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That Christmas Movie LLC wants to produce a movie with you. Until recently, most people couldn't easily invest in motion pictures. Only high net worth individuals (less than 3% of the population) had these opportunities readily available to them. If you wanted to help make a movie, your only choice was crowdfunding like Kickstarter or Indiegogo, but you weren't allowed to share in any profits the movie might have. 

That's all changed with the implementation of the JOBS Act. Now you can invest as little as $100, and own a piece of this film. Our movie is the first feature length narrative film to give you this opportunity under Regulation Crowdfunding rules in the United States. By investing, you will be a part of filmmaking history.

Our short term goal: produce the best Christmas movie we can and release it during the 2017 holiday season, with the aim of attaining profitability in one season.

Our long term goal: continue to market the film to create a revenue stream for decades to come, because we believe that Christmas movies are an evergreen asset.

• 4 Primetime Emmy Awards®: Best Animated Program ("The Simpsons"); Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series ("Frasier"). Also nominated for an additional 10 Primetime Emmys for School of Rock, The Tracey Ullman Show, The Simpsons, and Frasier.
• Oscar® and Golden Globe® for the song "I've Had the Time of My Life" from "Dirty Dancing." 
• Worked on the primetime shows "Cybill," "Caroline in the City," and many more.
• Created hundreds of hours of television and movies.
• Decades in the business of making people laugh.
• Won Humanitas Prize, Writers Guild of America Award, and U.S. Comedy Arts Award for Best Screenplay for "The Wrong Guy."

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"I love Christmas movies. They’re all about family — whether it’s about finding your real father and teaching him the meaning of Christmas (“Elf”); wondering what would happen if you’d never been born and never had a family (“It’s a Wonderful Life”); convincing your parents that you MUST have a Red Ryder BB gun (“A Christmas Story”); dealing with those annoying relatives who ruin your Christmas before making it the best one ever (“National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation”); or replacing your parents for Christmas only to learn there's no substitute for family ("I'll Be Next Door For Christmas"); — it’s always about the holiday putting a family through a crisis only to become stronger in the end. And always with a healthy dose of comedy.

What a great metaphor for life! All families go through crises, and good Christmas movies remind us that we can get through it and become a stronger family, laughing together in the end (if we don’t kill each other first).

There are a lot of great Christmas movies, but I wish there were more. And that’s why I wrote this story. And that’s why we’re making this film." 

-- David Willis, Director/Producer/Writer

"If I invest in this movie, what will I get?"

You'll own a piece of the company (revenue participation rights -- please refer to Terms section and attached documents for exact terms). And there are some great perks for early investors, like behind-the-scenes peeks, visiting the set, a producer credit, meeting the cast, walking down the red carpet at the premiere, not to mention an EXTRA 15% RETURN for all investors this round! (See below for details.) 

That Christmas Movie LLC, the company you're investing in, has a single purpose: to make and market the motion picture "I'll Be Next Door For Christmas," and to derive revenue from that intellectual property.

A film budget is a living, breathing document and will adapt to changing conditions, such as: weather, actor availability, script rewrites, location variables, etc. But we anticipate that the proportions of the various departments should remain roughly the same. Money we raise over $850,000 will go to things like: add more shooting days, increase the music budget, cast a name actor as guest star, and increase production value. 

There's a phrase in our business: "Put it up on the screen." It's referring to money in the budget that pays for something that shows up on the screen. If producers rent swanky offices in Beverly Hills instead of modest ones in North Hollywood, those extra dollars spent don't appear on the screen. Using that money to increase the art department budget or hire a more famous actor is money that will be seen on the screen. "Put it up on the screen" is the motto our company lives by. It makes for a better movie artistically, and it makes more sense financially because a higher quality film sells for more.

(Source: The Numbers.) This chart is box office for theatres only, and does not include DVD, Blu-ray, iTunes, and all other revenue sources. We will rely heavily on video-on-demand (VOD) for revenue, similar to the release model used by the film "Bachelorette," which grossed only $418,000 in theatres upon initial release, but simultaneously made $5.5 million from VOD.

Note: Perks have been updated as of June 29, 2017. There is now no limit to the number of investors who can claim a particular perk, and some perks have had their requirements reduced and so are easier to claim -- especially tickets to the premiere. If you qualified for a perk before, you still get that perk.  If you did not qualify before, you may now qualify based on the investment you already made. Of course, investments may be increased should you desire to claim a higher perk, since your investment level is the total of all your investments in That Christmas Movie together.

• $100 or more -- Early Investor Bonus. 15% bonus return for this round!  Anyone who has already invested this round, or who invests by July 11, will get an additional 15% return on their money before the producers get their share. We wish to reward early investors.
• $100 - $499. Exclusive behind-the-scenes peek via newsletter and super secret videos during production. 
• $500 - $749. Exclusive online live Q&A with the director, producers, and cast (cast subject to availability). Includes the exclusive behind-the-scenes peek during production.
• $750 - $999. A personalized Christmas card to you signed by the cast, director, and producer. Includes the exclusive behind-the-scenes peek during production, and online Q&A.
• $1,000 - $1,999. One ticket to the premiere and afterparty in Los Angeles.  You get to walk down the red carpet with the stars!  Time and date TBD.  You’ll have to provide your own travel and accommodations.  Includes the exclusive behind-the-scenes peek during production, online Q&A and signed Christmas card.
• $2,000 - $9,999. Two tickets to the premiere and afterparty in Los Angeles.  You get to walk down the red carpet with the stars!  Time and date TBD.  You’ll have to provide your own travel and accommodations.  Includes the exclusive behind-the-scenes peek during production, online Q&A and signed Christmas card.  
• $10,000-$24,999. "Affiliate Producer" credit on IMDB and/or our website, and since you're an Affiliate Producer, you get to visit the set while we're filming! You and a guest get to meet the cast and crew and hang out.  (Filming date/location TBD.) Four tickets to the premiere and the afterparty in Los Angeles, where you can walk down the red carpet with the stars. (Time and date TBD.) Includes the exclusive behind-the-scenes peek during production, online Q&A, and Christmas card. You will have to provide your own travel and accommodations. 
• $25,000+ "Co-Executive Producer" credit onscreen and on IMDB. And you get to visit the set while we're filming! You and a guest get to meet the cast and crew and hang out. (Filming date/location TBD.) Four tickets to the premiere and afterparty in Los Angeles, and you get to walk down the red carpet with the stars! (Time and date TBD.) Includes the exclusive behind-the-scenes peek during production, online Q&A, and Christmas card. You will have to provide your own travel and accommodations.
  
  

     You are investing in equity in this offering. Perks are meant to be a "thank you" from the company for investing, and to provide you with an experience not available to the general public. If you qualify for a perk that can only be fulfilled by being at a certain place on a certain date (visiting the set, coming to the premiere, listening to a webcast, etc.), and you cannot make that time and place, we regret that we cannot change our schedule to accommodate any investor -- you'll have to forego that perk. 

     All investors receive the same pro rata share of the revenue whether or not they claim a perk.

• How can you make a quality movie for such a low budget? 
  • The movie was written specifically so it could work at that budget. Most of the film takes place at two houses right next door to each other. When you don’t have to keep moving the crew and the equipment, it’s a lot more efficient. And most scenes have few actors in them. The fewer actors in a scene, the easier it is to get all the shots you need. Basically, we are producing it like a network TV show, but shooting it with a more cinematic style. Also, we're not doing much in the way of visual effects, so that saves money.
    
    
• What happens if you don't raise $850k? Can you still make the movie?
  • We sure can! Here's our plan at various levels:
    • $10k - 100k +. Use part of the money to raise awareness of the equity fundraising campaign in order to let more investors learn of the opportunity (which is why we are a 90 day campaign). Use the remainder as proof-of-concept to attract equity from other sources.
    • $300k. This is where you get into the world of film finance, wherein many films are made with only part of the budget coming from private investors. If we raise $300k, there are many sources in the industry who will provide "matching funds" when an indie film like ours raises that amount of equity. With $300k in matching funds, we will then have $600k total, which is enough to finish the film and begin postproduction. While in postproduction, we will strike a deal with a foreign distribution company (offers have already been received). We will then borrow from a bank, using that distribution contract as collateral. This gives us enough money for postproduction and marketing, and we are good to go.
    • If we raise more than $300k but less than $850k, we use a hybrid strategy of matching funds and loans against distribution contracts.
      
      
• What about this "Hollywood Accounting" thing? I've heard some movies make a lot of money but they never seem to show a profit.
  • We've not only heard about it, we've been subjected to it. And we hate it. Which is why we are going to have a level of transparency rarely seen in Hollywood. The way the major studios get away with their shenanigans is by deducting payments to themselves along the way, before the money can trickle down to profit participants. But on this project, we, as producers, don't get a dime in profit participation until the investors are paid back in full. We are not a major studio -- we're an independent film company. We succeed only if our investors succeed.
    
    
• Some parts of your video look like a finished movie. Did you shoot some of the movie already?
  • No. Those snippets of the video look finished because we got some actors and a crew and shot a few moments of the story, like: Nicky at 7, Nicky at 12 with Motion Activated Santa, actors auditioning to be her parents, and her family chasing after her. We wanted to give a peek of the final product with good production value, but that actual footage probably won't be in the released version of the movie.
    
    
• You say you're the first feature length narrative movie made with Equity Crowdfunding in the U.S. What about "Field Guide to Evil?"
  • The team at "Field Guide to Evil" is to be congratulated for being the first feature length film in the U.S. to use Equity Crowdfunding to get the green light! We feel they've achieved an important milestone in film finance in our country. But while their film is feature length, the narrative is not. It is an anthology, a collection of short films, whereas our movie is one continuous narrative. Also, we are Christmas and they are Evil ;)