Michael C. Dougherty, of Big Damn Films, is out to change the way indie films are marketed, distributed, and impact the community. With a focus on creating entertainment with a social impact, Michael and his team are focused on their next film project, Z*Con – and is infecting Indiegogo and soon, the world. With Z*Con, Michael and team are working to create the first family friendly live action zombie movie. Instead of the typical zombie films loaded with guns and hack & slash violence, Z*Con is about four teens trapped in a comic convention when a zombie infection breaks out and how they use social media to survive the onslaught. Z*Con has been described as a mash-up of “Goonies” meets “Shaun of the Dead” set in the familiar location of a convention like New York Comic Con.
This week Z*Con infected the Top Five Popular Now arena of Indiegogo while breaking through the half way mark of their campaign. “While larger studios, which make millions of dollars from their films, are content to donate just 10% of their opening weekend sales,” Dougherty says, “I believe we should expect more from our overpriced entertainment. Instead of lining their pockets…let’s change the world, and lives, by helping people.”
The mission of Big Damn Films is to donate 100% of the net proceeds from the Z*Con feature film (theatrical, VoD, DVD/Blu-ray sales) to charity. The specific charities benefiting from the project include the American Red Cross Disaster Relief, Kids Need to Read, and Michael’s own nonprofit organization, Big Damn Films, to cover costs of production and promotion.
Each year, the American Red Cross immediately responds to about 70,000 natural and man-made disasters in the U.S., ranging from fires to hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hazardous materials spills, transportation accidents and explosions.
Kids Need to Read works to create a culture of reading for children by providing inspiring books to underfunded schools, libraries, and literacy programs across the United States, especially those serving disadvantaged children.
The Indiegogo campaign for Z*Con runs from October 1- November 9, 2013. The campaign and all its details can be found at http://youhavebeeninfected.com.
