Can You Help Scout Make A Movie?

On November 8, Scouting NY celebrated its fourth birthday – Hooray!! To date, that’s over 550 posts and nearly 10,000 pictures highlighting the beautiful, strange, and overlooked places I come across in my travels as a movie location scout in New York City.

So here is my once-a-year movie fund-raising request to you, the constant reader:

If you’re a fan of Scouting NY and have enjoyed my work over the past year, would you please please consider making a donation to my film fund?

Goal: $30,000

Raised so far: $24,364.69

Readers Who
Donated: 1,137

I love writing Scouting NY, but my true passion is filmmaking, and I’ve been planning my first feature film just as long as I’ve been doing the site. There have been a few bumps in the road, but if everything goes right, 2013 should be the year I finally get behind the camera to make a very fun, very scary movie.

This year, I’ve made a new Thank-You gift to give back to readers who donate: a professionally-printed bumper sticker/magnet with the most important advice Scouting NY has to offer:

The background image is a wonderful 1940s vintage subway map I found on eBay. I’ve printed both sticker and magnet versions, each measuring 12″ wide x 3.5″ tall.

So here’s how it works: donate $15 or more and you’ll receive the STICKER version as a thank-you gift; donate $20 or more and you’ll receive the MAGNET version instead as a thank-you gift! (non-US readers, see below). 

Just consider the many uses for a totally hip Scouting NY bumper sticker/magnet! Affix it to your car, and surprise passing motorists with a message that doesn’t cause politically-charged car collisions!

Slap it on the fridge and use it to support any number of overdue bills, embarrassing photographs, and junk mail you forget why you hung up in the first place.

Skip those garish clip-on laptop covers and spruce up your computer in style!

Disappointed you got stuck with an NYPD Interceptor III scooter instead of an actual cruiser? Show ’em who’s boss with a Scouting NY sticker!

Driving a taxi? Impress tourists with – er, OK, maybe you shouldn’t have a bumper sticker heralding the fun of getting lost if you’re a taxi driver.

But those boring grey-logoed S-trains could always use a burst of color…

The stickers are very adhesive and will attach to most surfaces, including marble staircase railings:

They’re also super durable – the test magnet on my car survived both Hurricane Sandy AND the snowstorm that followed a few days later.

And is there a better Christmas or Hanukkah gift for that special Scouting NY reader in your life?

Again, here’s how it breaks down:

Donate at least $15 – Scouting NY Bumper Sticker

Donate $20 or more – Scouting NY Bumper Magnet (or a sticker, your choice)

To date, 815 readers have donated anywhere from $1 – $500, the average being $20, and every penny has been locked away in a special “Film Fund” savings account. As I’ve said many times before, this is not the tip jar at the pizza parlor. This is my dream project, and I’m putting everything into it.

Since last November, I’ve covered pretty much everything, including my Titanic Guide To New York City, an abandoned cold war missile base hidden in the Adirondacks, a derelict hospital on Ellis Island, the movie locations of Annie Hall, and dozens more. Scouting NY has been and will always be a labor of love to the city I call home. I look forward to another year of unexpected treasures and mysterious surprises.

-SCOUT

PS – What is the movie about? What, you haven’t figured it out yet? There are a couple of links on this very page that will give you some clues – look carefully!

PPS –

ATTENTION NON-US READERS!!!

This is my first time attempting to send out donation gifts abroad. Here’s how it works:

• Canadian readers: donate at least $17 USD and receive a sticker; donate $22 USD or more and receive the magnet!

• European readers: donate at least $20 USD or more and receive a sticker; donate $25 USD or more and receive the magnet!

• All other foreign readers: go to the US Post Office website here, enter your country, select Large Envelope, and enter “5 ounces” for the weight. Click NEXT, then CONTINUE through the next screen without selecting anything. On the Pricing page that comes up, click FIRST CLASS MAIL INTERNATIONAL OPTIONS, and add the amount onto the US prices posted above. So, if you want a sticker and it costs $4.89 USD for mailing, make a donation of at least 19.89 USD. If you want a magnet, donate at least $29.89 USD.

PPPS – Why not a Kickstarter campaign? It’s too early. As I get closer to filming, when all the details are in and the final budget is calculated, I might turn to Kickstarter to fill in the gap, but for the moment, I don’t see a reason to put a time limit on an on-going project.