|
|
Hello Seawolves!
As we promised a few months ago, there have been some really exciting developments in the production of Scramble the Seawolves. As you are aware, we hosted a fundraiser through Indiegogo last October and successfully raised around $20K, which went directly towards the production. Our initial goal was to raise $200K, which was what we believed it would cost to produce a “TV worthy” documentary. We never intended just to create a DVD that your families would enjoy, but to produce a documentary that we could potentially pitch to some large Networks, ultimately sharing the Seawolf Legacy with the whole country and world. You ALL deserve this type of recognition.
Several months ago, our paths crossed with 2 producers who used to work together at Warner Brother Studios. One of the producers is the son of a Vietnam Veteran and has a deep passion for history, military, war movies, etc. Their respect for your service and the collective accomplishments of the squadron, led them to enthusiastically make the decision to produce Scramble the Seawolves. Essentially, they agreed to cover the cost of the production moving forward and provide their team to work with Jeff, which includes color correction, editing, sound work, professional voice over and writer, transcription, post production, finishing, etc. This alone was a huge blessing and tremendous opportunity. Finally, we felt like we would have the right team to get this done to the caliber we envisioned and that it deserves. We felt like it would be an honor to work with them as well. We spent several weeks waiting on contracts and working with our Lawyer as it was MOST important to us that Jeff keep the promise he made to each of you, and that was to retain creative control over this project and to tell the story of the Seawolves authentically, without fabrications. Joe Crutcher, Seawolf 67-68 and also Shannon’s Dad, had an opportunity to attend one of our meetings with the Producers and felt extremely comfortable sharing just how important this project is to the Seawolves. We went through the legal channels of securing the Chain of Title, copywriting Scramble the Seawolves. This is a step that needed to take place first.
Fast forward to about 2 months ago. The 2 producers, whom we have built a relationship with, trust and have enjoyed working with thus far, made contact with a colleague of theirs that they used to work with at Warner Brothers and who is currently a “Big Wig” at a large Entertainment company. Our producers shared that they were working on Scramble the Seawolves. The new producer was blown away by your story and we were quickly approached and asked if we felt that we had enough of a story and interviews to potentially do a series for television. Our answer was, YES! Matter of fact, we were finding it challenging to condense the story to 2 hours. Based on the long history and connections the Producer has with the Networks, this seemed like another, evening more exiting, opportunity to get your story out.
So, where are we today? We have worked closely with our lawyer and all 3 producers to ensure that Jeff retains creative control. This way he honors his promise to you all! We would never had agreed to work with them if there was a chance that Jeff wouldn’t be involved from beginning to end. We have also had many conversations regarding our vision for the project and we are ALL on the same page. Jeff is currently in the process of creating a “SIZZLE REEL” that will be pitched to both the History Channel, American Heroes Channel and possibly others. This truly is the Vietnam Story that they have never heard, so Jeff will be hard at work creating a trailer that conveys more details on the Squadron, details on episodes and essentially showing them why the Seawolf story is so important to our American History. Jeff expects to be completed over the next few weeks and then the exciting stage of pitching the series begins. We are grateful to be working with Producers that have the connections and experience.
Now, with that being said, if it does NOT get picked up by a Network, we still have a signed contract to have the Documentary completed and have the financial backing and production team to get it finish. So, although it may seem like this is taking a long time, the end result will be that the story of the Seawolves will be shared with the masses.
We couldn’t be more excited to share this news with you and we hope that you are as excited as we are. We truly feel so blessed to have the opportunity we have right now and we believe that God is smiling down on us and blessing this project.
As we have shared, it has always been to honor and recognize each of you and to also keep our promise that we made to you. We value our relationship with the Seawolves and have been made to feel like family, something that we don’t take for granted. We want to assure you that we would never pass the baton to someone else to complete your story. We will be at the heart of the production from beginning to end.
We feel extremely comfortable with the production team and know that everyone’s motivation is to honor each of you for your service and create an AMAZING project that tells of the sacrifice, uniqueness, service and accomplishments of the MOST decorated squadron in naval aviation history!
We wish we could have given you an update sooner, however, it has taken several months to get to this stage.
In closing, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to those that have contributed financially, sent in photos, film reels, encouraging emails and also to those who have continued to make themselves available to us along the way. Without your support we would not be where we are today. Your stories and this experience will be forever etched on our hearts. Our lives are better just knowing you!
We are looking forward to seeing you in Savannah GA where we will be sure to provide updates on the production.
Take care,
Jeff and Shannon Arballo
seawolvesdoc@gmail.com
760-809-4458
|
Locked
