How the heck does a bi woman navigate the world of modern dating? After breaking up with her cheating fiancé Sasha, Nikki's about to (begrudgingly) open the instruction manual to dating...but might also be surprised to find herself in the process.
How the heck does a bi woman navigate the world of modern dating? After breaking up with her cheating fiancé Sasha, Nikki's about to (begrudgingly) open the instruction manual to dating...but might also be surprised to find herself in the process.
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Story
Mission Statement
Our lead characters are two LGBT women and the creator of the project is a bi woman, so she is using her own experiences to give depth to the characters and the world they live in. PLUS, our team has two kicka$$ female producers who hire diverse talent for both in front of and behind the camera!About The Project
Tough Love has had a long journey, but it started because we didn't see ourselves in TV or film. When we finally got sick of trying to fit ourselves into boxes that just weren't right for us, we decided to do something about it and started writing and producing our own content in hopes that giving more and diverse representation to women and the queer community could help give those of us out there wondering "Who am I?"a character or two to realate to and instead go "Oh, yeah, she gets me!" It is this core human desire to be seen and be loved for who we are that has driven our creation of Tough Love.
Last year, we were finalists for Project Greenlight with our passion project Tough Love. While we did not ulitmately get our project sponsored, we are so stoked to now be moving forward with it on our own. We are currently in pre-production, and with YOUR HELP, we can get this bad girl through production as well as post-production to its final product with the first three awesome, exciting, keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat episodes!
So what's this all about? Our central character is Nikki. Nikki just broke up with her cheating fiancé Sasha, so she's ready to take on the modern dating world. Well.....kind of. Dating as a bisexual woman can be tricky, and Nikki is about to find that out. Luckily, Nikki has the help of her lipstick lesbian best friend, Blake. The best way to describe Blake is....perfect in every way.
Tough Love follows Nikki as she attempts to maintain her sanity (or whatever is left of it after her breakup) while getting back out there in the dating world. How does someone move on from a breakup? Can we enjoy our own company? Do blind dates suck? These are just some of the questions we'll explore in the series. Fun, funny, and quirky. Think Jane the Virgin meets New Girl.
Incentives
$10
Social Media Shoutout Complete with a Dating Tip from the Tough Love Creators
We'll show our gratitude by personally thanking you online and giving you only the BEST dating advice!
EX.
$25
Your Very Own Tough Love Character Breakdown
You know those character breakdowns at the top of our pitch video? You will get your very OWN with one of your pictures based on our very OWN intuition!
EX.
$50
Your Very Own Tough Love Dating Video Complete with a Character Breakdown and Some Dating Tips to Make Your Love Life the Best (or....At Least Better)
Yep, a personalized video complete with your very own Tough Love character breakdown as well as some personalized dating tips to make your love life a complete success!
$100
Join the Two Kicka$$ Lady Producers for a Pre-Production Meeting
That's right! Come see all the laughter, sweat, and tears that go into just a SINGLE pre-production meeting for Tough Love.
$150
Background Actor
Join us on set as a background actor! Experience the filming up close and personal!
(Transportation not included.)
$500
Come Hangout With Us On Set and Get a Special Thanks in the Credits!
Come hangout with the awesome cast and crew your contribution has helped bring together complete with craft services and caffeinated beverages galore! AND THEN see your name on the big screen! We'll personally thank you in our credits right along with that awesome cast and crew you got to kick it with for a day on set.
(Transportation not included.)
$1,000
Come Hangout With Us On Set, Get a Special Thanks in the Credits, AND Get a First Look at the Series Once it is Complete
Come spend a day with our awesome cast and crew and then see your name on the screen right next to the name of that awesome cast and crew because you are officially part of the Tough Love Family AND THEN get a special sneak peek at the show before we release it to the public!
(Transportation not included.)
$5,000
The Ultimate Love Treatment
ALL OF THE ABOVE! THE TV/FILM VERSION OF THE ULTIMATE SPA TREATMENT (minus the lavendar.....sorry.....unless you really want that, of course. I'm sure we can find some lavendar oil in Al's bathroom).
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Wishlist
Use the WishList to pledge cash and loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an incentive directly.
$10
Social Media Shoutout Complete with a Dating Tip from the Tough Love Creators
We'll show our gratitude by personally thanking you online and giving you only the BEST dating advice!
EX.
$25
Your Very Own Tough Love Character Breakdown
You know those character breakdowns at the top of our pitch video? You will get your very OWN with one of your pictures based on our very OWN intuition!
EX.
$50
Your Very Own Tough Love Dating Video Complete with a Character Breakdown and Some Dating Tips to Make Your Love Life the Best (or....At Least Better)
Yep, a personalized video complete with your very own Tough Love character breakdown as well as some personalized dating tips to make your love life a complete success!
$100
Join the Two Kicka$$ Lady Producers for a Pre-Production Meeting
That's right! Come see all the laughter, sweat, and tears that go into just a SINGLE pre-production meeting for Tough Love.
$150
Background Actor
Join us on set as a background actor! Experience the filming up close and personal!
(Transportation not included.)
$500
Come Hangout With Us On Set and Get a Special Thanks in the Credits!
Come hangout with the awesome cast and crew your contribution has helped bring together complete with craft services and caffeinated beverages galore! AND THEN see your name on the big screen! We'll personally thank you in our credits right along with that awesome cast and crew you got to kick it with for a day on set.
(Transportation not included.)
$1,000
Come Hangout With Us On Set, Get a Special Thanks in the Credits, AND Get a First Look at the Series Once it is Complete
Come spend a day with our awesome cast and crew and then see your name on the screen right next to the name of that awesome cast and crew because you are officially part of the Tough Love Family AND THEN get a special sneak peek at the show before we release it to the public!
(Transportation not included.)
$5,000
The Ultimate Love Treatment
ALL OF THE ABOVE! THE TV/FILM VERSION OF THE ULTIMATE SPA TREATMENT (minus the lavendar.....sorry.....unless you really want that, of course. I'm sure we can find some lavendar oil in Al's bathroom).
- Updates
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Current Team
About This Team
KICKA$$ LADY PRODUCERS Malerie Grady and Alexandra Bayless (Mal and Al) are besties who have been producing together for a couple years now. What started with a camera in Mal's bedroom shooting a one-page script has turned into multiple projects, lots of late nights writing scripts, and a barrel of laughs.
CREATOR/WRITER & ACTOR Malerie "Mal" Grady is a proud member of the LGBT community, and her passion is creating content that feels tangible to her fellow LGBT fam, especially those struggling to understand what the heck it means to be queer. She also works as an actor and dancer and will be playing the role of Nikki. She has had roles in projects, such as Glee, General Hospital, The Middle, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Lab Rats. Most importantly, though, Mal is a single parent to her beautiful mutt, Maddie.
ACTOR & HAIR/MAKE-UP Alexandra "Al" Bayless grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. She graduated with her BFA in acting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her father, John R. Bayless is an Emmy award winning makeup artist. Her mother, June Bayless runs a children's theatre in N.C. Her brother, Thomas Adam Bayless works in Production. Her most recent TV credits include AMC's "Halt and Catch Fire", CBS's "Criminal Minds" and NBC's "Days of Our Lives". When she's not acting she's producing her own projects, traveling, backpacking and learning to surf.
DIRECTOR Midwest Native James Mackenzie is an alumnus of the liberal arts program at the University of Dallas (BA, Drama) and of Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television (MFA, Film Production). His award-winning thesis short film, Audrey Makes a Mixtape, screened at numerous American festivals and was named to the US BAFTA Student Award shortlist. He is a fellow of the Moving Picture Institute and filmed American Zealot, his first feature, as a part of Film Independent’s Incubator Lab. Mackenzie plans to shoot his next feature, a fantasy romance, this year.
SOUND DESIGNER/MIXER Jordan Harmon is from Southern California, and he loves sound! He has worked in television and music production as a tracking engineer. He is currently pursuing a career in sound design, splitting his time between video games at Respawn Entertainment and independent tv/film projects.
COMPOSER Tangelene Bolton is a Film Composer in Los Angeles known for her powerful and distinctive melodies. Upon moving to Los Angeles, she had the amazing opportunity to work for Remote Control Productions (Hans Zimmer) and now continues to work on projects in the realm of Film, TV, and Video Games. Tangelene is already making an impact in Hollywood and has completed 3 independent feature films so far as leading composer. Her goal is to continue to create an experience that lingers into the subconscious of the viewer, impacting and shaping their experience.
ACTOR Bobbie Lee Jr. was born in Northern California, seemingly with a paintbrush in his little right hand. His heart a beating drum, it is said before he could walk, he was creating music. From learning to play the piano at age 7, he transitioned his artistic facets to poetry, and in high school, he was approached by his 9th grade teacher to publish his work. It was at this point he realized he had a gift that deserved to be shared with the world – the gift of artistry.
He continue to write, and now has compiled dozens of poetic pieces to be unveiled in the near future. From there, attending college was the spark for a blossoming actor and model when he discovered theatre arts. On just his 3rd play and 1st leading role, he was nominated for the Irene Ryan Best Actor award and invited to the American College Theater Festival in Southern Utah in 2005; he received accolades that validated his love for a new art. This would mark the beginning of a host of acting, modeling and spoken word performances across California, wherever and whatever Bobbie could release through his creative outlets.
Although he’s been seen in over a dozen magazines and advertisements including Samsung, AT&T, Promax, and Pearl Izumi as well as local and national modeling publications, acting remained at the forefront of his passions. Bobbie has appeared in over a dozen film publications from TV episodes to independent films to music videos, and has worked his way to the big screen.
“Anything is possible”, he says is the mantra he exists by, Bobbie is constantly working on taking his art to the next level. “Your work is never finished, everything is a constant work in progress, even after its been printed”, says the artist. To date, he’s starred on notable projects including the recent feature films "Verona" and “She’s With Me”, available nationally on Amazon Prime, RedBox and retail chain, with various ongoing projects in the pipeline. He’s working toward his piece of the major motion pie, but when you ask him though, it’s all about the perfection of the art: “Painstakingly admirable work over time has its rewards”.
ACTOR Faye Viviana tripped and fell into the world growing up as a tomboy in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At age 15, she discovered makeup (so much makeup - metallic blue eyeliner anyone?) and also moved to New York City to dance as a professional ballerina, signing a contract with American Ballet Theatre at 16. The tripping and falling continued, garnering her the coveted nickname "starfish". One fateful trip and fall however, led to blowing her knee out and ending her ballet career. Which was super tragic -- until she started taking acting classes and realized she had a whole new art form to love and play and trip and fall in, with fewer actual physical consequences. Since becoming an actress and relocating to Los Angeles, she has appeared in the shows CASTLE for ABC, LONGMIRE on A&E, SULLIVAN & SONS on TBS, LOVE on Netflix, ROSEWOOD on FOX, CASUAL on HULU, and multiple indie films and web series. More than anything she feels grateful and blessed to have fallen in love with a new art form/muse. In her non-acting time she also produces, directs and writes with the assistance of copious consumption of coffee and gummy bears.
FIRST AD Micah Coate is an actress, producer, director and First AD working in Los Angeles. She is originally from the Bay area and went to military school in Virginia before making her way to LA. When she is not working on projects she's busy listening to NPR, napping and working out with her trainer.
LINE PRODUCER Diane Foster is an award winning American actress and producer. She grew up in New Jersey. Throughout her high school years, she attended PaperMill Playhouse Conservatory and won the coveted Rising Star Award. She went on to play young Liza Minnelli in the off broadway play "Thats Liza". After her move to Los Angeles she became an original member of "The Pussycat Dolls". Diane also produced IOWA, Dying for Meth, and The Orphan Killer with Matt Farnsworth. Iowa was nominated at the Tribeca Film Festival as best picture. The Chicago Tribune said "Diane Foster has a real screen presence". She was awarded "best actress" at the Midwest Independent Film Festival for her role in IOWA, and has already gained a massive cult following based on her outstanding performance in The Orphan Killer. She is hailed by fans worldwide as "Baby Sister".
WARDROBE Caitlin Bidwell
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