This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
This week's Utah Crowd-Funding Project is seeking a Christmas miracle — and fast.
Utah filmmaker Tyler Ford has a big dream: To make a movie version of Henry Van Dyke's 1911 book "The Mansion."
The book is a Christian parable, along the lines of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," in which businessman John Weightman has a dream in which he goes to heaven. A guide in heaven shows Weightman the mansions built for those in heaven. People who were poor on earth have fine mansions in heaven, but Weightman — who gives to his church and charities as a way to advance his own reputation — has nothing but a shabby hovel in heaven. "We did what we could, but you just didn't send us much material to work with," the guide tells him.
Ford — who directed and co-wrote the 2007 LDS-themed romance "Piccadilly Cowboy" — aims to film "The Mansion" next year, and have a movie around 30 to 45 minutes in length.
Ford's trying to raise money for the film, and he's seeking to get $100,000 through a crowd-funding campaign on Kickstarter.
So far, the campaign has raised $2,055 of the goal. The deadline is on Christmas Eve, just before midnight.
Benefits for backers range from a downloadable PDF of the movie's poster (for $5) to an "executive producer" credit and a limited-edition canvas signed by artist Liz Lemon Swindle (for $10,000).
—
If you have a crowd-funding project you'd like mentioned on The Cricket blog, email it to: spmeans@sltrib.com. Be sure to put "crowd funding" in the subject line.