Festival, ‘Best Made In Georgia’ at Southern Shorts Awards, was nominated for 'Best Georgia Comedy Short' at Women's Comedy Film Festival, and was a Semi-Finalist at Venice Shorts Film Festival. 

For much of Jillian’s career, she has performed on stage where she has had the pleasure of working with many local theatre companies around Atlanta. Jillian can be seen often ‘playing out her funny’ as one of Sketchworks Comedy MainStage actors, Atlanta’s premier sketch comedy troupe.

When Jillian is not on stage or in front of the lens, she can be found as one of Northside Hospital Cancer Institute’s Operations Coordinator's, sitting on the Merely Players Presents Board, and, without question, consuming as much buttercream frosting as she can!

Kate Brown is an actor, musician, and teaching artist based in Atlanta. She attended Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, completed the core improv program at UCB Los Angeles, and studied at the School at Steppenwolf under Monica Payne, Alexandra Billings, Jeff Perry, and the late Sheldon Patinkin. 

Kate is currently the assistant artistic director at the renowned Robert Mello Studio where she teaches and coaches some of Atlanta’s top talent. As an actor, Kate has worked at several prominent theater companies, and in film and television. Kate has directed many successful professional and student theatre productions over the years and is excited for the new undertaking of directing for tv and film.

Originally from Hamlin, Pennsylvania. Bridget attended East Stroudsburg University for Media Communication and, when her student loans simply weren’t high enough, went for an MFA in Film and Television at the Savannah College of Art & Design.

Bridget spent a couple of years as a newspaper reporter after grad school, then devoted herself to filmmaking full-time and moved to Atlanta. Bridget has operated camera and Steadicam on a wide range of projects.

When Bridget’s not on set, she’s a writer of geeky content for the website Den of Geek and designated belly-rub enthusiast for her dog Bailey.

Renae moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting, and also found herself in an editorial role in comic books. There, she and her husband started Mane Entertainment for which Renae wrote and produced the feature films “Compound Fracture” and "Penance Lane."

Renae currently lives in Atlanta, GA where she continues to pursue the multi-hyphenate life and rescue as many animals as her husband will let her. (Note: it's four. That's the limit.  Four.)

Alex, a graduate of Notre Dame University, has recently completed filming a recurring role on Tyler Perry’s “The Oval” and a lead role in a stage production of “The Lobby Hero.” His other recent credits include work in “Buzzfeed” and “Awesomeness TV” in addition to a number of independent films, theater, and extensive commercial work including Super Bowl commercials for Pepsi, Target, and the Marriott Hotels. He is currently repped by Privilege Talent and Select Model Management.

Justin Giddings is an award-winning filmmaker who found creative freedom through crowdfunding. After becoming the “go-to guy” for crowdfunding advice, Justin combined his background in marketing with his experience in crowdfunding and launched TheKickstarterGuy.com. He regularly teaches at Film Independent, is an official Kickstarter Expert, and travels internationally to speak on film production and financing. To date, he has coached over 190 filmmakers, raised $7.3 million, and has a 97% success rate. 

THE CAMPAIGN CORE TEAM!

1. FOLLOW: Click the “follow” button on the upper right of this page. Seed & Spark rewards us the more followers we acquire. It’s almost effortless and helps a ton! 

2. SHARE: Share our campaign with your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers...we mean, EVERYONE!  Sharing is awesome and a key component to greenlighting our film!

3. CONTRIBUTE: Every dollar counts. Your contribution will empower us to complete filming at the same level of excellence that's been put into it thus far. And most importantly, you'll be partnering with us to spread a message of hope, moving the needle on the conversation around societal norms, and will help to create an even more empathetic and compassionate society along the way and maybe even find love!

While we've been fortunate thus far to have team members donate their labor and expertise, some areas for principle photography where we need to spend money include:

COVID PREPARATION: To keep our cast and crew safe we will follow our local CDC guidelines, which include the additional expense for testing (still required) and PPE supply. 

LOCATION, PROPS, COSTUMES, MAKEUP, & SET DESIGN: Filmmaking is a visual medium, so the "show, don't tell" concept is especially important. This is why production design can be such a great storytelling tool: a pristine bathroom, an empty fridge, a room full of memorabilia, or even a coffee shop full of couches and hipsters can tell your audience so much more about your characters than simple dialog. We plan to pour a whole lotta thoughtfulness and attention to detail into HIT OR MISS to give you the complete experience.

EQUIPMENT & GEAR: Quality sound, cameras, and lenses are needed to ensure we capture our film at the highest quality.

And those are just a few things that go into filmmaking! Please visit our wishlist page for more details.