Every once in a while I dip my toes into prose and this Kickstarter project caught my eye, dealing with noir and femme fatale’s a genre I love to read. Original Sins: Trade Secrets of the Femme Fatale is a tongue-in-cheek non-fiction book that draws from characters fictional and historical, serious and tabloid written by Kim Krizan, writer of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. But, there’s a comic book connection here, Krizan also wrote the critically-acclaimed comic book, Zombie Tales: 2061, published by BOOM! Studios.
Kickstarter is a crowd-funding website where individuals pledge money towards projects, and in return might receive something for their pledge (for example a comic book, dvd or in this case a book). Those trying to get a project funded set goals which have to be reached, or no money is received. Krizan’s debut non-fiction book is being offered directly to fans worldwide in exchange for pledges of support. If Krizan raises $10,000, the book will be published and those pledging $25 or more will receive a hard copy.
Kirzan said this as to why she is using Kickstarter:
In Hollywood, a writer is either handing off ideas to a studio or writing spec scripts that rely on some business person to fund. The Hollywood writer is always waiting and at every turn, her work is in the hands of middle men. With Kickstarter, I can go to fans directly and they alone get to decide whether my project goes out in the world.
Original Sins: Trade Secrets of the Femme Fatale was inspired by Krizan’s long-time fascination with femme fatales, femme fatale films, and her experiences as a woman and a Hollywood writer. It asks timeless questions: “What does a woman wear when she kills her husband?” “What does a woman drive when she gets out of Sh*tsville?” and “How does a woman get revenge on society en masse?” It’s sprinkled with examples from real-life history and is a mash-up of profane, profound, and perverse observations on female power.
To receive a copy of Original Sins: Trade Secrets of the Femme Fatale, Krizan has devised twelve pledge levels, allowing the potential reader to purchase the book in print or digitally, and to receive an array of bonus gifts. Her final pledge level allows the fan to have the unique experience of meeting Krizan at Los Angeles’ famous Union Station to live out their own Before Sunrise experience by walking and talking into the evening.
You might also know Krizan from her role as hip high school teacher Ginny Stroud in Dazed and Confused, who mouths the Fourth of July’s perennially favorite line, “Hey guys, one more thing, hey, this summer when you’re being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth of July brouhaha, don’t forget what you’re celebrating and that’s the fact a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, rich white males didn’t want to pay their taxes.”
You can chip in now and help get this funded.
Best Pledge: $25, $35 or $50 for which you’ll receive various forms of the book.
