Guest Post By Jeff Galfer
Jeff Galfer
Last year on my blog Marty After Dark, I went to a CineKink festival featuring a film by actor/director, Leslie Hope called, GAYKEITH. Leslie’s a friend of my friend and sometimes guest star on my blogs, Lex, so I was able to do an interview with Leslie and it was a nice evening and a post I’m proud of. Leslie’s lined up to direct a new movie and she introduced me to the man behind the movie, Jeff Galfer. Jeff wrote and is co-producing his first movie, entitled, BURIED TREASURE. Here’s the one line synopsis of the film from their website: Fortunes shift for a man stricken by tragedy when he unwittingly stumbles upon hidden treasure. Check out the video below to learn more about the film.
Since I have open days here at TWM now that I’m just posting Friday through Monday for now, I asked Jeff if he’d like to write a story for a guest post about the movie and that’s just what he did. It’s right below and so is a link to the Kickstarter page to help fund this film and get it made, if you’d like to contribute. And now...take it away, Jeff, the blog is all yours!
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Movie Making Is Hard OR Warning: Titles May Cause Death
Almost nine months into working on a script and movie inspired by the loss of my father, I received an unsettling message on my Kickstarter account (the place where I’ve been trying to fundraise to make said movie for the past 25 days). The message at hand was from a representative of the geocaching community, a community of hobbyists who hide treasures or “caches” for fellow geocachers to find, condemning my movie and politely requesting me to disassociate it from the geocaching community.
At first I was confused by the complaint. How did I cause so much harm through a movie nobody has even seen and has yet to be filmed? Was it my cast? Surely not. We have Anna Douglas and Eloise Mumford: two beautiful and talented actresses. Were geocachers against beauty? Did the look of a geocacher somehow affect ones ability to enjoy a geocache? Or conversely, was Eloise’s recent television success with THE RIVER and LONE STAR not enough star power to properly represent the geocaching community?
Anna Douglas and Eloise Mumford
Maybe it was our male actors that were causing the trouble. We do have the stupidly talented and prolific Gregg Henry, who starred opposite Mel Gibson in PAYBACK and has been working as a regular on the series HUNG for HBO for the last few years. And we also have Scott Klace, who has worked in just a mere 80 films and television shows over the last 35 years. Had we offended geocachers by utilizing actors who were talented and well known?
Greg Henry and Scott Klace
While I considered recasting to uglier, less talented and less well-known actors, it occurred to me that maybe it was our crew causing such vitriol. Perhaps geocachers found Emmy and Academy award winning crew members counterproductive to telling a touching and informative story? Should I have just gotten a handheld camera and shot the film by myself in my backyard? Would that have more accurately showcased how fun and aesthetically pleasing to the eye geocaching can be? I did hear once that ten minute YouTube videos that look and sound terrible always get hundreds of views!
But wait! I know! It’s not our crew at all. It must be our director who is turning off the geocachers from this movie. Who else but a renowned actress and critically acclaimed director such as Leslie Hope (THE RIVER, THE MENTALIST, 24) could create such a negative stir with her carefully crafted shots and thoughtful interpretation of my words? Yet, shouldn’t a director who has won awards for her various films (GAYKEITH, WHAT I SEE WHEN I CLOSE MY EYES) be beneficial to making a good film? Ugh. I just don’t know how I already seemingly screwed this movie up.
Leslie Hope
My mind was spinning in circles when it suddenly occurred to me that if it wasn’t the cast and crew, then someone must have gotten a leaked copy of my screenplay and had clearly disagreed with my celebration of the hobby of geocaching and my admiration of the geocachers’ creative style. My fascination with exposing their beautifully egoless system of hiding very personal items for others to witness and share was surely too intimate for their comfort. But, that can’t be. My computer wasn’t hacked and I haven’t sent the script out to the public.
It was only then did I realize exactly why my movie had caused such chaos. And to think, it was so obvious from the start. Of course it wasn’t the beautiful actresses or talented actors or experienced crew or smart director or thoughtful screenplay provoking such furor. But rather it was the one part of my movie that was the most public and most unapologetic from the very start. My title! BURIED TREASURE! Of course that was it. You see because geocachers are eco-friendly, they never ever bury caches as this would disrupt the very planet they are trying to engage with and appreciate. How could I have been so ignorant?! And why had I made this mistake so close to completing my fundraising to make the movie? What if now I don’t get the funding? Or worse yet if I get the funding, shoot an amazingly beautiful and moving film and then truly scorn the very community I had intended to celebrate.
Needless to say, I was shocked and embarrassed to think I had shamelessly manifested and guiltlessly unleashed upon the planet a full blown ecological disaster. I couldn’t live with myself having been so literal. I didn’t want to be associated with those other silly movies with ridiculously literal titles like SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (you know, that movie about the sheep that don’t speak) or BLACK RAIN (the movie about African Americans falling from the sky) or God forbid GOODFELLAS (the one about that really nice group of guys that all hang out together and perform acts of charity wherever they can).
But it may be too late. The geocaching community has quite possibly already abandoned me. And sadly, just before I could release the brand new title I had so thoughtfully reworked: A SHORT FILM ABOUT A GUY WHO FINDS A HIDDEN CACHE AND WHAT HAPPENS AFTER HE FINDS IT AND AT NO POINT DOES HE BURY IT OR UNDERSTAND HOW TO USE A METAPHOR.
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About The Author
An actor and photographer, Jeff Galfer holds a Master’s Degree in acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco and a Bachelor of Science in Theatre and Political Theory from the University of Evansville in Indiana. He has worked professionally on stage in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, & Los Angeles and can be seen on screen in the shows LAW & ORDER, NUMBERS, Z ROCK, GUIDING LIGHT, as a recurring character on ALL MY CHILDREN and most recently on the Steven Spielberg/Oren Peli produced THE RIVER for ABC. He has also been in over thirty commercials and is currently producing a number of feature film projects alongside Rick and Julie Yorn’s LBI Entertainment.
Jeff and his team are close to getting their goal, but time is not on their side, they’ve got less than a week to get about five thousand bucks, so let’s show them what the TWM crew can do. Pop over to Kickstarter and throw five bucks or more their way if you can, to help get this movie made. Thanks and we’ll see you this Friday with a brand new post.
Further Reading: Buried Treasure Updates, Twitter and facecrack.
Buried Treasure, Independent Movies, Kickstarter Posted on Tuesday, June 5, 2012 at 10:16AM
Reader Comments (19)
Well NOW i'm REALLY confused......the movie is NOT about burying a GEO automobile? And what in the HELL does it have to do with clearing the cache in my web browser?
And just doublechecking here......Leslie WILL go out dancing with me if I wholly finance the movie, or is just going to see it a hundred times good enough? (And seriously Jeff, your an ok-lookin' guy, but get Leslie out FRONT on this spokesperson gig......she'd finance TEN movies I'll bet)(And NO, this is NOT overt sexism rearing it's ugly head........simply......SHE'S BEEYOOOOTAFUL DAMMIT!!!)
@DrBOP: This isn't my blog post, so I can't say for sure, but if you finance the movie, I predict she would go out dancing with you.
I have met several Jeffs in my lifetime and you clearly do not represent their ethos. Furthermore, you use Galfer as a surname and yet you have no affiliation whatsoever with Galfer Brakes.
Speaking as an internet connected busybody, I request you change your name or I'll be forced to demand all my imaginary friends boycott your name in the phone book.
P.S. Anyone know where I could still get a phone book? More specifically, the White Pages.
Wait a minute, why does it have to be "White" pages? I'm now preparing another angry internet comment.
I'm pretty sure that Eloise Mumford could probably get me to part with my first born kid or at the very least an expensive dinner with that smile, point and giggle at the end of the clip.
@csp: Try this.
@randall: I agree!
My Buried Treasure is what I dig out of Peoples Trash, & I Find lots of Great Stuff. Not Rich from it, but it makes Me feel Good when I find something that in Perfect condition & useful . Recently Me & Zioum Zioum found a Bran New Designers Handbag, which we will sell in Flea Market. Funny every time we find old clothes they are just washed & folded neatly, which means that the people whom threw it away want someone to find it. We made 15 euros from the last batch of old clothes & 5 euros from an ugly doll, which I told Zioum Zioum to sell for 10 since it was a replica of an old doll that is worth money, so 5 was better then nothing & it was raining that Flea Market Day.
I once did dig up some old human bones from a construction site across the street where I grew up in downtown Manhattan, & it turned out to be from Indian burial ground & I had to give them back since My Mom wouldn't let Me bring them into our home & construction site was happy I returned them since allot of kids in the neighborhood was doing it & wouldn't return them, there in a Museum & was in the papers about it in the late 70's. One construction worker found a scull with with Indian feather head gear, but head gear was in very bad shape. 1 kid got stuck in a hole that collapsed, that was in the papers as well.
Anyway Cheers & Good Luck With The Movie, don't know if I would ever see it, unless it makes it to Toulouse France cinema.
@JHwang: Sounds like you've found some decent treasures! Cheers!
My neighbor is an avid geocacher. She goes, like, every weekend, for sure, and oftentimes during the week. Seems like a waste of gas to me (even if you do own a stylish and easy-on-the-wallet GEO), but whatever - to each his (or her) own. But here's the thing: you don't even get to take your prize! And my thought is, if you go through the trouble of looking at the site and then figuring out the coordinates and then motoring yourself over to the place and then finding the little thingamabob, then you probably deserve something for all your hard work. Am I right? I mean, at the very least, they should set up a dealio with some enterprising neighborhood kid who will provide ice cold lemonade (or hot chocolate, during the winter months, because, no, geocachers NEVER STOP LOOKING) to said geocachers for, say, a quarter and possibly a story involving each one's take on the found (but not TAKEN) object. And then the lemonade stander can cull those tales into a short story, which would evolve into a long story, which could transform into a screenplay, which might be financed to become an independent film and which, in the right hands (and through NO affiliation with the Koch brothers) could very well end up at a film festival in the mountains, or at the seaside, or right there in NYC where (standing o or not) it would probably secure at the very least a limited run in the major U.S. cities and possibly Japan, and would no doubt go on to become a cult classic...especially among disenchanted teenagers and occupyers. And, why these cachers haven't thought of this yet, I'll never know. But I DO know that I'm planning on winning the lottery tonight. So when that happens, rest assured, I'll pony up the rest of the funds for this here movie, "Buried Treasure." And Leslie won't even have to dance with me (although, she'll probably want to, because I'm quite charming...clearly). Anyhoo, best wishes for what looks to be a good story, well told and hold please for the next lottery-winning representative. In the meantime, csp, good luck with that phone book. And stay away from the cans. He HATES the cans!
@Biff: That's quite a tale and a great idea! I'm looking forward to watching you and Leslie dance and I'm looking even more forward to winning the lottery—I got three numbers Tuesday and I'm rolling it over tonight! I'll be flying you in over the weekend, so pack up!
Not sure how hard it would be to change teh name of the Film , but "Hidden Treasure" should fix the problem that some of the Geo-Purists seem to have with it. I would go see this film no matter what the tittle is.
Link to the offending email or it didn't happen. Stop blaming an entire community for one guys alleged email. Do you really think "one person" represents an entire community? Use your brains.
First, I don't appreciate the negative and sarcastic tone of your commentary towards geocachers. I don't see how a single message (where? exactly) represents an entire community and, frankly, this project has sounded nothing but suspicious since it was first spammed onto the geocaching.com forums and, yet, for the first several hours after the posting, the web site, kickstarter page and FAQs did not even MENTION the word, geocaching.
It sounds to me like this is another desperate attempt to get "sympathy funding" from folks and now you've decided to trash an entire community of hobbyists in the process. Smart move.
I will not be donating to your film. Frankly, I hope it fails.
@Survivor Sean: I can't wait to see the film too!
@Rob: I wouldn't take this post so literally. I told Jeff to have fun with it and that's what he did.
@Jack: I didn't write this, it was a guest post, but I think it's safe to say it was done with tongue placed firmly in cheek. I asked Jeff if he wanted to write a post to spread the word about his film. That's fine if you don't want to donate, but hoping someone's film fails is bad karma.
You know, the internet is a great vehicle for getting things out there, but the problem is that you can't type out a smirk as you say something, or convey that telling lilt in your voice, or the joking nudge, or the twinkle in your eye. As the late, great Samuel Butler once said, "The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously." I'm glad Jeff got his funding. And I hope all you geocachers find your loot! Although I'd still be more inclined to join in if I got to take the prize, I understand that the journey's the reward. Oh, and if anyone ever figured out that album cover coordinate, let me know. It's been bugging me for MONTHS!
@Biff: I agree totally on your sentiments here! Working on the coordinates as I type! And congratulations to Jeff for getting his funding, I can't wait to see the film!
The True Person That Needs Funding ( & a Job ) Is Marty, so We can begin Commenting again or We will be posting comments on old Post, That Should be taken seriously !
I would Donate, but I don't have a Job or know how to speak French yet, which is required .
Anyway Cheers Marty & Hang In There, it's a Bumpy Road, but I'm Sure You'll Make It.
Hay Maybe You need to do Geocach in Central Park, Maybe someone put something there. If I would of known about geocach. I would tried it in the Park & my Luck I find a Bomb,LOL
@JHwang: Hopefully I'll find some funding via a job soon, but it could take a while, not a lot out there. I'm taking some Photoshop tutorials and will try to branch out as a retoucher by fall if nothing comes along. The road is a little bumpy right now, but it always smoothes out in the long ride!
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