LIFE AFTER KICKSTARTER- Project Misty at $11,500 in pledges

Project Misty is going very strong. In 10 days, you guys have pledged almost $12,000 dollars.
CONGRATULATIONS! Please keep spreading the word!

MAKE A PLEDGE TO PROJECT MISTY

PLEASE VISIT WWW.PROJECTMISTY.COM

http://youtu.be/h9gstVnjc9Y

MISTY BEETHOVEN IS MAKING THE PAPERS!

THERE TALKING ABOUT MISTy BEETHOVEN, THERE TALKING ABOUT MISTY BEETHOVEN!

http://business.avn.com/articles/video/Kickstarter-Kicks-Misty-Beethoven-Blu-Ray-Project-477922.html

KICKSTARTER.COM FACES ANGRY PROJECT BACKERS

As we have been informed, the project is still coming down, it is just a matter of hours right now. A huge blow for many of us, a huge blow. Plus, all because of one absolutely terrible person, more on that another time! LOL.

Well, we are overwhelmed with the support of you guys, without the funding, I am never going to be able to get this project done, and now you guys see what I am up against. It is terrible, I am always fighting the current, I can catch a fucking break.

Anyway, I am upset with Kickstarter.com, because we treated the process and their network with respect and care, and they don’t even think it is appropriate to give us a thorough explanation. Based on other adult projects that have gained funding through Kickstarter, we feel that this is a bias decision, and that is the reason why Kickstarter.com needs to come clean. Or contact me personally, and treat me, the way we treated the process. I am not a criminal.

The backers of our project, are incredible. Overwhelmed, with emails for the past 12 hours, it really is intense. I have now over 64 emails, of people who want to continue with this project, no matter what we do and where we go, like I said, this could be kool. We are going to milk this press and get more than we did before. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”! We can turn this into something really special.

And I have already come up with more amazing rewards, that will convert anyone on the edge of joining this campaing. It may not have the same huge community feel that KS had, but if the rumors are true about what is going on at Kickstarter.com, than I do not want to be involved with them, in any form. And currently, I am backing projects!

Here are some letters from angry or frustrated Kichstarter.com backers, and some are telling me now, that there emails are being denied by Kickstarter.com and rejected from the servers. Is that possible? Is it me, or are we all starting to get a different vision about KS stands for?

HERE ARE SOME ACTUAL EMAILS FROM LOYAL MISTY BACKERS:

Hi there.

It’s come to my attention that Kickstarter intends to pull the plug on this project:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/136726896/the-opening-of-misty-beethoven-goes-blu-ray

While I understand and respect Kickstarter has a policy probhibiting adult material, this film definitely falls into a grey area in that regard. Not only is this film considered to be one of the greatest ‘adult’ films ever made, it’s also widely considered to be one of the greatest arthouse films ever made. This isn’t some plotless compilation of explicit scenes but instead a well made, well acted and incredibly artistic film, though indeed one meant for a mature audience.

While it may be easy to make a blanket dismissal of this project based only on the more explicit nature of the movie, keep in mind that Distribpix intends to present the film in its proper historical context. This film WAS part of a movement, it has gone on to become quite influential and is absolutely a picture of historical significance.
I politely request that the powers that be reconsider their decision and let this project continue. This isn’t about ‘dirty movies’ but about film preservation and an attempt to shed some light on the fascinating story behind a very important part of American cinematic pop culture.

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Hi Steven

Just to let you know that I (and probably everybody else who has pledged so far) will be backing this project regardless of your current predicament. The level of care and attention that you have lavished upon this project puts most major studio efforts to shame, and it must be a real kick to the nuts when some depressed, repressed souls decide to pull the plug on all of your hard work. It is indicative of the way that certain corporate sensibilities manage to convulse and strangle themselves into a public position of moral rectitude when all they are doing is obstructing a genuine attempt to celebrate a genuine milestone in popular cultural history (and perhaps make you a few $ along the way).

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Steven,

If you’re able to get this fundraiser moving at another venue, please let me know.  I had sponsored the Misty Beethoven blu-ray at the $65 level on Kickstarter.  Of all the adult films that are worthy of this treatment, Misty is the one at the top of the list.  I hope this works out one way or another.

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Hi Steven.

I definitely would like to pledge to the campaign of having The Opening of Misty Beethoven go Blu-Ray.  I pledged at the $35.00 level.

Please let me know if there is any information you need if you cannot collect it from Kickstarter.  Thanks, and I am very hopeful to have a copy of Misty on Blu-Ray!

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Steven,

 I was absolutely horrified to read that kickstarter is embarrassing themselves by canceling your campaign.  But I was the first person to pledge when you put up the site and my support and enthusiasm for this project haven’t changed. I initially pledged $100, but so long as you’re still going to be charging credit cards on the same schedule (I get paid next week) I’ll go ahead and double that to $200.  Hopefully that will help to offset some of the pledges I suppose you’ll lose due to kickstarter’s puritan kowtowing.

You guys are doing tremendous work that every true cinephile should get behind — keep it up!

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MISTY BEETHOVEN – Kicked off Kickstarter.com

Just 5 days into our kickstarter project and we are over 8 thousand dollars. And now, after 105 people have pledged we have been asked to take down the project. We have our suspicions of what happened and for those of you involved, shame on you. This “Misty Beethoven” project is on par with some of the greatest film restorations in the history of modern cinema. In reality, I was fortunate enough to have an in depth conversation the other day with a colleague of mine. He just happens to be doing the 4k scan of Speilberg’s JAWS, and we were totally talking shop. He was amazed at how much work we have done to our film, and he told me that the type of work I am doing, is very similar to what they are doing. Now, we are not Universal and we are not Speilberg, but I will take the compliment, especially from someone like that.

The outpouring of support during the campaign and especially since this news has hit, has been intense. I have had at least 50 people who pledged, email me personally , to let me know several things—- that they are sickened by this news, that they feel terrible for us, and that we had one of the best kick videos and projects. Many let us know they would like to remain as a backer and still be involved with this project, in a huge way. And some of you, have even been gracious enough to increase your pledge levels. I will find a way to thank you.

While we are well aware of the several other venues for this type of fund raising, we are no longer confident or comfortable with having our fans/backers and our campaign messed with any further. Quite frankly, if it was not for a stupid chain of events, the project would still be live on Kickstarter.com. So we have decided to find a way to make this an independent type of project. Our rewards are so amazing, we have been working on some of this stuff for over a year, it is all artisan quality and this merchandise is one of a kind!! So the best way to look at it, is that the KS thing, was a dry run, now we know we have the interest. And when we are back up, we will be sure to have an extra incentive, so that it is worth the hassle of having the backers re-pledge. We know this might not seem like the most legitimate way to raise funds, and it certainly does not have the KS platform and appeal, but I handle credit cards all day long, I take Pay Pal, and I can do this!! Who knows, maybe we have stumbled across a new way of independent project fund raising.

But most importantly, we have raised over 8 thousand dollars, and our goal is 10k, from the looks of it, we would have easily exceeded the $10,000 limit. So with that said, I would love to see you guys re-join the campaign, once we have it formalized and have decided on the best approach. I promise you, that you will not be sorry, you are going to be blown away with this project. My team has put too much into this project, to have anything get in our way, we are determined!

And I want you guys to know, every single one of you that made a pledge, you are now more than just a backer, you are now part of the Distribpix family. Stay Tuned for the latest details ASAP!!

MISTY BEETHOVEN-KICKSTARTER UPDATE

We have some bad news, but the community support and enthusiasm for this project is too big for one speed-bump to stop.

Despite the film’s historical importance, its artistic merit, and all of our hard work on the film, extras and campaign, Kickstarter has decided that Misty is too sexy for the site and is in the process of terminating the campaign. Your credit cards will not be charged.

IMPORTANT: If you would like to continue to support this project outside of Kickstarter, please e-mail your pledge level to Steven@VideoXPix.com as we’re unsure if we’ll be able to preserve your information from within Kickstarter itself.

Obviously, we’re unhappy about this turn of events. We can name 4 or 5 projects with with similar content which have been allowed to progress to completion. We are filing an appeal of their ruling (and any polite, professional e-mails you can sent to KS in our support emphasizing the artistic nature of this film and the integrity of the project would be GREATLY appreciated), but odds are that the project will NOT be re-listed.

We sill love Kickstarter, but clearly they feel uncomfortable working with us. So we’re hard at work figuring out how to re-launch this project on our own. The silver lining in this dark cloud? Since Kickstarter won’t be taking their percentage off the top, we’re going to try to work out how to turn that extra margin into even better rewards for you.

We will keep you posted when we have details! We’re going to come out of this stronger and better and we hope that you’ll be right there with us. This Misty release is going to be one for the history books!

With tremendous gratitude,
Steven, Ian, and the 435 Crew

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/136726896/the-opening-of-misty-beethoven-goes-blu-ray/posts