Help Marc's Film : The True History of Gold's Gym

Hi, I'm Marc Martinez.

I'm  the creator of the upcoming documentary "Dream Big" (A Golden Age In The Golden State).

 Dream Big is my first person account of when I joined Gold's Gym as a teenager back in the 1970's, when it had only one 
location, and it was truly a destination that had earned itself the moniker "The Mecca of bodybuilding."
  Little did I realize that the gym I had just joined, was where movie stars,  professional athletes, and the biggest names in bodybuilding,
from Schwarzenegger, Ferrigno, Columbo and others all rubbed shoulders.  

 Low self esteem and lack of confidence were the drivers that sent me into the gym, with the goal of building a muscular physique in hopes of turning the tables on my tormentors, real or imagined. Gyms in this era were few and far between, and not considered by society as a 
place for character development.

 From the ads in the back of comic books, to reading Pumping Iron by Charles Gaines, to immersing myself in the Muscle Magazines, and
then finally joining Gold's Gym, my new role models for masculinity became the bodybuilders in the magazines. They were the real life 
embodiment of comic book superheroes. 

 My film also places the context of the subculture of bodybuilding, whose epicenter was Venice and Santa Monica, California at that time   in the 1970's, and views it through the lens of  70's Southern California. My film is a love letter to the Southern 
California of my youth, the perfect place for a niche subculture, like bodybuilding to flourish.

The 1970's were a highpoint for free expression, and one of the most extreme forms of self expression, especially in this decade, had to be   bodybuilding.  A much maligned subculture that by the 1980's, became the inspiration for millions around the country, as 
evidenced by the explosion of health clubs, gyms and a newfound interest in gaining muscle.

  Gold's became synonymous with muscles and fitness, and also outrageous events staged by the owner of the gym. From media exposure  on 60 Minutes to the Tonight Show, to securing an appearance from Sylvester Stallone at a contest sponsored by Gold's, to a parade that
featured muscleman riding atop circus animals through the streets of Santa Monica. That parade was the 2nd largest in the state of 
California that year (1977), second only to the Rose Parade.

ABOUT MARC

I am a television broadcast veteran of over thirty years, having worked for every major network as a broadcast engineer and studio tech, & my skills accumulated in that time, in conjunction with my past interests in bodybuilding at that time and place, make me the perfect
messenger to tell the history of the Golden Age of Bodybuilding.

This film started as an idea about the 1977 Mr. America parade in a phone call to a friend in New York City, Scott Murphy, who is now 
attached as an assistant producer. Then in a conversation with my mentor Mike Murphy (no relation), who provided the initial seed money
to interview several figures and commence filming.
  The original 15 minute documentary had soon grown to a full length feature film when word spread in the bodybuilding community, as
prominent figures called and asked to be part of the project. It was clear a bigger budget would be needed to complete a bigger film.

 I have shot, edited and conducted all the interviews, and have the rough cut assembled, and the story  finalized, but I need some funding to add the professional polish to bring the film up to technical specs required for streaming systems.

I am asking for $30,000.00 USD to complete the film. This amount will be used for the following items:

-Errors and Omissions Insurance

-Audio Mixing & Audio Sweetening

-Color Correction & Color Timing

-Graphics and Titles, Credit Sequence

-Music Score

-Illustration Sequences (for b -roll where no b roll exists)

-Film Festival Submissions and Costs

-Purchase of Images and footage from Getty Images

-Purchase of Images from Contact Press Images (George Butler Archives)

-Marketing and promotional campaign

My hope is to get this completed in time for submission to the Other Venice California Film Festival, October 1-3, 2021. The film needs to be submitted by September 15th  at the latest.

I respectfully and humbly ask for support to help bring this film to a completed form suitable for theatrical and or streaming releases.

Questions or comments, reach me at  [email redacted]

Thank You  


Sincerely

Marc Martinez

Banyan Grove Films LLC

San Ramon, Ca. 94582