Lloyd Alexander Extravaganza

The countdown is on, and the time we've been waiting for is almost here. The documentary film, "Lloyd Alexander" is in the final stages, and we are making preparations for next month's premiere.

I am pleased to announce the schedule of events surrounding the premiere of the film. Here is a schedule for the Lloyd Alexander Extravaganza:

Thursday, October 18th

Lloyd Alexander Mini-Doc and Q&A
When: 11:05 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
Where: Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium on BYU campus in Provo, UT
What: A 10 minute mini-doc highlighting the work and writings of Lloyd Alexander will be shown at 11:05 that morning. The film will be followed by a question and answer session with a panel of Lloyd Alexander experts.
Tickets: Free. Seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Lloyd Alexander Banquet
When: 7:00 p.m.
Where: The Skyroom at the Wilkinson Student Center on BYU campus in Provo, UT
What: The Lloyd Alexander Banquet will feature a keynote address by Dr. James S. Jacobs, author of the dissertation, "Lloyd Alexander: A Critical Biography"
Tickets: $20.00

To purchase tickets to the "Lloyd Alexander Banquet" please use the PayPal link on the right side of this blog. (Please note, there is limited seating available at the banquet, so once the tickets sell-out the link will be removed.)

Friday, October 19th

"Lloyd Alexander" Premiere
When: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium on BYU campus in Provo, UT
What: The world premiere of "Lloyd Alexander", the documentary film about the life and writings of beloved children's author, Lloyd Alexander. The film is a little over an hour long. The official run-time is TBA. 
Tickets: Invitation Only. There are limited tickets available for free to the general public. If you would like to attend, please e-mail your request for tickets to lloydalexanderfilm@gmail.com. Please include your name, and how many tickets you would like. (Note: Sending an e-mail does not guarantee you tickets to the premiere as seating is limited).

Wednesday, October 24th

Public Screening of "Lloyd Alexander"
When: 4:00 p.m.
Where: Harold B. Lee Library Auditorium on BYU campus in Provo, UT
What: A screening of the full-length documentary open to the public.
Tickets: Free. Seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Here is a map of the BYU campus, including parking information.

I am very excited for these upcoming events. If you have any questions please direct them to me (Jared Crossley) at lloydalexanderfilm@gmail.com. I am very busy, but will try to respond as promptly as possible.

Thank you for your support of this project. I look forward to celebrating the wonderful accomplishments of Lloyd Alexander with you in October.

Official Trailer for "Lloyd Alexander"

It's been quite awhile since I've posted anything. I've been pretty busy making a movie. Anyway, here is the official trailer for "Lloyd Alexander" which will premiere next month on October 19th in Provo, UT.  Check it out, and let me know what you think.

Moving Right Along

It's been awhile since I've last posted, and so I thought it was about time. Since my last blog post, here are some of the notable things we've accomplished on the Lloyd Alexander documentary:

• We finished filming interviews, wrapping up with Mike Tunnell's interview on August 6th.
• Finished writing the script and narration.
• Recorded the narration with Rick Macy.
• Started the editing (using Premiere Pro CS6)
• Finished the final cuts
• Got the final cuts to the music composer, Stephen Voorhees.
• Did a spotting session for the music with Stephen Voorhees.
• Started audio clean-up, color corrections, and other visual touch-ups.
• And I happened to make a cameo appearance in NBC's Rock Center special about Mormons.

Needless to say, it's been a busy time. However, I am very excited about the progress that we are making. We are right on schedule to meet our October 18th deadline for the premiere. We are currently planning and scheduling various events in conjunction with the film premiere, so stay tuned.

Oh, I also wanted to post one of my favorite pictures of Lloyd that, sadly, did not make it into the film. Here's a photo of a young Lloyd Alexander tickling the ivories. Enjoy!

Welcome to the Lloyd Alexander documentary, Shannon Hale.

Today I got the chance to interview Shannon Hale for the Lloyd Alexander Documentary. Shannon is best known for her New York Times bestselling Newbery Honor book "Princess Academy",  and her "Books of Bayern Series" including her first published book "The Goose Girl".

Shannon Hale is a very talented author, and a delightful person. It was a great opportunity to interview Shannon, and I'm very excited to have her as part of the Lloyd Alexander documentary film. Also, make sure you don't miss Shannon's newest book which is coming out next month. "Princess Academy: Palace of Stone" is the sequel to the highly successful "Princess Academy" and you won't want to miss it.

Thanks for the Support!

We recently reached our fundraising goal on Kickstarter.com. I wanted to take a minute and thank all of the supporters that we have. As many of you know, the Lloyd Alexander Documentary is a non-profit film. My main goal in creating it is to create exposure about the wonderful author Lloyd Alexander. I want to give something to his fans that can help them remember his remarkable legacy. I want to reach those who have never read any of his books, and inspire them to read. I want to reach the child, and get them interested in reading.

Thanks to many of you, I haven't even finished the film, but these goals of mine are already happening. During the fundraising effort, we have received much support from high places. Fantasy author Brandon Sanderson started by showing his support for the project on Facebook, twitter, and his blog.

Various authors and artists showed support by tweeting about the project. There were tweets by Garth Nix, Donna Jo Napoli, Faith Erin Hicks, Kurt Busiek, Brent Weeks, Harry Connolly, Neil Gaiman, to name a few (sorry to those others who also tweeted about it, and I missed).  We also received support from three-time Newbery honor author Jennifer Holm. Even Skippyjon Jones showed support by posting a link on Facebook.

There was an article written about the project by one of Utah's most popular new sources, KSL.

In addition to this publicity, there have been countless fans, friends, family, etc. who have helped by spreading the word.

However, most of all I want to thank the people who have donated to the project. As important as it has been to have support from famous authors and artists, news coverage, and social networking, in the end we wouldn't have made our goal without those of you who decided to sacrifice and donate to the Lloyd Alexander film.

Preview Released

I just put together a rough cut of some footage from the documentary. My purpose in releasing it is to give an idea to everyone what the film will be like. I also wanted to thank everyone who has supported the project. 

The video clip shows some excerpts with Ann Durrell McCrory, Lloyd Alexander's editor for most of his career. In the clip she is talking about working with Lloyd Alexander on the Prydain books. 

Watch the video here, and let me know what you think. Also, if you haven't yet donated, please consider doing so, as there are only 5 days left and we need $3,513 more in order to be funded.  

Thanks again for your support. I hope you enjoy this preview.

Only 2 Weeks Left!!

In the fundraiser on kickstarter.com there is only 2 weeks left to reach our goal. Just a reminder on how kickstarter works. If you make a pledge, and the project is successful, you receive a specific reward depending on the amount of your pledge.  If we reach our goal by the set date, our project is funded. If we are even $1 short, we get nothing, and the people who pledged, don't pay.

Our goal is to raise $15,000 by June 30th. As of 11:55 a.m. MDT on June 16th we have $8,240 pledged to the project. We are in need of $6,760 more in the next two weeks for this project to be funded.

If you haven't yet pledged, please think about if this is something that you feel like you can do.  Also, even if you have pledged, help spread the word. Re-post this video on your blogs, tweet about it, post it on Facebook, e-mail your friends, co-workers, family, and associates. We can make a big push over the next two weeks, and reach our goal.

Donate to the Lloyd Alexander Documentary Film here.