$17,635 raised out of $120,000
Overview
Platform
Indiegogo
Backers
128
Start date
May 01, 2023
Close date
Jul 01, 2023
Concept

The epic conclusion to the Black Christmas fan and tribute film has arrived! Be a part of it!

Story

 

The Epic Conclusion Is Here!

Hey Black Christmas and horror fans! Welcome to the official crowdfunding campaign for It’s Me, Billy Chapter 2: A Black Christmas Fan Film. Chapter 2 serves as the second and final installment in our Black Christmas tribute series, honoring the legacy of one of the most important horror films in the genre.  

 

 

We are beyond thrilled and honored to welcome distinguished stage and screen actress Olivia Hussey back to the world of Black Christmas. Olivia will be reprising her role as Jess Bradford, one of horror’s first final girls. Olivia’s career expands across 6 decades and has appeared in such films as Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet, Black Christmas, Stephen King’s mini series IT,  and Psycho 4 to name a few. Her awards include a Golden Globe Award, and a David di Donatello Award. 

 

Victoria Mero reprises the role of Sam, the granddaughter of Jess Bradford. We are beyond excited to have Victoria back and to show you the completion of Sam’s arc.

Victoria graduated on the Dean’s list in 2018 with a BFA honors degree from York University’s Acting Conservatory Program. She has several years of experience under her belt in a variety of projects including roles on Paranormal Survivor, Murder Wall,  Bria Mack Gets A Life, and of course, It’s Me, Billy Chapter 1. 

 

Her suffocation death in the original Black Christmas is one of the most iconic images in all of horror, and now she’s back! Lynne Griffin returns to the Black Christmas world in It’s Me, Billy Chapter 2. Lynne (Clare in the original 74 classic) returns to play Clare’s sister Nancy, a woman hellbent on solving her sister’s 50 year old cold case.

Lynne started out on Canadian television in the early 1970s, then moved on to acting on stage. She is known for her work in Shakespearean plays and has frequently appeared at the Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. She gave a notable performance in the television movie I’ll Take Manhattan (1987). Film roles also include, Black Christmas, Curtains, Strange Brew and Dream House.  

 

We are delighted to have Caro Coltman reprising her role as Agnes Krane, Billy’s sister.  

Caro has decades of acting experience, including regional Canadian theatre productions in the 1980s and 90s playing roles ranging from Sophocles’ Antigone (The Stratford Festival) to Willy Russell’s Rita (Educating Rita, Magnus Theatre). A founding member of the Dora award nominated Ziggurat Theater (Toronto), she appeared in Decadence and Hunger, and directed Screwed, Blued, and Tattooed; in New York she assistant directed Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (New York Theatre Workshop), and Our Country’s Good (Hartford Stage, Nederlander). Since leaving teaching, Caro has appeared in a number of film and television projects.

 

We are excited to welcome back Bryan Charles Peter to the role of Billy. And yes, that’s really his hair! Since Bryan’s portrayal of the infamous BILLY in It’s Me, Billy Chapter 1, Bryan has been working in short films and commercials. 

 

In 2019 our team embarked on a journey to pay tribute and homage to one of the greatest Canadian horror films ever made, Black Christmas (1974). Our goal was to pay honor and respect and build a not-for-profit fan and tribute film, a legacy sequel (albeit unofficially) where no previous sequels had ever existed, honoring the style, tone, mood, atmosphere, and the ‘theater of the mind’ that Black Christmas gave us in 1974. 

In the summer of 2020 we were absolutely blown away by the amazing generosity and support from Black Christmas and horror fans around the world. We achieved our goal, and raised $64,000 CDN ($47K USD) to bring you It’s Me, Billy Chapter 1; the first part of our two-part story.  Without you, this would not have been possible. Many Black Christmas fans even consider it the true sequel to the 1974 classic. That’s pretty darn cool. 

It’s Me, Billy was nominated for Best Cinematography in the Dramatic Short category at the 65th Annual CSC (Canadian Society of Cinematographers) Awards in 2022. 

 

 

But wait… we’re not done!

It’s Me, Billy (2021) was always designed to be the first part of a two-part story, hence the shocking cliffhanger ending. It was always our hope that we’d get the chance to complete our vision and bring the story to a conclusion. Now is that time. We are excited to invite horror fans from around the world to help us complete the final step of our journey and bring this story to an epic conclusion, one that will pay honor and respect to the incredible legacy of Black Christmas (1974)

 

Our goal for this campaign is to raise $120,000 CDN (Approx. $88,000 USD) towards our production budget. The money raised will cover the unavoidable costs associated with producing a professionally made film. No profit will be made, and no commercial distribution will take place. All funds raised go right into the project. No exceptions. The film will made available for FREE online for everyone to enjoy once completed. The amount raised will go towards the pre-production, production, and post production processes. This includes… 

  • Cast And Crew
  • Equipment Rentals (Camera, Lighting & Grip)
  • Location Rentals
  • Production Insurance
  • Vehicle Rentals and Insurance
  • Accommodations
  • Craft Services
  • Props & Set Decoration
  • Post Production
  • Creation & Distribution Of All Perks For Our Indiegogo Backers. 

 

Key members listed only. 

Dave McRae is a full time professional voice actor and filmmaker based in Toronto, Canada. His voice has been heard on radio and television commercials, network promos, movie and game trailers, animation, and narration around the world. Dave is a 4-time Voice Arts Award Nominee; 3 times for Outstanding National TV Promo – Best Voice Over, and once for Outstanding Body Of Work – Best Voice Actor. 

Alongside his career as a voice actor, Dave has a passion and obsession for filmmaking. He considers himself a student of the ‘theater of the mind’ style of horror, and appreciates, and obsesses over its psychological subtleties and nuances.

Dave is best known online for his YouTube channel, horror, and Halloween movie commentary. The channel has nearly 30 thousand subscribers and over 8 million channel views. Dave also stars as Freddy Krueger opposite Elm Street alumni Miko Hughes in the Elm Street fan film Dylan’s New Nightmare releasing in the summer of 2023. 

 

Bruce Dale is an independent filmmaker and visual artist based in Toronto, Canada. Bruce works full-time as a Learning and Development Specialist in the Canadian film and television industry, with over 12 years of management experience, and holds the designation of Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP).

Bruce’s personal work explores emotional intricacies, identity construction, and social issues that strive to define the human experience; expressed through short dramatic narratives, kinetic poetry, and visual art with several public art exhibitions under his belt.

In addition to his personal body of work, he has collaborated with independent filmmakers, corporate and commercial clients drawing storyboards, concept art, and working on set in a variety of production roles including camera, lighting, and grip.

 

Gregory Bennett is an accomplished Director of Photography based out of Toronto, Canada.  His work has been nominated three times for CSC (Canadian Society of Cinematographers) awards. Greg also won the best cinematography award for the feature film ‘THE BAD MOTHER’ at the Hamilton Film Festival.  His most recent narrative film work was for ‘NIGHTALK’, a feature film directed by Canadian filmmaker Don Shebib which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Greg has shot numerous shorts, features, commercials, and music videos and is comfortable in a wide range of styles. Greg’s excited to be back for It’s Me, Billy Chapter 2 and to help complete our vision. 

 

 

Dave McRae and Bruce Dale (The Producers) are in no way associated or affiliated with Blumhouse productions, Universal Pictures, Divide/Conquer Productions or anyone associated with the Black Christmas rights holders. This is a Not-For-Profit Fan and Tribute Film.  All money raised goes right into the production and the unavoidable costs associated with producing a professionally made short film. The producers will not profit by any means and no commercial distribution will be made. The film will be made available for FREE online for everyone to view once completed. 

Thankfully, as high quality fan films begin to rise, more and more studios are seeing the value in them; free marketing for their most beloved properties. As long as a fan film stays within a reasonable length and budget and avoids commercial ventures, fan and tribute films can be a valuable tool to help keep beloved properties relevant and in the pop culture zeitgeist. 

 

Many Black Christmas fans were thrilled to see It’s Me, Billy Chapter 1 go back to the roots of the original. It was important to us that we created a story that felt like it lived in the same universe as the 1974 classic. 

Although It’s Me, Billy Chapter 1 is not officially recognized as canon, it has had an impact with fans around the world, even with some Black Christmas alumni taking notice. Lynne Griffin (who played Clare in the original film) helped our campaign in 2020 by creating her famous Black Christmas tree ornaments as a perk. Now, Lynne will appear in It’s Me, Billy Chapter 2 alongside distinguished stage and screen actress Olivia Hussey, who is reprising her role as Jess Bradford. 

Our film was mentioned and written about in the book It’s Me, Billy: Black Christmas Revisited and in online publications such as Screen Rant, Dread Central, and Bloody Disgusting. It’s Me, Billy Chapter 1 was also nominated for Best Cinematography in the Dramatic Short category at the 65th Annual CSC (Canadian Society of Cinematographers) Awards in 2022. 

And now, you have a chance to be a part of Black Christmas history. It’s Me, Billy Chapter 2 will bring our story to a close in exciting fashion. But we literally can’t do it without you. YOU are what makes this possible. With your help once again, It’s Me, Billy Chapter 2 can be fully realized. Your contribution will help to create a production value that will give credibility and authenticity to the project; a film and conclusion that Black Christmas fans around the world can be proud of. 

 

Share this page on social media, whether it be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or even TikTok. The more people that know about the project, the better chance we have at raising our production budget. Remember, retweeting, sharing, and talking about it on social media will help to spread the word. You may think you wont have an impact, but you can! We appreciate and value your help and contribution. YOU ALL ROCK! Thank you. 

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