SURE-FIRE, the short & feature, is a very diverse film which reflects the diversity of its setting - New York City - and includes people of all ages, races, and genders in the cast and crew, with many top crew positions (Cinematographer, Production Designer, Costume Designer) being filled by women.

SURE-FIRE is a comedy about Benny Boon, a NYC con man having a mid-life crisis, who stumbles into posing as a movie producer to pay off gangsters threatening to kill him. Reminiscent of New York comedies from Woody Allen ("Broadway Danny Rose") and Mel Brooks ("The Producers"), SURE-FIRE also recalls Hollywood crime comedies like "The Big Lebowski," "Pulp Fiction," and "Get Shorty." SURE-FIRE is also a heartfelt, universal story about second chances and how it's never too late to "rewrite your life's script." 

   

SURE-FIRE was born out of director/co-writer Michael Goldburg's own experience of having been conned - er, hired - by a shady hustler/producer in New York City to develop a script for him. Though the script was never realized - as the "producer" wanted to pay Michael in pizza - Michael knew the "producer" would make a better character in a story of his own creation. While the idea for a script gestated, Michael read an article about an actual con man in New York City whose shtick was to crash fancy parties and pretend to be a movie producer. Thus the seeds of SURE-FIRE were born...

Initially, Michael brought on Steve Wisniewski, a Nicholl Fellowships finalist, and Dave Chan, winner of the Nashville Film Festival Screenplay Competition, to collaborate on the feature screenplay for SURE-FIRE with him. Having co-produced Michael’s acclaimed short comedy, "What's Eating Dad?," Dave also came on board as a producer of SURE-FIRE. With the feature script finished, Michael and Dave partnered with Kate Geller of Chrystie Street Casting ("John Wick"), Jonathan Gray's office (GKSSD) as production counsel ("Moonlight"), as well as Legacy Pictures (the Oscar-nominated "Beyond the Lights") on the feature. When several collaborators suggested initially making a short film proof of concept of SURE-FIRE to help attract financing for the feature, Michael and Dave also saw it as an exciting, creative way to explore the world of the film. Thus the SURE-FIRE short film was born...

  

Ultimately, Michael and Dave strove to deliver a short, self-contained film that could be enjoyed on its own terms while also establishing the three main characters and the tone and style of the feature. To that end, they assembled an amazing cast, led by the hilarious PJ Marshall ("Luke Cage," "American Horror Story," "Underground"), John Timothy ("UCB Comedy Originals"), and Lué McWilliams ("Naked As We Came") and a stellar crew, including Emmy award-winning composer Michael Whalen, costume designer Emily Gunshor ("Neighbors 2"), emerging director of photography Diana Matos, and production designer Kate Rance, whose films have won SXSW and the LA Film Festival and been nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes ("The Chair,” 2012). The short is finished and has already gotten a lot of buzz and accolades on the festival circuit as well as great reactions from audiences all over the country. You can see the TRAILER here: http://surefiremovie.com/

As independent filmmakers ourselves, we’re inspired by our protagonist, Benny, and the persistence and tenacity with which he (inadvertently) throws himself into the process of making a movie. So it’s not only a personal story for us, as we hustle like our character (So meta!) to get our first feature film made, but also one with wide appeal for an audience which is out there hustling - every day - and can relate to Benny’s inspiring journey to reinvent himself.

That's where you come in! We previously ran an initial crowdfunding campaign on Seed&Spark for development money for SURE-FIRE and, thanks to our supporters, we raised over 200% of our goal! Amazing! We're now back to raise our 2nd phase of development funding and get us even closer to turning this feature into a reality next year. And we want YOU to become part of our team in the making of this hilarious, exciting comedy! For as little as $10 or as much as $7,500, your contribution will go toward us hiring a producer, a line producer, a graphic designer, and the full services of our legal and casting teams.

 

And please be sure to FOLLOW the campaign by clicking on the Follow button on our main page. When we get to 500 Followers, we unlock the Seed&Spark Filmmaker Giftbox with $9,000+ worth of goods and services and are eligible for their Seed Fund. Not only that, when we reach 500 Followers, we also qualify for the "Hometown Heroes" Rally and have a shot at SURE-FIRE being executive produced by the Duplass Brothers (HBO's "Togetherness" and "Room 104") and receive up to $25,000 in cash for production.

Many thanks and stay tuned for more breaking news about SURE-FIRE!