Welcome to this installment of For The Love Of, a periodic interview series about everything we geek out about. Joining me in this episode is Manu Intiraymi to talk about his film project, The Circuit.
We begin, as usual, with background introduction. Manu spent his early years traveling the world with his parents. After graduating High School he moved to LA to begin working as an actor. His most well known role is Icheb from Star Trek Voyager and most recently he portrayed Billy on the final season of One Tree Hill. Aside from acting Manu is working production for TV and Movie projects.
I ask about what it is like to branch out into production and writing after spending so much time as an actor. Manu reflects on the people who got him started as an actor. As he grew as an actor he wanted more control over his career. He followed the example of many prominent actors and began his own production company. As a producer and an actor he can exercise that control over his career and create the art he wants to create instead of taking smaller roles in someone else’s vision.
Now to the heart of the matter, The Circuit. The Circuit is a crowd funded/crowd sourced anthology film inspired by many years of experience in the convention circuit. He began attending conventions after his experience on Star Trek Voyager. In the following twelve years attending conventions he traveled the world, met many influential people, and listened to all manner of stories. The film will feature ten stories, ten directors, and ten genres taking place over a Mega pop culture convention weekend. The cast is an A list billing built from the many connections he made on the convention circuit.
One of The Circuit’s biggest distinctions is its fan involvement. Five of the ten stories being told will be taken from fan submissions. Story submissions can be done on The Circuit website. The Circuit is also running a Kickstarter campaign offering production internships as perks.
There are many challenges in producing a project like this, the first being marketing and gaining interest. In the current Hollywood environment getting an original concept made takes a lot of effort. In the past all a producer needed was a concept, a script, and a passion. Now a producer needs more to show potential supporters. proof of concept, test footage, and money invested. Marketing is another challenge for production. The goal of The Circuit is to be one of the biggest fan collaborative productions to date. That goal will fail if the fans don’t know about the project.
The Circuit’s Kickstarter campaign started on the 20th of September and, as of this article’s publishing, has earned over $30K with 20 days remaining in the campaign. Crowdfunding preparation is no simple matter. Prior to launch the campaign must be marketed, adds filmed, and perks chosen. To this end Manu and company hired a PR firm and began recruiting actors to promote the project and keep the contributors and fans involved.
Fans who want to contribute to the film can submit screenplays and stories via The Circuit’s site. Submissions must be 1 to 20 pages in length and take place during a convention weekend. Further, fans who submit a letter or resume may be considered for an internship for one episode of the film in one of the production departments.
The Circuit is very active on social media including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram.
In addition to The Circuit Manu has sever projects being released this year including the animated comedy film Unbeleiveable, Sci Fi Thriller 5th Passenger, The Green Fairy, and Promises. Manu suggests visiting his IMDB to see the full list of his upcoming projects.
For more information about The Circuit visit their website, contribute to their Kickstarter, and follow them on Social Media, follow them and share their updates. Help spread the word and get this film made!
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