Jean Paul Pedro, Nicole Garcia, Oscar Torre
“Kickstarter Spotlight”
Carlos de la Vega & Rudolpho Zalez Turn to Internet Campaign to Raise Funds
$50,000 in 40 Days! Started July 30th – Help Bring a Multicultural and Bilingual Show to Life!
Los Angeles, CA – To keep their show authentic, independent filmmakers Carlos de la Vega and Rudolpho Zalez turned to the Internet to fund their latest project – Wassup En L.?, a bilingual and multicultural family comedy TV sitcom. The filmmakers attempt to partially fund the pilot show on the popular crowd-funding website Kickstarter.com which employs a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully funded or no money changes hands.
The boys have 40 days to raise $50,000. Falling short of even one penny and they end up with ZERO. Filmmakers are asking their friends, family and fans and all of Latin Heat at large to make a pledge.
The filmmakers are motivated… determined… to bring make a family-themed comedy like the ones they watched as kids. “We grew up watching classic TV sitcoms like I Love Lucy, Que Pasa U.S.A.?, The Cosby’s and falling in love with the families,” says De La Vega.
“We want to bring back the classic family sitcom with “Wassup En L.A.? but with a modern twist. Throw in some Latin spice, a diverse multicultural cast, and you got a show.”
To be able to tape the live 22-minute pilot, they must raise the funds to pay for the rent of sound stage, camera, audio, lights and equipment. In addition, they must compensate cast and crew, and construct and rent the sets and props.
Wassup En L.A.? follows the lives of the Diaz family, a Cuban-American family from Miami that uproot their lives to move to Los Angeles to support their son’s dream of becoming an actor. The show ensemble includes veteran telenovela super stars Gerardo Riverón and Nelida Ponce as the Grandparents, Oscar Torre (Ladron Que Roba A Ladron, CSI: Miami) as the Dad and NBC’s Last Comic Standing winner Felipe Esparza as “Q” the Mailman.
The average cost of a network sitcom can run in the millions per episode, De La Vega and Zalez only need $75,000. Having worked on shows for CBS, ESPN, Discovery Channel, Fox Sports and production companies such as Miramax, Mandalay, and Paramount, the filmmakers are using their Hollywood contacts to reduce production costs.
“Many of our colleagues in the industry love the concept and are offering to help us at a lower rate,” says Zalez. “We also force ourselves to solve challenges creatively rather than using the money hose. We’re able to maintain the same production quality as a studio produced sitcom.”
Kickstarter page: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wassupenla/wassup-en-la. Money raised will be used to offset the costs for sets, studio space, cast and crew. The deadline to raise $50K ends on September 8th, 2012, 7:00 P.M. PST.
“TV is saturated by reality shows,” laments Zalez. “And on top of that, we as Latinos like other minorities still struggle to have a significant presence on television. We’re hoping to change all that with Wassup En L.A.?”
To learn more about the show or schedule an interview:
Carlos de la Vega via email at: info@wassupenla.com
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