John Korty’s 1983 release “Twice Upon a Time” broke ground with new techniques in stop motion animation. Korty had found inspiration in The Committee before, using them prominently in his film “Funnyman” (1967). For “Twice Upon a Time”, he used Committee actors Hamilton Camp, Jim Cranna, Julie Payne, and Nancy Fish (and lots of other Bay Area improv talent) to bring the world of the Rushers of Din to life. Here’s John in conversation with director Phil Lord and Cinefamily’s Alex McDonald at a Cinefamily screening last year.

Jim Cranna’s weekly drop-in workshops kept the legacy of The Committee alive in San Francisco for over twenty five years. This Chronicle article from 2005 celebrates the man who inspired generations of improvisers.

A wider view of our setup for this weekend’s shoot with Jim Cranna at Stagewerx. Thanks especially to our Kickstarter backers for making this work possible. Pictured: Jamie Wright, Jim Cranna, and Peggy Peralta. Photo by Justin Chin.

“For those who like their theatre pure of social issues, I must say—FUCK YOU! buddy, theatre IS a social entity. It can dull the minds of the citizens, it can wipe out guilt, it can teach all to accept the Great Society and the Amaaaaarican way of life (just like the movies, Ma) or it can look to changing that society … and that’s political.” – Ronnie Davis, founder of The San Francisco Mime Troupe, May 1965.

Larry Hankin’s Academy Award-nominated short film Solly’s Diner (1980), which also features The Committee’s Roger Bowen and Ruth Silveira.

Check out this short clip of Committee PR man, activist and author of “Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television” Jerry Mander on The Committee and Lenny Bruce. Jerry helped them design their infamous War Toy of the Week ad, a reproduction of which we are offering to Kickstarter backers at the $125 level.

When we designed our Kickstarter campaign (which is live now, and which you can find here) we had a bit of a conundrum. We really wanted it to be in effect during the San Francisco Improv Festival, so we could show the trailer before shows and generate local support with an interested audience. But we also knew that we’d be pretty handicapped in promoting the project online, which is the lifeblood of a Kickstarter. For ten days in September, the SF Improv Fest is a more-than-full-time gig…!

So, we chose a longer campaign (45 days) than the usual Kickstarter project (30 days). What we gained was our ability to present it during the fest, get local audiences excited & talking about it, and still have 30 or so days left on the project at the end of the festival. The downside – less of a sense of urgency and the appearance of a somewhat slow start. But believe us, we’re happy where we are now, and now that the fest is wrapped up, we have the bandwidth to explore and utilize our network of contacts.

That being said, we know Saturday October 26th is going to come up fast. If you’ve already supported the documentary by backing the Kickstarter, THANK YOU so much – you’re ahead of the crowd!! As someone in the know early on, please keep spreading the excitement about the project to your friends by sharing it with your networks.