I’ve recently finished a feature length documentary called The Road To Will, and I’m ready to take it to the next level. Basically, the film is a road trip adventure exploring the legacy of Will Rogers, the star of stage, screen, radio, and print who died in a plane crash in 1935. I was cast to play him on my birthday five years ago in The Will Rogers Follies, and recently took a 73 day coast to coast motorcycle ride, covering 10,500 miles through 24 states and Washington DC, as I visited a number of memorials to Will while also performing my one-man show Get The Bunk Out, based on his acceptance of Life magazine’s nomination as the 1928 presidential candidate of the Anti-Bunk Party.
I was rather excited when I got back from the journey just in time to vote, and within a month of my return, I had my first cut of the film. My challenges now are ensuring the rights to use some pieces of borrowed footage and securing distribution and marketing for the project. While I have often been called a prolific writer, editor, poet, actor, and musician, I have yet add to add executive producing to my skillset and would rather bring more people into my creative circle than merely expand my titles in solitude.
Most of the music from the film is comprised of instrumental tracks to songs that I wrote and released as Steve McAlphabet and the Wandering Soul Band, but there are a couple of songs by Elton John and Stevie Wonder that were caught in the background during filming. There are also clips from his films released by Fox between 1927 and 1935 (whom I’m am hoping might be interested in coming aboard), an old newsreel, an episode of ABC’s Biography from the 1960’s, and a clip from The Will Rogers Follies that was filmed for airing on Japanese television. I just want to make sure I never get a cease-and-desist letter.
My intention for the film is to schedule more tours during the next few years with screenings of the film coupled with live performances of my show, and also to submit it to film festivals in the hopes of raising awareness of the film to get more bookings and secure greater distribution in the future. Ultimately, I think I need to find an Executive Producer.
If you’re reading this and know of anyone who may be interested in helping me move this project along, please forward the link or email me at stevemc.xyz@gmail.com.
