Jack is a British gay man living in New York raising his niece with his sister-in-law. Because he can’t marry the man he loves to stay in the country, as immigration is not a right gay marriage covers, he marries his best girlfriend for a green card. When the wedding goes horribly wrong, and he’s faced with deportation, he’s left with an impossible and heartbreaking choice….
THE POLITICS BEHIND THE FILM:
Our aim for I Do is to make an intelligent, sexy, romantic dramedy with broad appeal, while highlighting one of the most divisive civil rights, political, social, moral, and religious issues in America today: marriage inequality.
Many countries, including The United Kingdom, Spain and Mexico, now offer either Civil Unions or same-sex marriage, providing nearly all the same rights of heterosexual marriage. In America certain States offer same-sex marriage but Federally same-sex couples have no rights, with more than 1,300 benefits being withheld, including hospital visitation, pension and joint adoption and foster care – as well gay couples being further discriminated against by paying higher taxes then their straight counterparts.
By focusing on one withheld benefit, immigration, and telling a story that is universal in its themes, I Do challenges us to re-think our beliefs on relationships, equality and love. Gay or straight.
WHY I DO, AND WHY NOW?
With the Prop 8 trial, the proposition that banned same-sex marriages in California, heading to the Federal Court of appeals, coinciding with the run up to the Presidential elections in 2012, marriage inequality could become the defining issue for the race to the White House.
I Do’s release could be perfectly placed to help change the conversation in America, and maybe the world. To show people that same-sex couples deserve the same chance to start families and be protected under the law. All this from a movie that is entertaining, moving and beautifully made.
WHAT DOES THIS MONEY GO TOWARDS?
The money we raise on Kickstarter will go towards the films budget. $50,000 is just part of the budget so every dollar counts! We will be donating a percentage of the film’s profit to Lamda Legal, a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. The good news is your money is doing twice the work, helping to make a movie to “change hearts and minds” about same-sex marriage AND directly by funding an organization that impacts the way we live, changing laws, policies and ideas.
CAN WE RAISE MORE THAN OUR GOAL?
YES PLEASE!! $50,000 is just A PART of our budget and Kickstarter allows you to raise more… MUCH more! The more money we raise the better the final film will be!
WHAT HAPPENS IF WE DON’T REACH OUR $50,000 GOAL?
If we don’t reach $50,000 in 90 days I Do doesn’t get a penny. You won’t get charged and we’ll more than likely curl up in the fetal position for a few days! That’s why if you pledge it’s really important you spread the news about investing in I Do. Tell all your friends and family so they can be a part of the party too!
IS MY PLEDGE AMOUNT PRIVATE?
Yes. Only you and the I Do team will be able to see your pledge amount.
WHAT IF I DON’T LIVE IN AMERICA, CAN I STILL PLEDGE?
Yes!!! absolutely. Kickstarter uses Amazon’s Flexible Payments Service. You can pledge from any country in the world using a credit/debit card.
AFTER DONATING, WHERE CAN I RECEIVE MY INCENTIVE?
If our goal is met, as soon as the deadline is over, you will see credits on the website (please let us know if you do not want to be credited on the website.) If you pledged for protected content as soon as production starts you’ll recieve a login for the Production blog. If you’re on a media level incentive (i.e. DVDs, posters, CDs) you will receive your incentive once the film is completely finished.
WHAT IF I DON’T WANT THE INCENTIVE, AND JUST WANT TO SUPPORT?
No problem! A button allows you to give sans incentive. Keep in mind that you can always increase your pledge at any time AND you can gift your incentive to someone else.
WHO DOES THE MONEY GO TO?
Every cent will go directly to funding I Do. If we raise more than is needed for the film the remaining funds will pay for film festival submission fees, PR and promotion of the film. All of which are vitally important for an indie film of this nature.
HOW DO WE CONTACT YOU?
We can be contacted through our website at www.IDoTheMovie.com or through kickstarter.com.
I’VE MADE MY PLEDGE BUT WOULD LIKE TO ADD MORE?
Wow! That’s awesome:) You can absolutely do this and we are all the more grateful for your generosity. If you want to change your incentive reward by increasing your pledge amount, just sign into your Kickstarter account. Go to our campaign page, the green “Back This Project” button is now a blue “Manage Your Donation” button. Click it and you can enter a new amount and choose a new incentive. Easy!
WHAT ELSE CAN I DO TO HELP?
After donating, the next most important thing you can do is announce our campaign to your friends. Share our link to our Kickstarter campaign and website on your Facebook profile and Twitter feed for all friends and family to see. We really believe this story can raise awareness for marriage inequality and help the community.
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AN EVEN BIGGER CONTRIBUTION
Of course every dollar helps, but if you have the resources to pledge more than the top level, that would be incredible and we’d be humbled by your donation! As such, we are offering 4 Associate Producer credits at $25,000 each and 4 Executive Producer credits at $50,000 each. Your name will appear in the movie credits and on IMDB as such. (Please note that these are honorary titles and do not engender any creative or business involvement/decision-making in regards to any part of I Do, nor does the credit entitle any claim of ownership over I Do. You’d be a silent partner. A totally awesome silent partner mind you!)
CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CAST AND CREW?
Go to www.IDoTheMovie.com. You’ll see cast and crew information, plus demo movie posters and the latest news from the Pre-Production blog.
Indie Film Highlighting DOMA issues, Courtesy of David W. Ross. Thank you