True After Dark
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Romantic Comedy
After her seemingly perfect life falls apart, a pragmatic attorney calls a local radio advice show for help, but finds the host flighty and full of bluster. The only thing these 2 have in common is they’re at a crossroads, but maybe they're what each other needs to build an actually perfect future.
True After Dark
Los Angeles, California | Film Feature
Romantic Comedy
2 Campaigns | California, United States
28 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$2,088
Goal: $3,000 for development
After her seemingly perfect life falls apart, a pragmatic attorney calls a local radio advice show for help, but finds the host flighty and full of bluster. The only thing these 2 have in common is they’re at a crossroads, but maybe they're what each other needs to build an actually perfect future.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The summer after I turned 21, I’d had enough. I’d lost out on one too many internships to a producer’s nephew and my roommates had sublet half our apartment to some guys in a band who REALLY liked Jagerbombs. I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I was alone and jobless and hated the smell of licorice. So... I quit.
I went home, to St. Louis, for the summer. My parents were disappointed in me for not persevering. And I was disappointed in myself too. Ashamed and afraid I had ruined everything, I just wanted to hide. So I got a job for the summer at a public access station, running tapes on the night shift.
The seed for TRUE AFTER DARK was sown in that windowless room full of tape decks and secondhand furniture. For three months, I was Adam, wondering if giving up on my dreams was my only option. And every night, like True, confident in my skills and desires, I remembered it wasn’t.
I don’t know if I’d have had any of those revelations if I’d taken a job during the day. Driving to and from the station under the cover of darkness, I found the courage to contemplate questions that felt too raw under blaring sunlight.
There’s a rush that comes when you can finally let the mask of expectations slip. That feeling is what I want to bring to TRUE AFTER DARK. It’s part wistful, talking-on-the-phone-under-the-covers-late-at-night, and part a charge of adrenaline; it’s so much easier to tell secrets to someone (even yourself) when they can’t see your face.
It’s intimacy by anonymity. And it’s something that comes naturally to Los Angeles, a city built by dreamers and tire companies. So of course, TRUE AFTER DARK is set here; a place where you have to live in the bubble of your car to find community. And in TRUE AFTER DARK, True and Adam fall in love in their bubbles, all thanks to an uncharacteristically impulsive phone call.
True and Adam’s romance is a parallel journey of self-discovery crowned by a midnight blue sky and gold streetlights, the sizzle of the grill at roadside taco stands, and the sunrise over Mount Hollywood.
It contains the nostalgic rush of first love, the joy of possibility, and the relief of finding someone who understands you, colored with the knowledge that these feelings and the people who make you feel them are precious.
So let me welcome you into my little bubble, where my dreams, passions, and love for Los Angeles are ready to burst forth, into the world and onto the screen.
***
TRUE AFTER DARK was inspired by the question: "What if, in Sleepless in Seattle, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan met at the end of Act 1?"
My answer includes grief, near meetings, and love borne from late night phone calls set against the backdrop of public access radio and Los Angeles' glittering gold streetlights.
After her seemingly “perfect” life falls apart, a (usually) endlessly pragmatic attorney calls a local radio advice show for help. What she finds instead of help is a host who lives his life at the whims of his passion and the bluster of his alter ego. The only thing these two have in common is that they’re at a crossroads, but maybe each one is what the other needs to build their own actually perfect future.
I've had a budget made for TRUE AFTER DARK. It will take $1.5 million to realize this film the way it deserves. This is not a lot of money for a film... but obviously it's a LOT of money. In order to make this film, I'll need to approach investors and producers that have more resources and connections I do. Luckily, I got accepted into a competitive Lab program...
...to be announced in a couple weeks. (Sorry, I don't make the rules. The lab does, but contribute to the project and you'll be the first to know!).
This lab is an incredible resource and opportunity. It will provide me with introductions to industry professionals who will help me ready my pitch for the big leagues. The $3000 I'm raising will cover half my expenses to reach the lab (a cross-country flight +a rental car), my hotel room, food... and the cost of the lab itself. The other half will be covered by microgrants I'm currently applying for and my own savings.
More importantly, I am raising for this lab to invite you, my inner circle, my biggest supporters, a way to follow this project as its being made. Inside access as early as possible. And if you contribute now, I guarantee you'll learn more about the production process than you ever wanted to.
Or maybe you do want to learn a lot. So strap in and let's greenlight a movie!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Lab Program Fee
Costs $2,750
Program fee for a selective professional development lab for emerging screenwriters. I'll be prepping my pitch and polishing my script here!
Meals & Coffee
Costs $250
Lunch is provided, but breakfast, dinner, and rocket fuel I'll have to provide myself. Help keep me nourished and focused amidst the work!
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Paige Feldman is a Los Angeles-based writer and director, called “a filmmaker to keep an eye out for.” She tells raunchy, witty, poignant, and often Jewish stories about love, sex, anxiety, and ambition.
INTERROBANG, her short-form comedy anthology series about moments after sex when being emotionally naked is way more terrifying than being physically naked, premiered at Seattle International Film Festival, was nominated for Best Comedic Series at Minnesota Webfest, and screened in festivals nationwide, including a sold-out showing at the Chinese Theaters in Hollywood for Dances With Films.
WING DAD, her feature writing debut: a coming-of-age-in-your-30s, in a pandemic, with a celebrity alcoholic father who's crashing on your couch comedy, won Best Feature at Santa Monica Film Fest. It’s now streaming on Prime.
HOW TO FALL IN LOVE THE HARD WAY, her audio romantic comedy series, is releasing on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Paige holds a B.A. from USC School of Cinematic Arts, a J.D. from Northwestern, and festival badges from her previous life working in film and TV sales, financing, and production. Films and shows she’s worked on have won Emmys, been shortlisted for Oscars, and premiered in Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, TIFF, Tribeca, and SXSW.
But her favorite fun facts about herself is that she was a contestant on the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament the last year Alex Trebek had a mustache, has a near perfect escape room success rate, and makes the world’s best oatmeal raisin cookies. If you’re lucky, she’ll make you some.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
The summer after I turned 21, I’d had enough. I’d lost out on one too many internships to a producer’s nephew and my roommates had sublet half our apartment to some guys in a band who REALLY liked Jagerbombs. I knew I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I was alone and jobless and hated the smell of licorice. So... I quit.
I went home, to St. Louis, for the summer. My parents were disappointed in me for not persevering. And I was disappointed in myself too. Ashamed and afraid I had ruined everything, I just wanted to hide. So I got a job for the summer at a public access station, running tapes on the night shift.
The seed for TRUE AFTER DARK was sown in that windowless room full of tape decks and secondhand furniture. For three months, I was Adam, wondering if giving up on my dreams was my only option. And every night, like True, confident in my skills and desires, I remembered it wasn’t.
I don’t know if I’d have had any of those revelations if I’d taken a job during the day. Driving to and from the station under the cover of darkness, I found the courage to contemplate questions that felt too raw under blaring sunlight.
There’s a rush that comes when you can finally let the mask of expectations slip. That feeling is what I want to bring to TRUE AFTER DARK. It’s part wistful, talking-on-the-phone-under-the-covers-late-at-night, and part a charge of adrenaline; it’s so much easier to tell secrets to someone (even yourself) when they can’t see your face.
It’s intimacy by anonymity. And it’s something that comes naturally to Los Angeles, a city built by dreamers and tire companies. So of course, TRUE AFTER DARK is set here; a place where you have to live in the bubble of your car to find community. And in TRUE AFTER DARK, True and Adam fall in love in their bubbles, all thanks to an uncharacteristically impulsive phone call.
True and Adam’s romance is a parallel journey of self-discovery crowned by a midnight blue sky and gold streetlights, the sizzle of the grill at roadside taco stands, and the sunrise over Mount Hollywood.
It contains the nostalgic rush of first love, the joy of possibility, and the relief of finding someone who understands you, colored with the knowledge that these feelings and the people who make you feel them are precious.
So let me welcome you into my little bubble, where my dreams, passions, and love for Los Angeles are ready to burst forth, into the world and onto the screen.
***
TRUE AFTER DARK was inspired by the question: "What if, in Sleepless in Seattle, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan met at the end of Act 1?"
My answer includes grief, near meetings, and love borne from late night phone calls set against the backdrop of public access radio and Los Angeles' glittering gold streetlights.
After her seemingly “perfect” life falls apart, a (usually) endlessly pragmatic attorney calls a local radio advice show for help. What she finds instead of help is a host who lives his life at the whims of his passion and the bluster of his alter ego. The only thing these two have in common is that they’re at a crossroads, but maybe each one is what the other needs to build their own actually perfect future.
I've had a budget made for TRUE AFTER DARK. It will take $1.5 million to realize this film the way it deserves. This is not a lot of money for a film... but obviously it's a LOT of money. In order to make this film, I'll need to approach investors and producers that have more resources and connections I do. Luckily, I got accepted into a competitive Lab program...
...to be announced in a couple weeks. (Sorry, I don't make the rules. The lab does, but contribute to the project and you'll be the first to know!).
This lab is an incredible resource and opportunity. It will provide me with introductions to industry professionals who will help me ready my pitch for the big leagues. The $3000 I'm raising will cover half my expenses to reach the lab (a cross-country flight +a rental car), my hotel room, food... and the cost of the lab itself. The other half will be covered by microgrants I'm currently applying for and my own savings.
More importantly, I am raising for this lab to invite you, my inner circle, my biggest supporters, a way to follow this project as its being made. Inside access as early as possible. And if you contribute now, I guarantee you'll learn more about the production process than you ever wanted to.
Or maybe you do want to learn a lot. So strap in and let's greenlight a movie!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Lab Program Fee
Costs $2,750
Program fee for a selective professional development lab for emerging screenwriters. I'll be prepping my pitch and polishing my script here!
Meals & Coffee
Costs $250
Lunch is provided, but breakfast, dinner, and rocket fuel I'll have to provide myself. Help keep me nourished and focused amidst the work!
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Paige Feldman is a Los Angeles-based writer and director, called “a filmmaker to keep an eye out for.” She tells raunchy, witty, poignant, and often Jewish stories about love, sex, anxiety, and ambition.
INTERROBANG, her short-form comedy anthology series about moments after sex when being emotionally naked is way more terrifying than being physically naked, premiered at Seattle International Film Festival, was nominated for Best Comedic Series at Minnesota Webfest, and screened in festivals nationwide, including a sold-out showing at the Chinese Theaters in Hollywood for Dances With Films.
WING DAD, her feature writing debut: a coming-of-age-in-your-30s, in a pandemic, with a celebrity alcoholic father who's crashing on your couch comedy, won Best Feature at Santa Monica Film Fest. It’s now streaming on Prime.
HOW TO FALL IN LOVE THE HARD WAY, her audio romantic comedy series, is releasing on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Paige holds a B.A. from USC School of Cinematic Arts, a J.D. from Northwestern, and festival badges from her previous life working in film and TV sales, financing, and production. Films and shows she’s worked on have won Emmys, been shortlisted for Oscars, and premiered in Cannes, Sundance, Berlin, TIFF, Tribeca, and SXSW.
But her favorite fun facts about herself is that she was a contestant on the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament the last year Alex Trebek had a mustache, has a near perfect escape room success rate, and makes the world’s best oatmeal raisin cookies. If you’re lucky, she’ll make you some.