Goodbye Promise
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''Goodbye Promise'' is a
mumblecore Mumblecore is a subgenre of independent filmHoberman, J. (August 14, 2007).It's Mumblecore!. ''The Village Voice''. Retrieved on July 27, 2008.Lim, Dennis (August 19, 2007)Mumblecore – The New Talkies: Generation DIY ''The New York Times''. Ret ...
feature film, directed by web source/radio show ''Film Courage'' co-creator David Branin, and stars
Gregor Collins Gregor Collins (born August 22, 1976) is an American author, speaker, actor and former reality television producer, best known for playing Matt in the mumblecore film ''Goodbye Promise'', and for writing the memoir '' The Accidental Caregiver: H ...
, who co-wrote it. It also stars Sarah Prikryl and
Brian Ronalds Brian Ronalds (born July 6, 1973) is an American actor turned producer/director/publicist/writer and is one half of "The Ronalds Brothers". In 2007, Ronalds produced and co-starred in the horror-comedy Netherbeast Incorporated, released in 2007 ...
. It became the first movie ever to be distributed online directly to its audience via a
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
platform.


Plot

When Matt moved to Hollywood he made a pact with himself that if he wasn't a working actor in exactly seven years he'd quit the business and move back to
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
As the film opens Matt finds himself seven days shy of his self-prescribed deadline, and he's just as anonymous as the day he arrived into town. After an afternoon of soul searching in the
mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...
he decides to honor his deadline, and plans to spend his final week in Hollywood visiting friends to tell them he's leaving for good and that he'll have a going away party to cap it all off. With a couple days left before his going away party and tension mounting, Matt visits his eclectic mix of friends and people who have affected him over the years. Despite intending to tell them he's quitting the business, he chickens out, not quite being able to bring himself to tell them. On the night of the going away party he starts to think he's been stood up by everyone he thought he cared about and thought cared about him. But finally Dylan shows, then Robert, Amanda, JR - even Mylo, which means a great deal to Matt - and before long all the people he's visited over the past week are at the party. Amid drinks and music each friend stands up and gives their "goodbye Matt" speeches, making it clear that even though Matt's leaving he'll never be forgotten; he may be giving up on his dreams but he's been a good friend and helped a lot of people. In the middle of Matt's going away speech Sara pops in, looking beautiful, and Matt becomes so shocked and tongue-tied that he has to cut his speech short and take Sara out back alone. It is here that Matt asks her bluntly: "If I stay in Hollywood would you be with me?" She shakes her head. This is the final straw. There's officially nothing keeping him in Los Angeles. Matt is emasculated, and now more inspired than ever to leave Los Angeles in his rear view mirror. He heads back into the party to say his final goodbyes. During the goodbyes Matt notices he has a phone message. He excuses himself and checks it in a quiet back room. The message is from his agent, who has gotten him a big audition for a new
Jerry Bruckheimer Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television Film producer, producer. He has been active in the genres of Action film, action, Drama film, drama, Fantasy film, fantasy, and Science fiction film, science fi ...
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
. But they want Matt on the same day he's set to drive back to DC. He's made up his mind, though. He's leaving for good. He finishes his goodbyes, goes home and packs his car for an early morning exit. In the wee hours of the morning Matt gases up at a gas station and drives to a red light right before the freeway. He waits for the traffic light to turn green, and when it does, he just sits there, idling. The cars behind him honk and screech around him, but Matt refuses to budge at that green light. After a minute or so the light is still green, and he's still there, stone-faced. A satisfied smirk forms on his lips. Cut to black.


Cast

*
Gregor Collins Gregor Collins (born August 22, 1976) is an American author, speaker, actor and former reality television producer, best known for playing Matt in the mumblecore film ''Goodbye Promise'', and for writing the memoir '' The Accidental Caregiver: H ...
as Matt * Sarah Prikryl as Sara *
Brian Ronalds Brian Ronalds (born July 6, 1973) is an American actor turned producer/director/publicist/writer and is one half of "The Ronalds Brothers". In 2007, Ronalds produced and co-starred in the horror-comedy Netherbeast Incorporated, released in 2007 ...
as Milton * Todd Cattell as Scott * Karen Worden as Amanda * Brian Durkin as Dylan O'Malley * Len Cordova as Robert * Christopher Gukenberger as J.R. * Tyshawn Bryant as Mylo Battle * Frantz Durand as Phillipe * Jud Bogard as Pete * Dean Matthew Ronalds as Bradley * Johnny Giordano as Vincent * Kevin Deen as Gonzalez * Jordan White as Jordan * Raphael Dorval as Tony * Rebekah Bell as Bekah


Production

In April 2009 the film was among the first crop of indie features that flocked to crowdfunding - a relatively new concept at the time - to fund their film. Branin and Collins shot the film for about $500, and to complete post-production raised $16,203 on
Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
, which had launched just a few months earlier. The crew consisted of Branin, the actor or actors in the scene, and one
camera operator A camera operator, or depending on the context cameraman or camerawoman, is a professional operator of a film camera or video camera as part of a film crew. The term "cameraman" does not imply that a male is performing the task. In filmmaking ...
. There was no
production sound mixer A production sound mixer, location sound recordist, location sound engineer, or simply sound mixer is the member of a film crew or television crew responsible for recording all sound recording on set during the filmmaking or television production u ...
, consequently 95% of the film had to undergo
automated dialogue replacement Dubbing (re-recording and mixing) is a post-production process used in filmmaking and video production, often in concert with sound design, in which additional or supplementary recordings are lip-synced and "mixed" with original production sou ...
(ADR) during the editing process. Increasing costs and mounting post-production setbacks caused Branin and Collins to shelve the film for months. The film was shot during the Summer of 2009, and because of actor's scheduling conflicts filmed only on weekends, from June until August. A portion of the film was shot during the
2009 California wildfires The 2009 California wildfires were a series of 9,159 wildfires that were active in the US state of California, during the year 2009. The fires burned more than of land from early February through late November, due to Red Flag conditions, destro ...
. During the shooting of the final sequence the fires were as close as a thousand yards away from the house at which they were filming in Sunland, California. The production crew was encouraged by neighbors and local authorities to evacuate. Branin and Collins decided to rush to incorporate the fires into the plot of the film in order to finish shooting before they had to cut camera and evacuate. There was no script, the filmmakers and actors worked off a one-page outline of the general plot created by Branin and Collins. All dialogue in the film was 100% improvised. The journey of the main character of Matt (Collins) was an amalgamation of Branin and Collins' real-life struggles to break out of "indie" Hollywood. There were no auditions. Casting consisted of Branin and Collins hand-selecting friends, basing each character in the film on the actual person who was playing them.


Release

''Goodbye Promise'' premiered on June 1, 2012, at
The Downtown Independent The Downtown Independent is a one screen theater and cinema located at 251 S. Main Street in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles, California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With near ...
in Los Angeles. On August 13, 2012, using the platform Indiegogo, it became the first movie ever to be distributed online directly to its audience via a
crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
platform. ''Goodbye Promise'' was made available for free on
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
on February 1, 2013.


Reception

Gary W. Goldstein of the
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
called ''Goodbye Promise'' a "richly emotional look at a failed actor's introspective last days in Hollywood." Film Producer
Fred Roos Frederick Ried Roos (born May 22, 1934) is an American film producer. Biography Fred Roos was born on May 22, 1934, in Santa Monica, California, the son of Florence Mary (née Stout) and Victor Otto Roos. He attended Hollywood High School and su ...
: "On a micro budget David Branin and
Gregor Collins Gregor Collins (born August 22, 1976) is an American author, speaker, actor and former reality television producer, best known for playing Matt in the mumblecore film ''Goodbye Promise'', and for writing the memoir '' The Accidental Caregiver: H ...
created a perceptive and touching portrait of the lives of struggling actors working on the fringes of Hollywood." Television Producer Elizabeth Yoffe called it "A story that is completely accurate both in its harsh quality and sense of continual possibility."


References


External links

* * {{IMDb title, 1528226, Goodbye Promise 2012 films 2012 independent films American independent films Crowdfunded films Films shot in California Films set in California Indiegogo-funded films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films