Write Dave! Write!
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My name is Dave Canfield. For more than 25 years I've been sharing my thoughts on film, sprituality and fandom through print, online, speaking gigs and free classes in the Chicago area and abroad. (There's a list at the end of this if you want to check out my credentials.)
I recently approached two separate publishers about two separate book projects. Both were highly enthusiastic.
But my only computer, a major source of my yearly income, died a few days ago. I'm typing this to you on a rather broken down loaner.
It's been a rough year and replacing my MacBook Pro simply isn't within my means.
Maybe it's time I reached out to the people who have told me my creative output makes a diffreence in their lives
WHAT I'M ASKING FOR
My base goal is $2000. If I make more than that it will go into the below projects.
$2000 will allow me to purchase a refurbished Macbook Pro 15 inch laptop, Apple Care for same and a Time Capsule for backups.
PROJECTS YOUR DONATION WILL HELP SUPPORT
BOOK AND MULTIMEDIA TOUR
Confessions of a Creature Feature Preacher.
I have such things to show you;
For the past decade or so I've been writing and presenting autobiographical film and culture surveys that detail my unique journey through the world of horror fandom. I'm ready to turn the material into a book and broaden the multi-media stage presentation. The multi-media presentation includes film clips, audio, and a travelling mini-musueum of high end collectablia.
The Universal Monsters, Hammer Films, Freddy K., Jason V., Michael M. and Leatherface, all played their part. So did a host of lesser known grotesquiries; Ripleys Believe It or Not and Attack of the Mushroom People. DC Comics, Swamp Thing and House of Secrets. Let's Scare Jessica to Death and Count Yorga Vampire. The list is endless.
But what makes Confessions of a Creature Feature Preacher different is my own life. A special needs childhood, relentless night terrors, clinical depression, and a desperate search for personal identity were also part of that journey. If that's not scary enough add in suicide, eyewitness to murder and serious family dysfunction.
There was 28 years of living in the USAs most famous Christian commune, rediscovering my mind and critical thought. There was an inexorable move away from obvious religious culture and toward questions I'll probably never be able to answer.
The good and the bad are all woven together to show how the human heart takes comfort in culture and how pop culture and even horror became my anti-nostalgia for a paranoid age, helping me to carve out hope
You'll also get enough capsule reviews of horror rarities and criminally underseen gems to last a lifetime of screams.
BOOK
Night Terrors: Fearmakers Afraid
Nightmares were a huge part of my young life. But as I got older and revisited the films and books that triggered them I discovered a curious thing- most of those books and films were great.
This book of interviews with noted horror personalities will showcase how their own nightmares and fears fed into the creation of the books, comics, films and music that have shaped the modern horror culture. Included will be material from my interview with the late great Wes Craven.
TWITCH FILM PODCAST
I've got a regular film and home entertainment podcast that just launched on the worlds largest world cinema website Twitch Film.
I have about a dozen podcasts ready to run. That includes interviews with visiting film talent from this years Fantastic Fest as well as a ton of home entertainment news and reviews .
REWARD LEVEL ONE $500
That's right. I'm giving this away to a lucky donor. This is Edition # 51 of an open edition that currently costs $1000 on the H.P. Lovecraft Society site.
This is the Ultimate Lovecraft LARPing prop.
You get a strange little key and a distressed steel box conatining
-Wilcox's bas relief (a hydrocal/acrl cast of the real movie prop from the HPLS silent film The Call of Cthulhu.
-Wilcox's 26 page illustrated dream journal
-Wilcox's visiting card
-Professor Angell's 14 page handwritten account of his experiences with Wilcox, Webb and Legrasse, along with 22 pages of research notes on the Cthulhu Cult
-Select pieces of dream-related correspondence, including telegrams, vintage postcards, and an accurate replica of a note from a promient Viennese dream expert.
-Professor Angell's 23 page digest of dream data collected from numerous correspondents
-Professor Angell's desk calendar page from March of 1925 on which he attempted to correlate many strange occurrences.
-Authentic covers and articles from real occult magazines of the 1920s with relevance to the Cthulhu Cult, including Occult Press Review and The Channel
61 highly detailed and authentic vintage newspaper clippings reporting strange events wordwide, some including Angell's handwritten notes
-Legrasses handwritten 12-page account of his experience with the swamp cult
-Angell's copy of the program to the 1908 archeological convention where he met Legrasse, on which they sketched pictures of the statue he found in the swamp, and the idol Webb found
-Johansen's merchant marine identity card
-Johansen's handwritten 25-page diary account of his experience in R'lyeh, written in highly authentic Sutterlin script (and therefore challenging to read)
-A large-format and highly detailed nautical chart showing the exact location of R'lyeh
-A page from the Sydney Bulletin, authentically replicating the real publication, featuring Lovecraft's own newspaper article about the Emma, the Alert and the Cthulhu idol
- A beautiful sacrificial dagger (COSPLAY and LARP only).
*****PLUS*****
I'm throwing in two very rare pieces of Richard Poppe Cthulhuania. Poppe was an infamous artist who fell into serious disrepute for fdailing to fill ordfers and turning out substandard copies of his Cthulhu art.
But when he was on his A Game...Wow!
I'm lucky to have a few of his Agame Pieces.
The first is this Necronomicon Grimoire. It contains Blank pages as well as illustarted ones with text. It Measures roughly 16 x 14 and is about 2. 1/2 inches thick.
This little beauty is one of Poppes rare cast resin skull container. It contains over twenty handmade runes and is absolutely ghastly in appearance. Wrinkled green with a medallion sculpt in the middle fo the forehead. The handle for the top broke off long ago but this will still be the pride of anyone's LARP Collection.
REWARD LEVEL TWO $250
This was recently gifted to me by a friend. It's an Exc. Edition Sideshow Undying Carcus statue from their The Dead line. It measures 16.5" x 11.5" W x 9.5" D.
and comes with two seperate heads pictured here. Really nice piece for Walking Dead fans or anyone who wants something slowly decaying on their shelf.
REWARD LEVEL THREE $75
DVD of Shaun of the Dead signed by Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost
REWARD LEVEL FOUR $54
Theatrical one sheet of The Mist signed by Academy Award winning director Frank Darabont. Signed in Silver ink on the left side.
REWARD LEVEL FIVE $53
Heavy weight theatrical one sheet of Silent Hill signed by the film's main villain and legendary actress Alice Krige. Signed in black ink.
REWARD LEVEL SIX $52
Theatrical one sheet of The Host signed by director Jong Boon Ho in 2007.
REWARD LEVEL SEVEN $51
DVD of Trainspotting (2 disc special edition) signed by Academy Award winning director Danny Boyle.
REWARD LEVEL EIGHT $50
DVD of 28 Days Later signed by Academy Award winning director Danny Boyle
REWARD LEVEL NINE $25
I'll list you as one of my backers in both books and personally call you to thank you for your donation. If you want I'll even record a custom Creature Feature Preacher voicemail greeting for you.
Thanks again. Exciting times. Thanks for being part of the journey with me.
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Here's a list of credentials for folks unfamiliar with my stuff.
Member-
I've been a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association for a number of years now. Greatest bunch of film lovers in the world.
PRINT AND ONLINE
The Highlights:
Cornerstone Magazine- flagship Christian counter culture periodical. I was a staff writer for over ten years. dozens of articles, interviews.
Twitch Film- Co-founder with several others of what has become the world’s largest world cinema website.
In addition to writing for Twitch, I've created The Stack V-Log and, recently, a home entertainment and film podcast whioch post to the site regularly.
Fangoria- Have appeared in both Fango print issues as well as maintaining Beyond The Pale: a blog about horror and spirituality on Fango online.
The Rest:
Countless other contributions to a variety of print and web based film publications over a period of twenty years.
BOOKS
Magill's Cinema Annual- Part of writing team since 2010 with more than 100 lengthy reviews published over six completed hardcover volumes. Currently working on seventh volume.
Hidden Horrors- author of essay on The Living and the Dead (2006). This book won the Rondo Award in 2014.
When the Lights Go Down- Lengthy interview by author Mark Eckel with me on the subject of horror and spirituality.
Satanic Panic: Pop Culture Paranoia in the 1980s-author of the chapter on Mike Warnke, a primary architect of Satanic hysteria that swapped America, invading nearly every aspect of American culture.
PUBLIC SPEAKING AND MISCELLANY
The Highlights:
Cornerstone Festival Imaginarium- co-founder of a film festival and discussion event that has outlasted the flagship Christian Arts and Music Fest that hosted it. I hosted dozens of screenings and programmed film content over thirteen years.
Confessions of a Creature Feature Preacher- This unique blend of personal anecdotes, film and audio clips and pop culture mobile mini museum has been presented at Cornerstone Festival, Logan Square Comfort Station and The Chicago Public Library.
The Rest:
Other speaking and teaching gigs have taken me to a variety of colleges in the US and Canada.
I’ve travelled throughout the United States speaking to countless groups of adults and kids on the importance of cultural openness and literacy.
Organizer
David Canfield
Organizer
Chicago, IL