Month to Month
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Comedy, Drama
People say that millennials are the laziest generation. Unemployed, overeducated, and disaffected. In the case of our story... they’re right. Inspired by Richard Linklater and Kevin Smith, we’re making a slacker comedy about an aimless young man wandering around LA in search of his stolen car.
Month to Month
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Comedy, Drama
2 Campaigns | California, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $26,895 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
247 supporters | followers
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People say that millennials are the laziest generation. Unemployed, overeducated, and disaffected. In the case of our story... they’re right. Inspired by Richard Linklater and Kevin Smith, we’re making a slacker comedy about an aimless young man wandering around LA in search of his stolen car.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Our friendship was born out of many long hours on Syracuse University student film sets. We were roommates while studying abroad in Prague (we’ve retained zero Czech). Now, we’ve teamed up as a writing and directing duo for this film.
This project was born out of the pandemic. We were both struggling with deeper questions about what we thought would bring us happiness (we had a lot of time on our hands), and this story emerged from that shared quest to find meaning.
With one of us (Derrick) in Virginia and the other (Mike) in California, we started writing. Eventually, Derrick had enough of the long Zoom sessions and moved out to Los Angeles. Now, it’s time to make the movie!
Mike (Left), Derrick (Center), and co-producer Joe Blank (Right) as naive collegiates arguing about movies in Europe.
Mike and Derrick (now "adults") still arguing about movies. This time over Zoom and with quarantine beards.
Our story is about Zach, a twenty-five-year-old slacker, crashing on his friend’s couch after a recent breakup. With no real job prospects and his funds running low, Zach is on the verge of packing up and leaving Los Angeles for good. His last hope for staying lies in picking up his ex-girlfriend from the airport, which he thinks could rekindle their relationship. The morning of her arrival, Zach’s plan implodes, and his life is thrown into further chaos when his car, filled with everything he owns, is stolen.
Determined to find his car, Zach searches around the city. Along the way, he interacts with a cast of friends and oddball strangers, including a bumbling cop preoccupied with small talk, an Uber driver obsessed with patron saints, and an old high school friend returning from overseas. Through his journey, Zach contemplates fate, happiness, and love while coming to terms with his relationships and embracing adulthood.
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A series of stills from test footage shot for Month to Month. Full scene coming soon!
Eight years ago, I (Mike) had just graduated high school and had to postpone college because... well it's very expensive. Ironically, before the postponement, I had just given a speech at graduation about how excited I was for college. Anyway, I was working a pizza delivery job and figuring out what I was doing with my life. I was stuck. Then, my car was stolen.
Luckily, it was eventually found, but the experience shook me up. Strangely enough, it also presented me with a new perspective on how to move forward, similar to the journey of this film's main character Zach. So getting my car stolen stunk, but it did provide a pretty good basis for this story.
A pic from after Mike's car was found. The ignition was busted open.
We both grew up with a nostalgia for the 90s. Along with being a great time for Walkmans and cargo shorts, the 90s also offered some really funny films about alienation and dissatisfaction with the status quo. Movies like Slacker, Clerks, and Swingers are why we fell in love with storytelling.
Our confidence to tackle this project also came from mumblecore films of the 2000s. Movies from the Duplass Brothers, Greta Gerwig, Barry Jenkins, and Lynn Shelton are huge inspirations. Their ambition to make small-scale works reminded us that the fate of the world doesn’t need to be at stake for a narrative to work effectively. We’ve taken these filmmakers' DIY approach to heart in the making of Month to Month..jpg)
90s gems: Clerks (Upper Left) and Slacker (Upper Right)
Mumblecore gems: Funny Ha Ha (Lower Left) and Medicine for Melancholy (Lower Right)
We’ve poured our heart and soul into this project over the last year.
This is a movie pulled from the fabric of our lives. We wrote the film knowing we would be the ones making it. We’ve picked locations we have access to in and around Los Angeles. We’ve made sure almost all of the characters could be played authentically by people we knew.
We’ve been lucky enough to assemble an incredible group of filmmakers and artists to help on this project. You’ve seen their work in movies, TV shows, music videos, and commercials over the last few years. Your contributions will help pay these individuals among other things.
With your contributions, this fundraising campaign will get us through principal photography.
If you'd like to support us but can't do so monetarily, that's okay! (Really!) Here's what you can do instead:
1.) "Follow" the campaign on Seed&Spark! It's 100% free. Once we hit 250 "followers," regardless of how many people contribute, we'll be eligible for thousands of dollars in discounts.
2.) "Follow" and "Share" our social media posts on Instagram and Facebook. Who knows, maybe someone you know can contribute!
We designed this crowdfunding goal carefully to get us through the production with a skeleton crew, but raising more will open up a new world of opportunity. With a higher budget, we can hire additional crew members and expand our capacity for art direction, costume design, and locations. Every extra penny will increase the production value of the shoot and foster an even better film!
We’re making a movie during a pandemic. For that reason, the health of our cast and crew is our top priority. We’ll be checking on the situation throughout pre-production. Our cast and crew will be vaccinated and tested before the start of production.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Locations
Costs $1,500
Permits for our outdoor locations including the park and the beach.
Crew
Costs $9,000
We want to provide our crew a living wage because you know... food and rent.
Production Design
Costs $2,000
All the props, costumes, and set decorations needed for production.
Share this update!
About This Team
Co-Writer/Co-Director
Derrick is a filmmaker originally hailing from Richmond, VA and a graduate of the Newhouse School of Communications. His latest directing work includes the short film Reunion (2021) and the music video for Matt Kerr’s “Second Act.” In addition to directing, Derrick produced Roman Candle (2021), a feature film currently on the festival circuit. Most recently, Derrick produced Alone (2022), a short film financed by the CNY Film Fund.
Co-Writer/Co-Director/Actor
Mike graduated from Syracuse University’s film program. His thesis project, No Accommodations (2018), got into several festivals and won awards. After graduating, he traveled to Lebanon to shoot a documentary short, Hope of Syria (2022). He then went on to co-write and co-direct a micro-budget feature film, Man Friends (2022) with Joe Blank. Both projects are currently in post-production.
Producer/Director of Photography
Logan originates from Minnesota and studied film at Syracuse University. His short film Gnome Away from Home (2018) had a successful festival run around the U.S. Now residing in LA, he has worked as a cinematographer on a wide variety of productions including commercials, music videos, and narratives. His latest work includes the short film Sea of Lights (2022) and the music video for Juice’s “Superimposed.”
Producer/Post-Production Supervisor
Collin has performed in a wide array of roles within the film industry, both on set and off. While he typically works in the editorial department as an assistant editor on Night House (2021) and The Binge (2020). He has also been employed as an on-set VFX supervisor, assistant VFX editor, workflow consultant, and more. He most recently served as executive producer and editor of Roman Candle (2021).
Co-Producer
After graduating from Syracuse University, Joe wrote, directed, and co-produced Roman Candle (2021), which was made for less than $15,000. The film is beginning its festival run, recently being accepted to the Tallahassee Film Festival and the Syracuse International Film Festival. Joe is currently in post-production on Man Friends (2022) and the comedic short film The Interview (2022).
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Our friendship was born out of many long hours on Syracuse University student film sets. We were roommates while studying abroad in Prague (we’ve retained zero Czech). Now, we’ve teamed up as a writing and directing duo for this film.
This project was born out of the pandemic. We were both struggling with deeper questions about what we thought would bring us happiness (we had a lot of time on our hands), and this story emerged from that shared quest to find meaning.
With one of us (Derrick) in Virginia and the other (Mike) in California, we started writing. Eventually, Derrick had enough of the long Zoom sessions and moved out to Los Angeles. Now, it’s time to make the movie!
Mike (Left), Derrick (Center), and co-producer Joe Blank (Right) as naive collegiates arguing about movies in Europe.
Mike and Derrick (now "adults") still arguing about movies. This time over Zoom and with quarantine beards.
Our story is about Zach, a twenty-five-year-old slacker, crashing on his friend’s couch after a recent breakup. With no real job prospects and his funds running low, Zach is on the verge of packing up and leaving Los Angeles for good. His last hope for staying lies in picking up his ex-girlfriend from the airport, which he thinks could rekindle their relationship. The morning of her arrival, Zach’s plan implodes, and his life is thrown into further chaos when his car, filled with everything he owns, is stolen.
Determined to find his car, Zach searches around the city. Along the way, he interacts with a cast of friends and oddball strangers, including a bumbling cop preoccupied with small talk, an Uber driver obsessed with patron saints, and an old high school friend returning from overseas. Through his journey, Zach contemplates fate, happiness, and love while coming to terms with his relationships and embracing adulthood.
A series of stills from test footage shot for Month to Month. Full scene coming soon!
Eight years ago, I (Mike) had just graduated high school and had to postpone college because... well it's very expensive. Ironically, before the postponement, I had just given a speech at graduation about how excited I was for college. Anyway, I was working a pizza delivery job and figuring out what I was doing with my life. I was stuck. Then, my car was stolen.
Luckily, it was eventually found, but the experience shook me up. Strangely enough, it also presented me with a new perspective on how to move forward, similar to the journey of this film's main character Zach. So getting my car stolen stunk, but it did provide a pretty good basis for this story.
A pic from after Mike's car was found. The ignition was busted open.
We both grew up with a nostalgia for the 90s. Along with being a great time for Walkmans and cargo shorts, the 90s also offered some really funny films about alienation and dissatisfaction with the status quo. Movies like Slacker, Clerks, and Swingers are why we fell in love with storytelling.
Our confidence to tackle this project also came from mumblecore films of the 2000s. Movies from the Duplass Brothers, Greta Gerwig, Barry Jenkins, and Lynn Shelton are huge inspirations. Their ambition to make small-scale works reminded us that the fate of the world doesn’t need to be at stake for a narrative to work effectively. We’ve taken these filmmakers' DIY approach to heart in the making of Month to Month.90s gems: Clerks (Upper Left) and Slacker (Upper Right)
Mumblecore gems: Funny Ha Ha (Lower Left) and Medicine for Melancholy (Lower Right)
We’ve poured our heart and soul into this project over the last year.
This is a movie pulled from the fabric of our lives. We wrote the film knowing we would be the ones making it. We’ve picked locations we have access to in and around Los Angeles. We’ve made sure almost all of the characters could be played authentically by people we knew.
We’ve been lucky enough to assemble an incredible group of filmmakers and artists to help on this project. You’ve seen their work in movies, TV shows, music videos, and commercials over the last few years. Your contributions will help pay these individuals among other things.
With your contributions, this fundraising campaign will get us through principal photography.
If you'd like to support us but can't do so monetarily, that's okay! (Really!) Here's what you can do instead:
1.) "Follow" the campaign on Seed&Spark! It's 100% free. Once we hit 250 "followers," regardless of how many people contribute, we'll be eligible for thousands of dollars in discounts.
2.) "Follow" and "Share" our social media posts on Instagram and Facebook. Who knows, maybe someone you know can contribute!
We designed this crowdfunding goal carefully to get us through the production with a skeleton crew, but raising more will open up a new world of opportunity. With a higher budget, we can hire additional crew members and expand our capacity for art direction, costume design, and locations. Every extra penny will increase the production value of the shoot and foster an even better film!
We’re making a movie during a pandemic. For that reason, the health of our cast and crew is our top priority. We’ll be checking on the situation throughout pre-production. Our cast and crew will be vaccinated and tested before the start of production.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Locations
Costs $1,500
Permits for our outdoor locations including the park and the beach.
Crew
Costs $9,000
We want to provide our crew a living wage because you know... food and rent.
Production Design
Costs $2,000
All the props, costumes, and set decorations needed for production.
Share this update!
About This Team
Co-Writer/Co-Director
Derrick is a filmmaker originally hailing from Richmond, VA and a graduate of the Newhouse School of Communications. His latest directing work includes the short film Reunion (2021) and the music video for Matt Kerr’s “Second Act.” In addition to directing, Derrick produced Roman Candle (2021), a feature film currently on the festival circuit. Most recently, Derrick produced Alone (2022), a short film financed by the CNY Film Fund.
Co-Writer/Co-Director/Actor
Mike graduated from Syracuse University’s film program. His thesis project, No Accommodations (2018), got into several festivals and won awards. After graduating, he traveled to Lebanon to shoot a documentary short, Hope of Syria (2022). He then went on to co-write and co-direct a micro-budget feature film, Man Friends (2022) with Joe Blank. Both projects are currently in post-production.
Producer/Director of Photography
Logan originates from Minnesota and studied film at Syracuse University. His short film Gnome Away from Home (2018) had a successful festival run around the U.S. Now residing in LA, he has worked as a cinematographer on a wide variety of productions including commercials, music videos, and narratives. His latest work includes the short film Sea of Lights (2022) and the music video for Juice’s “Superimposed.”
Producer/Post-Production Supervisor
Collin has performed in a wide array of roles within the film industry, both on set and off. While he typically works in the editorial department as an assistant editor on Night House (2021) and The Binge (2020). He has also been employed as an on-set VFX supervisor, assistant VFX editor, workflow consultant, and more. He most recently served as executive producer and editor of Roman Candle (2021).
Co-Producer
After graduating from Syracuse University, Joe wrote, directed, and co-produced Roman Candle (2021), which was made for less than $15,000. The film is beginning its festival run, recently being accepted to the Tallahassee Film Festival and the Syracuse International Film Festival. Joe is currently in post-production on Man Friends (2022) and the comedic short film The Interview (2022).