"How come you need all this money???"

I imagine there are people who might sit back in their easy chair and think, "How come these fellas need all this money to make a piddly little documentary about an indoor soccer team here in Wichita? Can't they just slap together some old highlight films and call it good?"

No. No, we can't. If we wanted to string together some highlight films and call it a documentary, we'd throw it up on YouTube next week and be done with all this. What we are doing is making a movie that is indistinguishable from the kind of product you would see on an ESPN 30 for 30. We are following the same principles that Frank Carney and Bill Kentling pursued in the early 1980s with the Wings: prove that Wichita can compete with LA, NYC, Dallas, and Chicago. Go big or go home. We're going big.

In a sense, I can understand the reluctance that some people might have about the cost of this project, and contributing to it. "Send those guys to Europe?!? That sounds like a vacation!" If we could somehow avoid the cost of traveling to Europe and shooting all those great Wings, we'd do it. But that's not possible because there need to be people behind those cameras.

I didn't realize the costs involved in this kind of project until I started working with directors Kenny and Adam. Consider these points:

1. The camera package we use to shoot this film cost about $20,000. Much of that came out of the pocket of one of our crew members over the course of the last few years. I mean, we could use cheap stuff...but it would look cheap. Go big or go home.

2. We recently upgraded our sound. Out of his own pocket, a crew member bought a $1,000 wireless mic for our interviews. It sounds fantastic (for that much, I would sure hope so). Our production team rents it from him for each interview, to defray that cost.

3. For the book, I interviewed the lads over the phone. No one knew the difference. But you can bet your bottom dollar you would know the difference in a film. Do you really want to look at a Skype interview with Andy Chapman? No one does. The ladies want to see him in HD! And guess what...Chico Borja is in Florida. Chapman is in Detroit. Terry Nicholl is in Ohio. We have to go to them or they have to come to us. If we go to them, there need to be at least two of us to operate the cameras, monitor the audio, and conduct the interview. Either way, there will be plane tickets, hotel rooms, equipment rental, and car rental expenses. 

4. You want to see Mike Dowler, right? He's in Wales. How about Erik Rasmussen? When he's not in west Africa, he's in Denmark. 

5. You don't want to pursue an endeavor like this without forming an LLC, and one with multiple partners to boot. That means you need an operating agreement...which means you need an attorney. Even with discounted rates, "that's not nothing," as a friend of mine likes to say.

6. Do you just want a series of interviews (zzzzZZZZ) or do you want something innovative? We came up with a music video concept, complete with models dressed as Wings Angels. Even when we wing it, it's not cheap...ask Kenny about his redneck smoke machine. And those ladies don't work for free. But the film crew does. We don't get paid a dime unless this film makes money. At least we have some incentive to create a cool movie!

7. Also, do you know how much it costs to hire stormtroopers? Their overtime pay is through the roof...

When it comes down to it, we're going to make this film regardless of how much money we raise. It means a lot to all of us. We know it means a lot to the people of Wichita. But it also can mean something to people who never experienced it. A quick story: At our recent event at Aero Plains Brewing, one of our promo models, who was born too late to be a Wings fan, said to me, "I'm sad that I couldn't see it all happen when it did. I wish they were still here!" She was excited about a defunct indoor soccer team because the story is worth telling. We hope that sentiment catches hold when our documentary film is released. And if you are able, we hope you can help contribute to the cause!

www.gofundme.com/wingsmovie