History in the Making

How You Can Help 1000 Premieres

1. Host a Premiere in your Living Room

$99 for up to 14 people in your living room. No other means of helping comes close to this one. Retweets are nice... but this one brings. the. film. to. life.

2. Lead your Church in Hosting a Premiere

Sell tickets for $5 and recoup your investment (or make a profit) or offer it as a gift to your community. Even ask a businessperson in your church to fund it.

3. Buy Someone a Premiere for Christmas

By entering different info for billing and shipping, you can designate a Premiere for someone else.

4. Make a Year-End Gift

Historytellers Productions is a 501c3 non-profit organization, so all gifts are tax deductible. And you leave a legacy by helping to make a great film.

5. Share it with Churches in Your Area

We can send you a box of brochures so you can share the vision with other people in your area. If the gathering is large enough, I'd love to fly in for it.

6. Share it at Your Conference

If you're hosting a conference, would you consider offering space for our promo team to set up an exhibit and hand out brochures to attendees?

7. Donate a Tweet a Day

Join the 65 people who are helping us reach 40,000+ people by authorizing one tweet from your account per day at justcoz.org/1000advocates

Nashville Living Room Premiere

My friend Amy Jacobs who works at Lifeway in Nashville just signed on to host a Premiere. She needs to write our press releases because her comments were spot-on the vision:

"1000 Premieres is crazy--this is no way to make a movie. Historytellers is breaking all the rules with this outlandish vision and that's exactly why I can gladly support the film. We all long to be a part of something much larger than ourselves and by supporting the project and sharing the vision I take my place in something greater than myself.

"1000 Premieres has the potential to change the way biblical stories are told for generations to come. It's an opportunity share a timeless and true story with a world of believers and unbelievers alike, who may or may not know that these stories, this history is for them.

"Something in me resonates with the risk that 1000 Premieres is taking to tell this age-old story. I trust the vision and excellence with which Historytellers approaches projects. I believe there will be more than 1000 Premieres. I believe this is a game-changer. I believe in the power of storytelling--simple as that."

Charlotte Family Hosts #1000Premieres

Jerel Law lost his wife of 15 years to breast cancer on January 1st of this year. He has three kids and has written fiction for about 10 years, usually late at night.

Nothing ever came of it, but he had an unshakable idea for a middle-grade adventure novel about kids who discover they are part angel. So he kept writing - all while working, caring for his sick wife and children.

After 10 months of deliberation, Thomas Nelson offered him a two book publishing deal. This came through two weeks after he lost his wife Susan. It was slated to publish in April 2012, but Walmart came along and decided to offer it as an exclusive in their stores! So it comes out the 2nd week of October.

Jerel and his three children have signed up to host a Living Room Premiere. They believe in the dream...

Illinois Family Hosts #1000Premieres

Pete and Stacy Goebel from Round Lake, IL signed up to host a Premiere... along with their kids David, John, Mikey and Katie.

Stacy said, "We're suckers for great vision and love the idea of going grass roots in the creation of a new distribution channel for films... outside of movie theaters. We're also excited to share this experience with our creative kids. We want to involve them and their friends to show them what dreaming dreams and making them happen is all about. We're excited to be part of the journey."

Free Brochures for #1000Premieres

We're fulfilling orders for free One Thousand Premieres brochures. If you'd like to receive 10 of them, complete this form, and we'll send you some to help spread the word.

You can also download the Print Ready Version (11.76 MB PDF)

Or the Preview Version (2.7 MB PDF)

1000 Premiere in West Chester, OH

Larry and Melissa Renner put a stake in the ground in West Chester, Ohio for a living room Premiere. As a family of five, their driving force is helping others through humanitarian and spiritual giving. Larry said, "The story of David and Goliath is a story that resonates for anyone but especially our family as we have faced a number of significant issues requiring faith, courage, strength and God's intercession."

Hearing the purpose and possibilities of One Thousaand Premieres, the Renners not only decided to host a venue, but reach out to others in their relational circles about hosting.

A Stake in the Ground in Your City

I look at every Premeire - no matter how big or small - as a beachhead for faith.

It's a stake in the ground to say "Someone in this city believes."

I know many churches are getting in their ducks in a row for One Thousand Premieres. Boards are conferring. Committees are conspiring. Gatekeepers are being courted. And eventually the city map will light up with Premieres all over the world.

But until it does...

Will you help me put a stake in the ground in your town?

Will you offer up a beachhead for faith?

We need stakes in Nashville...

in Houston..

in Dallas...

in Seattle...

in Cedar Rapids...

in Memphis...

in Portland...

in Minneapolis...

in Des Moines...

in Wheeling, WV...

in Lititz, PA

You. The one reading this. Can make a huge difference.

You can help other people, other churches, say yes... by going first.

Faith begets faith.

Will you stand with me and believe?

A mustard seed, $99, can grow bigger than you imagine.

Dream Year 2011 Participants

I was thrilled to have lunch at STORY with some of the fantastic people I get to coach each month in Dream Year. This isn't all of them, but I'm thrilled to share a few of their dreams with you...

Jinu Thomas
From years in the back room of a restaurant as a dishwasher to a high caliber marketing executive with a BIG heart. Jinu is launching Collyde, which makes it easy for causes and people to come together.

Alex Mills
Sharp, savvy social media guru at the Willow Creek Association... Alex has a vision for using transmedia for spiritual purposes. Her big project is not for public consumption yet, but it's a game-changer.

Bobby Riggles
A friend in every city, a heart for food, fellowship and spiritual conversations. Bobby is a long-time pastor who is leaving conventional ministry for a new non-profit start-up called Cana's Table.

Dana Byers
A former online church guru at LifeChurch.tv and missionary to London with her husband, Dana is aiming to launch an online church in every country through her start-up ministry org Bluedoor.tv.

Sherie Drew
A project manager for IT companies in Portland, Oregon, Sherie spends all of her free time helping non-profits and ministries in her city connect with local volunteers. Now she's making it official.

John Finch
The survivor of a childhood tragedy with his father, John quit a high-end sales job to launch a ministry called The Perfect Father. His first project is filming a documentary about the impact of dads.

Guy Delcambre
After the death of his wife less than a year ago, Guy was left with three beautiful little girls, a new life and a peace that passes understanding. An incredible writer, he's now turning this experience into a book.

Kyle Baker
A technofile, artist and producer, Kyle had too many options in front of him. But now he's converged all of his gifts down to one defined expression - an event called SoundCrawl this Saturday in Nashville.

Joy Trachsel
Working at a homeless shelter, Joy sees the most marginalized people "covered up" by mainstream Christianity. So she's channeling all of her passion into a book and speaking tour called The Great Coverup.

Nathan Gonzales
The lead political writer at two of Washington DC's most reputable newspapers, Nathan wanted to create an aggregated site where you could read articles from the left, right and center: politicsinstereo.com

Bryan Allain
A hilarious blogger and writer, Bryan is leveraging all of his comedic musings and social media know-how into the 31 Days to Blogging Mojo ebook and Killer Tribes. Watch for a killer announcement.

Josh Tandy
A new pastor with a voracious appetite to learn from the best, Josh is seeking to help other "rookie pastors" with a central web hub and other offerings. He's already been organizing lunches in key cities.

# # #

Join me for Dream Year weekend in Charlotte, NC on January 27-29, 2012. The best rates ends in October. And the new Dream Year Subscription site (weekly online course) is now live!

The Things we Have Seen and Heard

LOVE this photo of All the Bright Lights in STORY's opener

We're launching the STORY 2012 website three months earlier this year. In fact, we're shooting principal photography for it in Austin, TX this November.

In the meantime, the alumni rate is available to all for a very limited time. I know it's early, but trust me, you'll want to reserve your tix.

One Thousand... One at a Time

We're seeing tremendous momentum around 1000 Premieres:

• Two major film distribution companies have contacted me to explore the model.
• Several major publishers have inquired about the film's novelization and other resources.
• On September 15, over 200 newspapers throughout the US carried a story about it.
• An influencer in California has offered up hundreds of acres of wilderness property where we can construct sets and shoot the film over several months next spring.
• Several notable churches are getting ready to sign up for full Premieres and a number of smaller ones

When the trailer and the official movie site come out next July, I'm confident they will blow people away. We have no trouble believing in what we can see, right?

But until then, this is a vision for early adopters, innovators, spiritual shareholders and faith-filled people. It will be a vision that comes to completion - one conversation...

one call...

one meeting...

one email...

at a time.

This is the only way it will come to life.

So the conversation countdown of 990 begins now.

If you know me, you'll be hearing from me. =)

But if you can beat me to it - by hosting a Premiere here - I would be eternally grateful. =)

Richmond Author Hosts Living Room Premiere - #1000Premieres

I got to meet the incredible Nicole Unice at STORY last week - and she's signed up to host a living room Premiere for One Thousand Premieres. Nicole is an author with Tyndale House, a speaker, and a staffer at Hope Church in Richmond, Va, not far from where I live. She's intending to get her church involved, but didn't stop at becoming an early adopter for the campaign.

If you're hoping to get your church involved - that is incredible - but you alone can help bring this film to life by at least hosting a living room gathering. Sign up here.

STORY Presenter Portraits

The remarkable talent that is Bjorn Amundsen shot some pretty amazing photos of our presenters at STORY:

Ted Dekker

Lauren Chandler

David Wenzel

Ian Cron

See the others HERE

One Thousand Premiere in South Dakota

I had a fantastic call with Jason Salamun, who leads Project Church in Rapid City, South Dakota, just 20 minutes away from Mount Rushmore. They meet in a beautiful old theater downtown - the perfect place to show a film to their community. Sure enough, Jason reserved the full Premiere so he could show it to unlimited attendees over the course of one weekend. So excited to have a shareholder in the wild west.

Host a Premiere at One Thousand Premieres.com

1,000 Premieres Brochure in your Mailbox

If you'd like to help spread the word about One Thousand Premieres, enter your address on this form, and we'll send you 10 brochures that you can give to friends, your small group, your pastor, etc. We can't do this without your help.

Let me know here.

The New Dream Year Subscriptions

I'm thrilled to announce the all-new Dream Year Subscriptions program which launched at STORY.

It's a year-long, online process that helps you bring your audacious dream to life over the course of 52 weeks.

I'll send a personal video to your inbox every Monday morning with a written lesson, some questions to answer and milestones to complete for the week.

You can see a sample lesson on the Dream Year site if you'd like. But I cover the 52 MOST important topics to launching a successful idea.

You can start anytime. The lessons don't start until you do. But fall is a great time to make a change.

I'm also looking for 12 people who would like to work with me on their dream - starting in January. And we're hosting Dream Year weekend in Charlotte, NC on Jan 27-29.

Some of the People of STORY

1,000 True Fans

Kevin Kelley, the co-founder of Wired magazine, espouses a principle called 1,000 True Fans.

He says that when producing something, one needs to acquire only 1,000 true fans to be successful. This goes for artists as well as entrepreneurs, advocates, business people... and filmmakers.

The venue for STORY seats 1,000 people.

We have about 1,000 followers on Facebook.

Nearly 1,000 followers on Twitter.

And it's no coincidence that we're looking for 1,000 Premieres.

It's not a big number.

We don't actually need more.

But each and every person in this tribe has the capability to change something, build something, do something life-altering.

Last Minute Surprise: Actor Sean Astin to Speak at STORY

STORY is just one week away, and it's not too late to bring your team. A few last minute surprises...

1. Actor Sean Astin will be Presenting at STORY

Sean has performed in over 70 films, including the 1980’s classic The Goonies, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Rudy. As the founder and President of Lava Entertainment, he has directed and produced television shows, plays, and published a New York Times best-selling book, There and Back Again: An Actor’s Tale. Don't miss Sean by registering HERE.

2. The Launch of One Thousand Premieres
We're is launching a new feature film project about the story of David and Goliath... and you can be a part of it. Visit One Thousand Premieres to find out how you can help bring the movie Four Stones to life by hosting a Premiere in your living room, church, small group or theater.

3. After Party on Thurs Night, Sept 15
The Creative Collective (www.creativecollective.is) is hosting a STORY After Party, presented by Clark (www.clark.is) on Thurs, Sept 15 from 9:00p to 11:00p. Connect with creatives from all over the US for this exclusive event. Live music, food and art and more. All with the purpose to inspire you to create like you were created. Space is limited, register HERE.

4. See the Complete List of Presenters
Click HERE to see the presenters and performers at STORY this year. We have also added Ed Saxon, the producer of The Silence of the Lambs and many other films.

5. The official Twitter hashtag is #STORY11
Follow us on Twitter at @StoryChicago
Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/StoryChicago

6. Parking
There is limited parking at Park Community Church. It's best to take public transportation or a cab from your hotel or the airport. However, there is a parking garage one block from the venue called the Kingsbury Garage - 950 N. Kingsbury Street, Chicago, IL 60610. The rate is $12 a day. Our parking attendants will help steer you in the right direction on the day of the event.

7. Free Lunch Opportunities
STORY does not offer lunch as a part of the experience, but there are several options off-site. Also, several free lunches are available to a limited number of participants who RSVP using the links below. First come, first served.

• Visioneering Studios Lunch
  Thursday, September 15 in the Park Cafe
  You're invited to a luncheon hosted by Visioneering Studios and an opportunity to hear from Visioneering's President, Mel McGowan. Sign up HERE.
  
  
• Vanderbloeman Search Group Lunch
  Friday, September 16 in the Park Cafe
  You are invited to join Vanderbloemen Search Group, the premier executive search firm for churches looking to hire key Creative staff. Sign up HERE.

8. Follow-up Filmmakers Workshop on Sat, Sept 17
ActOne, the leading training program for Christian professionals in Hollywood, is offering a follow-up, one-day workshop at Park Community Church on Saturday, Sept 17 from 9:00a to 3:00p. Three experienced producers - Ed Saxon (Silence of the Lambs), Terence Berry, and Justin Bell and Michelle Steffes - will talk about bringing your film project to life. Cost is $25. For more information and to reserve your spot, email Terence Berry at Terence@actoneprogram.com.

Crowdtweeting

We're reaching 27,752 people about One Thousand Premieres because of 47 people who donated a "tweet a day." If you'd like to join them, visit www.justcoz.org/1000advocates

There was a Soundtrack in his Head

Here are just a few things that were said about David as he stepped onto the battlefield against Goliath:

"Why have you come down here?"
"I know how conceited you are."
"You are not able to go out... and fight him."
"Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?"
"Come here and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals."

Everyone gave David the "reality" of the situation.

But I don't think David heard them because he was listening to a soundtrack in his head. It was the righteous indignation with a giant obstacle. The assurance in his spirit that he would win.

After announcing One Thousand Premieres, I've heard a few "realistic" perspectives. =) But the irony of naysaying against a film about David and Goliath is not lost on me. =)

I've got a soundtrack in my head...

I wake up every day with a holy expectation for what God is about to do. Who might call. Which church will sign up next. Which unknown church is raising funds. Which blogger might share it. Which small group is busy splitting the cost. Which national leader might endorse it...

Interesting thing is that when David set out down one side of the valley of Elah, not a single person was behind him.

But he went anyway.

And God still prevailed.

I'd love it if you would step out onto the battlefield with me.