INTERSECTION
Atlanta, Georgia | Series
Comedy
It's that G Word. Gentrification or Revitalization. Good or bad, it's change and it's a'comin. Intersection tells the story of what happens now that these drastically different people have to learn to live together. Their intersecting lives may clash or possibly find out they're not so different.
Green Light
This campaign raised $9,726 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
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It's that G Word. Gentrification or Revitalization. Good or bad, it's change and it's a'comin. Intersection tells the story of what happens now that these drastically different people have to learn to live together. Their intersecting lives may clash or possibly find out they're not so different.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
INTERSECTION: The Series
"Living together is at a crossroads"
_________
##UPDATE 5/5/20
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR INCREDIBLE SUPPORTERS FOR GETTING US 100% FUNDED.
BECAUSE OF COVID, PRODUCTION RULES AND REGULATIONS ARE CHANGING. WE KNOW THIS MEANS WE WILL HAVE TO BE EXTRA PRECAUTIOUS ON SET. THIS WILL MOST LIKELY SLOW DOWN PRODUCTION OR ADD COSTS IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE WE'RE KEEPING EVERYONE SAFE.
ANYTHING RAISED OVER OUR GOAL WILL BE PUT TOWARDS THESE COVID SET OPERATIONS, ALLOWING US TO SHOOT IN THE MIDST/AFTERMATH OF THIS PANDEMIC. THANK YOU ALL!
##UPDATE 4/25/20:
BECAUSE OF REGULATIONS REGARDING COVID 19, WE DECIDED TO PUSH OUR SHOOT ON MARCH 20TH. WE ARE WATCHING VERY CLOSELY TO DECIDE HOW AND WHEN MAKE SENSE TO SHOOT IN ORDER TO KEEP OUR CAST AND CREW AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE. YOU WILL KNOW WHEN WE KNOW!
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
_____________________
Listen to our latest podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-272-megan-messmer-from-web-series-intersection/id881258043?i=1000469941693
On the tipping point of gentrification, a close-knit community is forced to share their hood with woke millennials, hopeful flippers and accidental entrepreneurs, learning how to live together, or risk losing the culture of their neighborhood entirely.
Director's Statement
********
Hi, I'm Meg Messmer
...and I am one of the writers and creators of Intersection.
This is a personal story for me that started when I was living in Detroit and I was the only white person living in my downtown apartment building. Then I moved to NYC and watched as changes steadily followed me to every neighborhood I could afford (Harlem, Clinton Hill and Bedstuy). When I was living in Los Angeles, I bought my first house.
Yes, I'm a gentrifier. I'm white and I bought a house to flip in order to save money because I'm a freelance (writer/actor/creator) and knew I would never have a 401K plan in my future. So I chose to invest in real estate.
It wasn't until after I sold that house and made a significant return that I started looking around at all of the sudden changes and wondering what their effect might be...and if I was a part of it. That was in 2012. That neighborhood in L.A. is now almost entirely white and the homes sell for over $1 million, Detroit is the new coolest place for artists and NYC, well, we all know that NYC is untouchable to anybody but rich people or their privileged children.
In 2016, I moved to Georgia because, guess what, I was priced out of my own city (and I had a new baby).
I bought a house in a historically black neighborhood in Atlanta. And wow! The dynamic here in Atlanta was different than any other place I had lived. My husband (who is from ATL) would always say "The South" like it was a character...and now, I knew why.
Atlanta is the birthplace of civil rights, but it's also in Georgia, a state of the confederacy. A city that has a memorial to the Confederacy BIGGER than Mount Rushmore. We JUST took down a main street that was called "Confederacy Ave." and renamed it "United Ave". By God, it is the South.
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The racial tension is much more palpable here than anywhere I've ever lived. Finally, I got to experience, in my face, that our country has such a long way to go to racial equality. And this series, is my little piece of owning my own wake up call.
But what I've learned about gentrification is that it's not just a black and white/right and wrong issue, there are so many shades of gray. The series intends to capture all of those.
Intersection came after 3 years of researching gentrification with my co-creators and finding the right team of writers for a writers room, because we knew we could not write this series without the voices of everyone. All of the women (yes, we're all women) in the writers room are experiencing gentrification first hand. These stories are ours and they're real. Even some of the situations in the series are based in truth which is ABSURD. (More on these as the series rolls out, no spoilers!!)
Right Now...
We have started our pre-production, which means scouting locations and booking our cast and crew because....We are filming this series March 20th to 23rd!!!! Before this campaign is even over! But the work is just beginning. We will have 4 weeks of Post Production and then 4 weeks of Post Sound and Color Finishing.
Our deadline is May 11th. Why is that our deadline????? Because we are submitting this series for EMMY CONSIDERATION.
Imagine that! You are contributing to a potential Emmy-winning series!!!!
We can't wait to share all of the trials and exciting miracles along the way.
Why now?
Gentrification is bleeding all over the world and no one has the solution. We followed Portland as they fought to change renters rights and we're following Louisville as they add affordable housing. But NOBODY has a hard solution because there isn't one. There isn't one thing that will work for every one and every city.
We continue to have conversations in the writers room that would NEVER happen outside of it...and yet, they NEED to if going to progress as good humans. These conversations are about what makes us different, what makes us racist, what makes us priveleged, what makes us angry, what makes us gentrifiers, income inequality, eviction practices, rent increases with no caps, white appropriation and SO many other eye openers that we've laughed at and cried about while writing this show.
But as we intersect and see each other everyday, we can start talking to each other and more importantly LISTENING to each other to understand what each of us needs, what our neighborhood needs and what our city needs.
Then, we can create homes that are inclusive and diverse both in culture, ethnicity and income level, which Jane Jacobs (The Death and Life of Great American Cities) argues creates the best kind of city.
Help us create a home with Intersection.
We appreciate YOU!!
Meg
(and Muretta, Jennica, Jacinte and Karen)
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Locations: The YMCA, The Coffee Shop, The City Park, The House
Costs $800
It's all about locations! We will be asking for favors, but we know some will require a payment.
Insurance
Costs $1,000
We have to protect ourselves, the gear and the locations that are helping us.
Cast and Crew
Costs $2,200
We are using SAG actors. We have a TON of roles and at 125 a day plus payroll costs...this is a lot.
Camera & Gear
Costs $1,500
We are getting favors, but there's still extra special gear that we're hoping for to get that Emmy.
Music Licensing
Costs $1,371
SO many artists start in ATL. We want to feature a song by a well known ATL rapper.
Post
Costs $600
After we SHOOT the project, we have to edit, do post sound and color correction. That's a lot!
Share this update!
About This Team
JACINTE BLANKENSHIP - Associate Producer, Writer, Actress
Jacinte Blankenship is an actress, writer and producer committed to the expansion of storytelling inclusive of people of color. She is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University in the the historic Atlanta University Center, and has been a part Atlanta's film and television community well over a decade. Her first project as a producer was Hidden in Plain View, a short film about the human trafficking epidemic in Atlanta, GA. While attending the Cannes Film Festival, she co-wrote and performed in three short films in collaboration with the internship program Creative Minds in Cannes. Jacinte has appeared in several television and film productions, including television shows, Mr. Mercedes, and NCIS: New Orleans and films Just Mercy, Get On Up, and The Friend. Instagram: @jacinteb
JENNICA HILL - Co-producer, Writer, Actress
Jennica Hill is an actress, improviser, and writer focused on connecting the world through empathy and storytelling. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California. Shortly after moving to Atlanta, Jennica was cast in Tamlin Hall’s film HOLDEN ON, which has won multiple festival awards and become a nonprofit spreading awareness about mental health and teen suicide. This further ignited her goal to fire on all cylinders and tell stories that help close the gaps between people’s perceived differences and connect them through their universal humanity.
http://www.jennicahill.com/ Instagram: @jennicahill
MEG MESSMER - Producer, Writer, Actress
Meg Messmer is an actress and producer drawn to mission based projects that raise awareness. Her first project as a producer was a NYC play written by Beau Willimon (House of Cards), Elizabeth Meriwether (New Girl), Pulitzer-prize winner Annie Baker, Sam Forman (Claws) and Billy Eichner (Difficult People). Megan teamed up with the YouthAIDS Foundation and all proceeds were donated. Megan has worked with Mandeville Films and Paramount Pictures before landing as a production manager for FremantleMedia where she oversaw 26 different shows simultaneously. She attended UCLA’s Producers Program and worked in management at Untitled Entertainment. Her most recent feature, IMPRISONED, starring Laurence Fishburne was produced with Equitas Entertainment, a company focused on social justice and closing the gender pay gap. Megan worked closely with the director and cast, teaching acting workshops for prison inmates as a tool of anti-recidivism. Megan produced LAMB, a short film inspired by a side of the #MeToo movement that she personally experienced. Working with Life Out Loud Films, she was able to secure an all-female crew supporting women in front and behind the camera. Megan is based in Atlanta and Los Angeles. www.meganmessmer.com Instagram: @megmessmer
MURETTA MOSS - Co-producer, Writer, Actress
Muretta Moss is an actress, comedian, and writer from Atlanta, Georgia. She is a graduate of Second City, iO West, Upright Citizens Brigade... oh, and from Georgia Tech and Georgia State University. She can be seen performing weekly at the Village Theatre in Atlanta, Ga in their Mainstage Ensemble, The Improvised Vagina Monologues, and Marcia Marcia Marcia. Muretta LOVES country music and cats. @MurettaMoss
KAREN CEESAY - Associate Producer, Writer, Actress
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Karen Ceesay is an actor/writer/producer living and working in Atlanta, Georgia. A self-proclaimed TV addict since childhood, when other kids were outside playing, Karen spent most of her time watching television and reading the TV Guide from cover to cover when she wasn’t in rehearsal studying dance and theater. She was imdb long before anyone ever heard of an “internet.” Shows like, “The Carol Burnett Show,” “Saturday Night Live” and “The Tracey Ullman Show” helped her define her passion for character work and forged her path to comedy. Constant people watching and the desire/need to imitate all she came in contact with, found a home away from the dinner table, on to the stage and eventually, on to the page.
Karen moved from her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Atlanta, Georgia to study theater at Spelman College where she earned a B.A. in Theatre Arts. After graduation, she became a regular on Atlanta’s improv scene, all of the characters that had been living in her head, now had an audience. But, when she saw a sitcom class writing class taught by a name she recognized from so many of her favorite childhood shows, she had to sign up. This led to a mentorship with veteran television writer/producer Sy Rosen. In his class, she learned how to: format, define point of view, break down storylines, write spec scripts and get more jokes in per page. Years later, when she began developing her own sitcom, Sy continued to coach her via email.
A chance meeting in an improv class introduced her to a former writer for “The Boondocks,” Andre Brooks. Although their upbringings were quite different, Andre and Karen immediately found they shared similar writing styles and interests. It soon became evident that the childhood of Ericka Brown, Karen’s friend from college, would be the perfect project on which to collaborate.
That project is currently in development at Freeform with Laurence Fishburne’s company Cinema Gypsy.
An active participant in the Atlanta Film & Television community for many years, Karen is a member of Georgia Production Partnership (GPP), SAG/AFTRA and served on the Board of Directors for Women in Film & Television Atlanta (WIFTA) for several years, overseeing the chapter's fortieth anniversary celebration.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
INTERSECTION: The Series
"Living together is at a crossroads"
_________
##UPDATE 5/5/20
THANK YOU TO ALL OUR INCREDIBLE SUPPORTERS FOR GETTING US 100% FUNDED.
BECAUSE OF COVID, PRODUCTION RULES AND REGULATIONS ARE CHANGING. WE KNOW THIS MEANS WE WILL HAVE TO BE EXTRA PRECAUTIOUS ON SET. THIS WILL MOST LIKELY SLOW DOWN PRODUCTION OR ADD COSTS IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE WE'RE KEEPING EVERYONE SAFE.
ANYTHING RAISED OVER OUR GOAL WILL BE PUT TOWARDS THESE COVID SET OPERATIONS, ALLOWING US TO SHOOT IN THE MIDST/AFTERMATH OF THIS PANDEMIC. THANK YOU ALL!
##UPDATE 4/25/20:
BECAUSE OF REGULATIONS REGARDING COVID 19, WE DECIDED TO PUSH OUR SHOOT ON MARCH 20TH. WE ARE WATCHING VERY CLOSELY TO DECIDE HOW AND WHEN MAKE SENSE TO SHOOT IN ORDER TO KEEP OUR CAST AND CREW AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE. YOU WILL KNOW WHEN WE KNOW!
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
_____________________
Listen to our latest podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-272-megan-messmer-from-web-series-intersection/id881258043?i=1000469941693
On the tipping point of gentrification, a close-knit community is forced to share their hood with woke millennials, hopeful flippers and accidental entrepreneurs, learning how to live together, or risk losing the culture of their neighborhood entirely.
Director's Statement
********
Hi, I'm Meg Messmer
...and I am one of the writers and creators of Intersection.
This is a personal story for me that started when I was living in Detroit and I was the only white person living in my downtown apartment building. Then I moved to NYC and watched as changes steadily followed me to every neighborhood I could afford (Harlem, Clinton Hill and Bedstuy). When I was living in Los Angeles, I bought my first house.
Yes, I'm a gentrifier. I'm white and I bought a house to flip in order to save money because I'm a freelance (writer/actor/creator) and knew I would never have a 401K plan in my future. So I chose to invest in real estate.
It wasn't until after I sold that house and made a significant return that I started looking around at all of the sudden changes and wondering what their effect might be...and if I was a part of it. That was in 2012. That neighborhood in L.A. is now almost entirely white and the homes sell for over $1 million, Detroit is the new coolest place for artists and NYC, well, we all know that NYC is untouchable to anybody but rich people or their privileged children.
In 2016, I moved to Georgia because, guess what, I was priced out of my own city (and I had a new baby).
I bought a house in a historically black neighborhood in Atlanta. And wow! The dynamic here in Atlanta was different than any other place I had lived. My husband (who is from ATL) would always say "The South" like it was a character...and now, I knew why.
Atlanta is the birthplace of civil rights, but it's also in Georgia, a state of the confederacy. A city that has a memorial to the Confederacy BIGGER than Mount Rushmore. We JUST took down a main street that was called "Confederacy Ave." and renamed it "United Ave". By God, it is the South.
The racial tension is much more palpable here than anywhere I've ever lived. Finally, I got to experience, in my face, that our country has such a long way to go to racial equality. And this series, is my little piece of owning my own wake up call.
But what I've learned about gentrification is that it's not just a black and white/right and wrong issue, there are so many shades of gray. The series intends to capture all of those.
Intersection came after 3 years of researching gentrification with my co-creators and finding the right team of writers for a writers room, because we knew we could not write this series without the voices of everyone. All of the women (yes, we're all women) in the writers room are experiencing gentrification first hand. These stories are ours and they're real. Even some of the situations in the series are based in truth which is ABSURD. (More on these as the series rolls out, no spoilers!!)
Right Now...
We have started our pre-production, which means scouting locations and booking our cast and crew because....We are filming this series March 20th to 23rd!!!! Before this campaign is even over! But the work is just beginning. We will have 4 weeks of Post Production and then 4 weeks of Post Sound and Color Finishing.
Our deadline is May 11th. Why is that our deadline????? Because we are submitting this series for EMMY CONSIDERATION.
Imagine that! You are contributing to a potential Emmy-winning series!!!!
We can't wait to share all of the trials and exciting miracles along the way.
Why now?
Gentrification is bleeding all over the world and no one has the solution. We followed Portland as they fought to change renters rights and we're following Louisville as they add affordable housing. But NOBODY has a hard solution because there isn't one. There isn't one thing that will work for every one and every city.
We continue to have conversations in the writers room that would NEVER happen outside of it...and yet, they NEED to if going to progress as good humans. These conversations are about what makes us different, what makes us racist, what makes us priveleged, what makes us angry, what makes us gentrifiers, income inequality, eviction practices, rent increases with no caps, white appropriation and SO many other eye openers that we've laughed at and cried about while writing this show.
But as we intersect and see each other everyday, we can start talking to each other and more importantly LISTENING to each other to understand what each of us needs, what our neighborhood needs and what our city needs.
Then, we can create homes that are inclusive and diverse both in culture, ethnicity and income level, which Jane Jacobs (The Death and Life of Great American Cities) argues creates the best kind of city.
Help us create a home with Intersection.
We appreciate YOU!!
Meg
(and Muretta, Jennica, Jacinte and Karen)
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Locations: The YMCA, The Coffee Shop, The City Park, The House
Costs $800
It's all about locations! We will be asking for favors, but we know some will require a payment.
Insurance
Costs $1,000
We have to protect ourselves, the gear and the locations that are helping us.
Cast and Crew
Costs $2,200
We are using SAG actors. We have a TON of roles and at 125 a day plus payroll costs...this is a lot.
Camera & Gear
Costs $1,500
We are getting favors, but there's still extra special gear that we're hoping for to get that Emmy.
Music Licensing
Costs $1,371
SO many artists start in ATL. We want to feature a song by a well known ATL rapper.
Post
Costs $600
After we SHOOT the project, we have to edit, do post sound and color correction. That's a lot!
Share this update!
About This Team
JACINTE BLANKENSHIP - Associate Producer, Writer, Actress
Jacinte Blankenship is an actress, writer and producer committed to the expansion of storytelling inclusive of people of color. She is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University in the the historic Atlanta University Center, and has been a part Atlanta's film and television community well over a decade. Her first project as a producer was Hidden in Plain View, a short film about the human trafficking epidemic in Atlanta, GA. While attending the Cannes Film Festival, she co-wrote and performed in three short films in collaboration with the internship program Creative Minds in Cannes. Jacinte has appeared in several television and film productions, including television shows, Mr. Mercedes, and NCIS: New Orleans and films Just Mercy, Get On Up, and The Friend. Instagram: @jacinteb
JENNICA HILL - Co-producer, Writer, Actress
Jennica Hill is an actress, improviser, and writer focused on connecting the world through empathy and storytelling. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California. Shortly after moving to Atlanta, Jennica was cast in Tamlin Hall’s film HOLDEN ON, which has won multiple festival awards and become a nonprofit spreading awareness about mental health and teen suicide. This further ignited her goal to fire on all cylinders and tell stories that help close the gaps between people’s perceived differences and connect them through their universal humanity.
http://www.jennicahill.com/ Instagram: @jennicahill
MEG MESSMER - Producer, Writer, Actress
Meg Messmer is an actress and producer drawn to mission based projects that raise awareness. Her first project as a producer was a NYC play written by Beau Willimon (House of Cards), Elizabeth Meriwether (New Girl), Pulitzer-prize winner Annie Baker, Sam Forman (Claws) and Billy Eichner (Difficult People). Megan teamed up with the YouthAIDS Foundation and all proceeds were donated. Megan has worked with Mandeville Films and Paramount Pictures before landing as a production manager for FremantleMedia where she oversaw 26 different shows simultaneously. She attended UCLA’s Producers Program and worked in management at Untitled Entertainment. Her most recent feature, IMPRISONED, starring Laurence Fishburne was produced with Equitas Entertainment, a company focused on social justice and closing the gender pay gap. Megan worked closely with the director and cast, teaching acting workshops for prison inmates as a tool of anti-recidivism. Megan produced LAMB, a short film inspired by a side of the #MeToo movement that she personally experienced. Working with Life Out Loud Films, she was able to secure an all-female crew supporting women in front and behind the camera. Megan is based in Atlanta and Los Angeles. www.meganmessmer.com Instagram: @megmessmer
MURETTA MOSS - Co-producer, Writer, Actress
Muretta Moss is an actress, comedian, and writer from Atlanta, Georgia. She is a graduate of Second City, iO West, Upright Citizens Brigade... oh, and from Georgia Tech and Georgia State University. She can be seen performing weekly at the Village Theatre in Atlanta, Ga in their Mainstage Ensemble, The Improvised Vagina Monologues, and Marcia Marcia Marcia. Muretta LOVES country music and cats. @MurettaMoss
KAREN CEESAY - Associate Producer, Writer, Actress
Karen Ceesay is an actor/writer/producer living and working in Atlanta, Georgia. A self-proclaimed TV addict since childhood, when other kids were outside playing, Karen spent most of her time watching television and reading the TV Guide from cover to cover when she wasn’t in rehearsal studying dance and theater. She was imdb long before anyone ever heard of an “internet.” Shows like, “The Carol Burnett Show,” “Saturday Night Live” and “The Tracey Ullman Show” helped her define her passion for character work and forged her path to comedy. Constant people watching and the desire/need to imitate all she came in contact with, found a home away from the dinner table, on to the stage and eventually, on to the page.
Karen moved from her hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Atlanta, Georgia to study theater at Spelman College where she earned a B.A. in Theatre Arts. After graduation, she became a regular on Atlanta’s improv scene, all of the characters that had been living in her head, now had an audience. But, when she saw a sitcom class writing class taught by a name she recognized from so many of her favorite childhood shows, she had to sign up. This led to a mentorship with veteran television writer/producer Sy Rosen. In his class, she learned how to: format, define point of view, break down storylines, write spec scripts and get more jokes in per page. Years later, when she began developing her own sitcom, Sy continued to coach her via email.
A chance meeting in an improv class introduced her to a former writer for “The Boondocks,” Andre Brooks. Although their upbringings were quite different, Andre and Karen immediately found they shared similar writing styles and interests. It soon became evident that the childhood of Ericka Brown, Karen’s friend from college, would be the perfect project on which to collaborate.
That project is currently in development at Freeform with Laurence Fishburne’s company Cinema Gypsy.
An active participant in the Atlanta Film & Television community for many years, Karen is a member of Georgia Production Partnership (GPP), SAG/AFTRA and served on the Board of Directors for Women in Film & Television Atlanta (WIFTA) for several years, overseeing the chapter's fortieth anniversary celebration.