Completing this documentary and series has been a quest for me. An odyssey and a legacy that began with a conversation about Alaskan
Baseball between my Dad and me as we sat behind home plate at Mulcahy Stadiumin the summer of 1999. I still remember that hot summer so long ago, the smell of burning pine trees from a huge forest fire just north of Anchorage. We talked about how the American sports
media had really overlooked baseball in Alaska, and all the amazing talent that had come through the Alaska Baseball League. The list of talent that played at one time or another since the Pilots first took the field in 1969 was incredible: Mark McGwire, Randy Johnson, Mickey Hatcher, Suguru Egawa, Dan Boone, Randy Jones, Chris Chambliss, Dave Winfield, Tom Seaver, Bump Wills, Graig Nettles, and Rick Monday, to name a few.
So, in the summer of 2001 with a camera in hand, my one year old son, wife and I
set off to follow the Pilots around the State on what I thought then would be a
small short film on the history of the Glacier Pilots. This “small film” grew into the colossal story of the Champion 2001 Team with the inspiring personal stories of young baseball players and the last days of one of Alaska's greatest baseball coaches and personalities: Jack O'Toole. Jack's health was declining and had suffered a stroke and the Pilots asked me then to talk with Jack and record his tales about Pilots baseball. I knew of Jack as most Alaskans did, seeing him every year Coaching the Pilots, but I had never really met him before. As a kid growing-up in Anchorage, the Glacier Pilots were like the New York Yankees to me. My own Father's health was starting to decline at this time also, and I felt a kinsman ship to Jack's son, Patrick O'Toole, having also spent a greater part of our childhoods in the ball park, and both of our Dads were Coaches. So I spent some time with Jack and preserved some of his stories for the next Pilots fan. Those stories became the 1st documentary I did about the Glacier Pilots.
"Lefty & Jack" was released in 2004, a 49- minute documentary (available for purchase on DVD at www.glacierpilots.com) with then Pilot's Coaches: Jack O'Toole and Lefty Van Brunt, reminiscing about a lot of really funny and exciting moments of playing baseball in Alaska. The film met with great reviews.
On to the rest of the series! Problem was the next two films’ scopes are so large it really became too much for one person to do all alone, and, like most documentaries that you believe in, it was a labor of love. I wasn't able to tackle what became the huge, complex and fascinating story of the Glacier Pilots before my father passed away in 2011.
Now though, with your help, it is possible to get it done.
The funding of this project (through Kickstarter.com) will allow
me to finish the story, BUT it won't be just one film! With your support, this
project will also include a web series of the 2001 Pilots – premiering this
year, and a separate documentary on the History of the Pilots and a final
feature film documentary on the 2001 team for film festivals and project donors
(1st BASE LEVEL and higher).
The funding is key as this will make it possible for me buy music clearances, additional editing and post production services that this project deserves, along with paying for film festival fees and other promotional items. When this project is launched, word of mouth and friend promotion will be crucial to get the word out and network and raise awareness and urgency.
I hope you can help by donating and/or contacting your friends, the media -
including social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) - and news networks of associates and whoever else loves baseball and a great story!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1898797771/anchorage-glacier-pilots-legacy-project-3-films
and
www.glacierpilotslegacy.com
Baseball between my Dad and me as we sat behind home plate at Mulcahy Stadiumin the summer of 1999. I still remember that hot summer so long ago, the smell of burning pine trees from a huge forest fire just north of Anchorage. We talked about how the American sports
media had really overlooked baseball in Alaska, and all the amazing talent that had come through the Alaska Baseball League. The list of talent that played at one time or another since the Pilots first took the field in 1969 was incredible: Mark McGwire, Randy Johnson, Mickey Hatcher, Suguru Egawa, Dan Boone, Randy Jones, Chris Chambliss, Dave Winfield, Tom Seaver, Bump Wills, Graig Nettles, and Rick Monday, to name a few.
So, in the summer of 2001 with a camera in hand, my one year old son, wife and I
set off to follow the Pilots around the State on what I thought then would be a
small short film on the history of the Glacier Pilots. This “small film” grew into the colossal story of the Champion 2001 Team with the inspiring personal stories of young baseball players and the last days of one of Alaska's greatest baseball coaches and personalities: Jack O'Toole. Jack's health was declining and had suffered a stroke and the Pilots asked me then to talk with Jack and record his tales about Pilots baseball. I knew of Jack as most Alaskans did, seeing him every year Coaching the Pilots, but I had never really met him before. As a kid growing-up in Anchorage, the Glacier Pilots were like the New York Yankees to me. My own Father's health was starting to decline at this time also, and I felt a kinsman ship to Jack's son, Patrick O'Toole, having also spent a greater part of our childhoods in the ball park, and both of our Dads were Coaches. So I spent some time with Jack and preserved some of his stories for the next Pilots fan. Those stories became the 1st documentary I did about the Glacier Pilots.
"Lefty & Jack" was released in 2004, a 49- minute documentary (available for purchase on DVD at www.glacierpilots.com) with then Pilot's Coaches: Jack O'Toole and Lefty Van Brunt, reminiscing about a lot of really funny and exciting moments of playing baseball in Alaska. The film met with great reviews.
On to the rest of the series! Problem was the next two films’ scopes are so large it really became too much for one person to do all alone, and, like most documentaries that you believe in, it was a labor of love. I wasn't able to tackle what became the huge, complex and fascinating story of the Glacier Pilots before my father passed away in 2011.
Now though, with your help, it is possible to get it done.
The funding of this project (through Kickstarter.com) will allow
me to finish the story, BUT it won't be just one film! With your support, this
project will also include a web series of the 2001 Pilots – premiering this
year, and a separate documentary on the History of the Pilots and a final
feature film documentary on the 2001 team for film festivals and project donors
(1st BASE LEVEL and higher).
The funding is key as this will make it possible for me buy music clearances, additional editing and post production services that this project deserves, along with paying for film festival fees and other promotional items. When this project is launched, word of mouth and friend promotion will be crucial to get the word out and network and raise awareness and urgency.
I hope you can help by donating and/or contacting your friends, the media -
including social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) - and news networks of associates and whoever else loves baseball and a great story!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1898797771/anchorage-glacier-pilots-legacy-project-3-films
and
www.glacierpilotslegacy.com
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