Nice Trick
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Comedy, Romantic Comedy
We've all been in a place in life where we felt like giving up, but what if we could find our magic again? This film rewrites the Hollywood success story from a female perspective.
Nice Trick
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Comedy, Romantic Comedy
Green Light
This campaign raised $50,000 for development. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
332 supporters | followers
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We've all been in a place in life where we felt like giving up, but what if we could find our magic again? This film rewrites the Hollywood success story from a female perspective.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Story
Nice Trick tells the story of JILL, a jaded 30 something living in Hollywood working two jobs she hates to support a crappy one-bedroom she still can’t afford in the hopes of one day landing that dream job. You know, the issue facing most millennials. Her Hollywood career has fizzled but having given so much to something she used to love it feels shameful to throw in the towel. Meanwhile, all her friends have moved on to their real adult lives of marriage, careers and children, and Jill doesn’t know what she should do.
On the evening of her best friend’s wedding, Jill is tasked to pick up the groom’s brother, SANDERS, a magician and grown man. He’s got a lot of tricks up his sleeve, literally. Despite her initial distaste for his childish whims, Jill can’t help but be pulled into Sander’s magical world while her own is thrown into chaos.
The feel/look of this movie is if the charm and magical realism of Benny and Joon met the charisma and imagination of La La Land.
What We Need
Film is an important way to spread our message of women's empowerment; however, it's also an expensive one. We need to pay for things like hiring a professional writer for screenplay polish, hiring a casting director to help us attach cast members and other pre-production costs that will help us secure investors. This is where you come in, your contributions will help us get this important project made.
What You Get
Every little bit counts, and we want to personally thank each and every one of you for your contributions. When you support this campaign you have the opportunity to receive a wide variety of perks, to show our sincere appreciation. Some of the perks include a personal shout out on the Director's Instagram page, a private link to view the feature as soon as it is released, or even a credit on the project!
The Impact
We want to share the hard, painful, funny and also wonderful journey that is following your heart at this crazy time. To remember that at the end of the day, finding magic in what we do can’t be outpaced by anything and that’s a nice trick of the universe. In today's world, it's incredibly important to support female artists, so we want to also use this project to re-write the pursuit of the Hollywood dream from a female perspective.
Director's Statement
This is a movie made by a millennial about millennials. The age range of this unique group is vast. From the ages of 20-36 to be exact, and that 16-year swing is a doozy. From those of us on the older side, we had our childhoods in the ’80’s full of VHS, AIM chats and calling our friends on landlines with long curling cords. We graduated high school in the early ’00s being told the world was our oyster and innovation was for our generation. Our first cell phone would have arrived around then, and it certainly wasn’t smart.
The recession hit right as we were graduating from college and applying for jobs in a downsized workplace. We worked as unpaid interns and waited tables in order to pay off loans while we were still trying to make our way into the fields we had chosen. We watched as technology boomed, social media flourished, and the internet became the most powerful marketing tool in the world. All spearheaded by people younger than us. We were faced with a choice- Change the way we did things or eat their dust.
For many people, the dream they pursue can be as humble as being a teacher or as grandiose as being an astronaut. But for all of us millennials, the struggle is the same because we are the generation that straddles the divide in the transition between two worlds.
Other Ways You Can Help
In order to reach our goal, we will need help from as many of you as possible. In addition to contributing to the campaign, sharing the link to the campaign via social media will help to spread the word about this important story.
Celebrating Community
Another important female character is the great city of Los Angeles herself! Most specifically the hidden gems most tourists never get to see but who’s beauty is breathtaking to behold.
We plan to shoot locally in and around the city highlighting what makes this city magical.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Script
Costs $12,000
In order to have a great project, you first need to have a fantastic script to showcase your story!
Pre-production Team
Costs $8,000
We need a dedicated team to create and develop this important project. Help us hire the best!
Casting
Costs $25,400
The goal is to attract the best talent for the film... great actors will attract full financing.
Meeting Space
Costs $2,300
We need to rent spaces for our full pre-production team to prepare our project for production.
Printing
Costs $900
Pre-production requires printing scripts, sides, and paperwork to create a production book.
Food
Costs $1,400
We need to be able to feed our team members while we prepare for production during our meetings.
Share this update!
About This Team
Emma Bell
Director/Writer
I knew I needed to write this piece after losing yet another job and wanting to quit. I knew I needed to make it into a movie when people read it and exclaimed 'This is so my story!' Now I am on a mission to get this film made my way, with a desire to honor and lift up the experience of being a dreamer while also allowing us to see the hard reality of failing every damn day.
I've been a working actress for 15 years on shows such as, "Walking Dead", "Dallas", "Final Destination 5" and "Frozen". While this is my first feature as a writer/director, I've directed two shorts: the multiple award-winning psycho drama "Scratch" and "Between the Pines," a dark and magical look at grief, premiering Oct 18th at the Chelsea International Film Festival in New York City.
I sincerely appreciate your support in getting my first feature off the ground!
You can see my work on my website: emmabellfilm.com
Tessa Bell
Producer/Writer
Tessa Bell began her career at CBS Sixty Minutes and the CBS Evening News. She created the FYI Column for Premiere Magazine, and for 20 many years was the President of Infinity Films & Video Inc. Since moving to LA in 2008, Tessa has produced three WIF International Short Film Festivals, "Bipolar," a feature film by Jean Veber and the multiple award-winning family drama "Life Inside Out," directed by Jill D’Agnenica as well as countless PSA’s for the WIF PSA Production Program. She is currently in development on “Hacienda California” a television series set in Southern California in the 1930s. Her screenplay “The Legend” based on the myth of the first female Pope, has recently won three awards for Best Screenplay. Tessa is a founding member of Green Light Women whose mission is to champion professional women over the age of forty and promote diverse perspectives in media.
Michael John
Magic Consultant
Michael is an American magician, model and actor. He rose to prominence as a star on America’s Got Talent. His online videos have logged over 70 million views. He has been featured on The Price Is Right’s Male Model Search and shared his talents with other prestigious TV shows, commercials and companies including Tu Si Que Vales, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, McDonald’s, helloworld Travel, American Airlines, Nike & BCN Foods. His magic has taken him around the globe from places like New Zealand, Italy, Hawaii, Toronto, Texas, Florida, Los Angeles, to Palos Verdes & Palm Springs, among many other cities, states & parts of the world.
Chase Bell
Composer
Chase Bell is an LA-based pop songwriter/composer who produces, performs, and writes his own unique mix of cinematic pop and funk-pop. Chase performs his original music regularly in LA with his funk trio and excites audiences while singing and playing guitar solos behind his head. Chase has his own professional music recording studio in the artistic heart of LA where he daily records and refines his own pop music and the music of other artists and the music he composes for commercials and films.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The Story
Nice Trick tells the story of JILL, a jaded 30 something living in Hollywood working two jobs she hates to support a crappy one-bedroom she still can’t afford in the hopes of one day landing that dream job. You know, the issue facing most millennials. Her Hollywood career has fizzled but having given so much to something she used to love it feels shameful to throw in the towel. Meanwhile, all her friends have moved on to their real adult lives of marriage, careers and children, and Jill doesn’t know what she should do.
On the evening of her best friend’s wedding, Jill is tasked to pick up the groom’s brother, SANDERS, a magician and grown man. He’s got a lot of tricks up his sleeve, literally. Despite her initial distaste for his childish whims, Jill can’t help but be pulled into Sander’s magical world while her own is thrown into chaos.
The feel/look of this movie is if the charm and magical realism of Benny and Joon met the charisma and imagination of La La Land.
What We Need
Film is an important way to spread our message of women's empowerment; however, it's also an expensive one. We need to pay for things like hiring a professional writer for screenplay polish, hiring a casting director to help us attach cast members and other pre-production costs that will help us secure investors. This is where you come in, your contributions will help us get this important project made.
What You Get
Every little bit counts, and we want to personally thank each and every one of you for your contributions. When you support this campaign you have the opportunity to receive a wide variety of perks, to show our sincere appreciation. Some of the perks include a personal shout out on the Director's Instagram page, a private link to view the feature as soon as it is released, or even a credit on the project!
The Impact
We want to share the hard, painful, funny and also wonderful journey that is following your heart at this crazy time. To remember that at the end of the day, finding magic in what we do can’t be outpaced by anything and that’s a nice trick of the universe. In today's world, it's incredibly important to support female artists, so we want to also use this project to re-write the pursuit of the Hollywood dream from a female perspective.
Director's Statement
This is a movie made by a millennial about millennials. The age range of this unique group is vast. From the ages of 20-36 to be exact, and that 16-year swing is a doozy. From those of us on the older side, we had our childhoods in the ’80’s full of VHS, AIM chats and calling our friends on landlines with long curling cords. We graduated high school in the early ’00s being told the world was our oyster and innovation was for our generation. Our first cell phone would have arrived around then, and it certainly wasn’t smart.
The recession hit right as we were graduating from college and applying for jobs in a downsized workplace. We worked as unpaid interns and waited tables in order to pay off loans while we were still trying to make our way into the fields we had chosen. We watched as technology boomed, social media flourished, and the internet became the most powerful marketing tool in the world. All spearheaded by people younger than us. We were faced with a choice- Change the way we did things or eat their dust.
For many people, the dream they pursue can be as humble as being a teacher or as grandiose as being an astronaut. But for all of us millennials, the struggle is the same because we are the generation that straddles the divide in the transition between two worlds.
Other Ways You Can Help
In order to reach our goal, we will need help from as many of you as possible. In addition to contributing to the campaign, sharing the link to the campaign via social media will help to spread the word about this important story.
Celebrating Community
Another important female character is the great city of Los Angeles herself! Most specifically the hidden gems most tourists never get to see but who’s beauty is breathtaking to behold.
We plan to shoot locally in and around the city highlighting what makes this city magical.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Script
Costs $12,000
In order to have a great project, you first need to have a fantastic script to showcase your story!
Pre-production Team
Costs $8,000
We need a dedicated team to create and develop this important project. Help us hire the best!
Casting
Costs $25,400
The goal is to attract the best talent for the film... great actors will attract full financing.
Meeting Space
Costs $2,300
We need to rent spaces for our full pre-production team to prepare our project for production.
Printing
Costs $900
Pre-production requires printing scripts, sides, and paperwork to create a production book.
Food
Costs $1,400
We need to be able to feed our team members while we prepare for production during our meetings.
Share this update!
About This Team
Emma Bell
Director/Writer
I knew I needed to write this piece after losing yet another job and wanting to quit. I knew I needed to make it into a movie when people read it and exclaimed 'This is so my story!' Now I am on a mission to get this film made my way, with a desire to honor and lift up the experience of being a dreamer while also allowing us to see the hard reality of failing every damn day.
I've been a working actress for 15 years on shows such as, "Walking Dead", "Dallas", "Final Destination 5" and "Frozen". While this is my first feature as a writer/director, I've directed two shorts: the multiple award-winning psycho drama "Scratch" and "Between the Pines," a dark and magical look at grief, premiering Oct 18th at the Chelsea International Film Festival in New York City.
I sincerely appreciate your support in getting my first feature off the ground!
You can see my work on my website: emmabellfilm.com
Tessa Bell
Producer/Writer
Tessa Bell began her career at CBS Sixty Minutes and the CBS Evening News. She created the FYI Column for Premiere Magazine, and for 20 many years was the President of Infinity Films & Video Inc. Since moving to LA in 2008, Tessa has produced three WIF International Short Film Festivals, "Bipolar," a feature film by Jean Veber and the multiple award-winning family drama "Life Inside Out," directed by Jill D’Agnenica as well as countless PSA’s for the WIF PSA Production Program. She is currently in development on “Hacienda California” a television series set in Southern California in the 1930s. Her screenplay “The Legend” based on the myth of the first female Pope, has recently won three awards for Best Screenplay. Tessa is a founding member of Green Light Women whose mission is to champion professional women over the age of forty and promote diverse perspectives in media.
Michael John
Magic Consultant
Michael is an American magician, model and actor. He rose to prominence as a star on America’s Got Talent. His online videos have logged over 70 million views. He has been featured on The Price Is Right’s Male Model Search and shared his talents with other prestigious TV shows, commercials and companies including Tu Si Que Vales, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, McDonald’s, helloworld Travel, American Airlines, Nike & BCN Foods. His magic has taken him around the globe from places like New Zealand, Italy, Hawaii, Toronto, Texas, Florida, Los Angeles, to Palos Verdes & Palm Springs, among many other cities, states & parts of the world.
Chase Bell
Composer
Chase Bell is an LA-based pop songwriter/composer who produces, performs, and writes his own unique mix of cinematic pop and funk-pop. Chase performs his original music regularly in LA with his funk trio and excites audiences while singing and playing guitar solos behind his head. Chase has his own professional music recording studio in the artistic heart of LA where he daily records and refines his own pop music and the music of other artists and the music he composes for commercials and films.