100% FUNDED~!
about 3 years ago – Fri, Jun 25, 2021 at 07:16:48 AM

THANK YOU, EVERYONE!

- David

3 DAYS LEFT! 103% FUNDED! Stretch goals and Thank-yous
about 3 years ago – Fri, Jun 25, 2021 at 07:16:42 AM

In today's update:

• 103% funded, $61k+
• Add-ons still available
• What's the "Ernest Archive"?

WE DID IT! At just before 10pm ET last night, the Kickstarter campaign for "The Importance of Being Ernest" documentary reached its fundraising goal of $60,000. And we woke up this morning to discover that, even though we've reached $60k, folks are still showing up to donate to the cause:

As ever, a HUGE thank-you to the hundreds of backers on here who have pledged to make this film happen, and to everyone who has been posting, tweeting, and emailing to spread the word about the documentary. We are humbled and grateful for the amazing response this project has received!

But it's not over yet! We still have 3 days remaining in this campaign—plenty of time to pick up new supporters. There are a bunch of add-on rewards left, including: 

• A few signed copies of the IOBE biography book by Justin Lloyd
• Several of the Version 1 prints of Jim Varney as Sgt. Glory
• One of the "Jim Varney is Ernest" posters by Neil Fraser Graphics
• A few of the Kevin-John painted works

And there's the Ernest Archive...

A few eagle-eyed supporters noticed a reference to this in the description of the $500 reward tier—that's the pledge level that really starts enabling us to digitize more stuff. We didn't want to introduce stretch goals too early (especially if it looked like we wouldn't even reach $60k), but campaigns like ours often see a fundraising surge in the final few days. 

So yes! If we can reach $75k, everyone at the $15 level and above will receive BONUS Ernest content for no extra charge. There's some really interesting and cool stuff we've come across in our research to date, and we'd love to have yet another reason to share more of it with you!

- David

48 HOURS LEFT! 109% FUNDED! New add-on items: Vintage official Ernest prints
about 3 years ago – Fri, Jun 25, 2021 at 07:16:35 AM

New add-on items!

With LESS THAN 48 HOURS left in this campaign, we have compiled some last-minute goodies to encourage those final donations...

In this case, we've opened up the DeVault Vault once again—and now we're opening it up to you, too! 

Our new add-ons are OFFICIAL PRINTS from the original Ernest photo shoots, direct from Ernest photographer Jim DeVault. (Thanks yet again, Jim!) These prints are $50 each and are EXTREMELY LIMITED, with quantities of only one or two for each of the 18 Ernest images. Once they're gone, they're gone!

You can find images of our add-on items on the main Campaign page (scroll alllllll the way down to the bottom of the page) and add them to your new or existing pledge using the "manage pledge" feature. 

(UPDATE: We've also added the images to our reward photo album on the IOBE Facebook page.)

We'll see if there's anything else we might be able to dig up between now and Friday...

- David

7 DAYS LEFT! 87% FUNDED! New rewards and new (old) Ernest ads
about 3 years ago – Sat, Jun 19, 2021 at 10:48:03 PM

In today's update:

• Less than a week to go! 
• 87% funded, $52k+
• New rewards from Neil Fraser Graphics
• More new (old) Ernest ads

We have less than one week left in our campaign, and things are looking great! The celebration of Jim's birthday gave our campaign a great boost earlier in the week, and we are now less than $8000 away from our goal!

Helping push us further towards the goal is another great art donation! This one is from Neil Fraser, an artist you may remember from one of our earlier updates. Neil was kind enough to donate a limited run of ten 24" x 36" poster prints of his "Jim Varney is Ernest" artwork! 

These ten prints will be EXCLUSIVE to the the documentary fundraising campaign, and will not be available for purchase anywhere else... so get them before they're gone! You can add them to your existing pledge on the main Campaign page. Big thanks to both Neil and Aaron Cohen for making these great new add-on rewards happen! ❤️

As we move closer and closer to our deadline, we're continuing to make our way through the archives to find new things to share—especially Ernest ads. In addition to the above playlist, you can find (and share!) these classic spots via the videos page on our website, as well as on Twitter and on the IOBE Facebook page. 

Time is almost up! Thanks as always to everyone who's been sharing, supporting, and shouting about our project from the figurative rooftops (especially using our social assets)! Keep it up!

- David

New add-on items! Exclusive Ernest art by Kevin-John
about 3 years ago – Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 05:42:45 PM

We’ve got some terrific new add-on items! 

(As previously mentioned on our Jim Varney birthday live hangout...)

When we posted our IOBE teaser video last year, a talented Master Artist named Kevin-John reached out to the documentary team about a potential collaboration...

"Ernest / Jim Varney has influenced me, my art and my career since the early 80s, and I would love the opportunity to pay my respect and homage through my art."

Kevin-John has created art for some of the top IP holders in the world, including Lucasfilm, Disney, Marvel, Topps, NFL, NHL, and MLB, to name a few. And now, he's created several Ernest-inspired pieces exclusively for our documentary fundraiser!

These wonderful one-of-a-kind works of painted art are included in the add-on rewards for this campaign. To purchase them (and support the documentary), you can simply add them to your existing pledge on our main page. 

And be sure to check out all of Kevin-John’s work at https://www.kevin-john.com/ !