Happy Birthday, Jim Varney!
about 3 years ago – Tue, Jun 15, 2021 at 12:25:37 PM

In today's update:

• 67% funded, $40k+
• #HappyBirthdayJimVarney
• IOBE interview on WKRN
• Live hangout on Zoom tonight!
• How YOU can help the IOBE fundraiser

What a day, Ernest P. World! We're celebrating the birthday of the man himself, Jim Varney, who would have turned 72 years old today. And clearly the internet knows it, because we're also seeing one of the highest single-day fundraising totals since our campaign began!

Part of this progress can also be attributed to a news article published earlier today. Last week, Justin and I talked to Sebastian Posey of WKRN in Nashville, who composed a wonderfully written tribute to Ernest and Jim and his ties to the city. We had a great time talking for over an hour about Jim's life, the origins and legacy of Ernest, and everything in between...

"Varney brought a charm to the character that was all his own. He was a man who loved Shakespeare and studied Vaudeville. A man who never met a stranger. There was benevolence to Ernest. A twang of southern charm, but never at the expense of the region Varney called home. He was equal parts folksy and farcical – like Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp, by way of Mark Twain."

Thanks, Sebastian! You can read the entire piece here: https://www.wkrn.com/news/ernest-legacy-of-jim-varney/

Meanwhile, we've been prepping for our LIVE hangout tonight on Zoom—our own way of commemorating Jim Varney's birthday! You'll be able to join the event at the following link, which will go live just prior to the start time of 7pm ET / 6pm CT: https://www.beingernestfilm.com/live/

In the meantime, we are calling on all backers, supporters, and fans to continue spreading the word and sharing our campaign with as many people as possible. We'll be posting a few more goodies today in honor of Jim's birthday using the #HappyBirthdayJimVarney hashtag. 

More than that, you can find an email template, countdown images, and other helpful links at the Social Assets page on our website. It seems as though we've just about reached the entire Ernest P. World with our campaign, so now is the time to start thinking outside the box!

Who are some people, blogs, news outlets, etc. who may not know about the documentary, but would definitely be interested in seeing it happen? Those are the folks to contact now. Let's make it happen!

- David

Commemorate Jim Varney's 72nd Birthday With the Producers of IOBE!
about 3 years ago – Mon, Jun 14, 2021 at 08:35:55 PM

SURPRISE! #HappyBirthdayJimVarney

You're invited to a Zoom Hangout with the Producers of The Importance of Being Ernest in honor of (what would be) Jim Varney's 72nd birthday! 

We are hosting the Zoom chat on Tuesday, June 15th at 7pm ET/6pm CT.

The producers will chat more about the film and reveal a couple of exciting updates.

We will share the Zoom link shortly before the hangout starts. We hope you can join us!

Sincerely,

The IOBE Team

Happy Ernest Day 2021!
about 3 years ago – Sat, Jun 12, 2021 at 11:07:44 AM

In today's update:

• 60% funded, $39k+
• Reward images
• Ernest in pop culture
• An IOBE Ernest Day announcement

Happy Ernest Day, everyone! We woke today to find ourselves at 60% of our fundraising goal, having raised just shy of $40k so far. 

It's been a big week for Ernest- and IOBE-related visuals! First off, we FINALLY have images of all of the current reward tiers, so that you can get a better idea of what each pledge and add-on actually looks like. It speaks to the passion of the Ernest fanbase that many of the "Vintage Sgt. Glory prints" are already gone when I didn't even have a chance to post photos of them yet! 

You can see all of these reward images on the main Campaign page. 

In addition to images that we made, there are also some works of Ernest fan art worth checking out—including this "Ernest is Worthy" image by @allenolantern, made by remixing the Sprite images from the DeVault Vault:

And this incredible work of Ernest art by Neil Fraser Graphics, a private commission by—who else?—a group of Ernest fans: 

It feels as though Ernest's presence in pop culture comes more and more to the forefront every day. Nowhere was this more obvious this week than when everyone's favorite Worrell showed up in a monologue on "The Late Show": 

We also got an official reply from Sprite on our Ernest "Gator Pit" ad post, expressing a sentiment no one can argue with:

This isn't even everything that happened this week (more updates coming shortly)! But all in all, it's an incredibly exciting time for our campaign and for Ernest fans in general... and what better way to wrap up the week than with the 5th annual Ernest Day celebration in TN?

Oh right, our IOBE Ernest Day announcement that I mentioned above...

I'm happy to announce that the IOBE documentary team is planning to attend Ernest Day 2022—perfect timing, since it will also mark the 35th anniversary of Ernest Goes to Camp! We want to record all of the activities, meet and interview fans, and just generally capture the ways in which the organizers and attendees have been celebrating both Ernest and Jim Varney for the past five years. 

Whew, that's a lot! Keep sharing the links to our campaign, and have a great Ernest Day, everyone!

- David

The #IOBE Kickstarter passes the halfway mark!!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Jun 09, 2021 at 08:01:34 PM

In today's update: 

• 54% funded, $32k+
• Email outreach and social assets
• Those two radio interview links
• Ernest Day in TN this Saturday! 

Well, folks... after hovering just shy of $30k for what seemed like forever, we finally passed the 50% mark (and then some)!

We would not have made it this far without the help of the entire Ernest P. World! So many fans and followers have reached out over the last few weeks; asking to help share the fundraiser, send emails, post about it online, and all kinds of other offers of support. A continued thank-you to EVERYONE who has backed this campaign or reached out to the documentary team. We are incredibly grateful. 

For those of you now saying "hey, I can help, too..." Fear not! We've added this hidden page to our website to make this even easier. Head over to https://www.beingernestfilm.com/social-assets/ 

You'll find a customizable email template that includes all of our relevant links, as well as high-res versions of every IOBE branded image we've posted so far. We'll also be including the latest of our daily "progress banner" images, which are perfectly formatted for you to use as a header image on social media.

Meanwhile, the two radio interviews we mentioned earlier are finally available to stream online! You can find them here: 

•  Justin talks to Dustin Wilmes on KMSU 89.7 FM-Mankato / KMSK 91.3 FM-Austin in Minnesota (original airdate: Monday 6/7/21)
•  Justin talks to "Lexington’s Morning News With Jack Pattie" (original airdate: Monday 6/7/21 at 9:05am)

And finally, a reminder that the 5th annual Ernest Day event is this Saturday 6/12 at Montgomery Bell State Park in Burns, TN! Justin, Valerie and I won't be able to make it this year, but our own Daniel Butler will be in attendance... PLUS, we'll have a short video presentation with an update about the documentary production! 

I've posted the Ernest Day details and schedule below. Have a great time, everyone!

- David

Ernest Goes to Camp was filmed at Montgomery Bell State Park.  Come celebrate the genius that is Ernest on June 12,  2021.

We will have a day of fun activities planned, so come join us!

From 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. we will be having:

Birds of Prey Program with Ranger Tim

Archery provided by TWRA

Free temporary tattoos and stickers, while supplies last. (Facepainting and crafts cancelled due to COVID-19)

......and don't forget Turtle Catapulting!
 *****(no turtles are harmed at this event!)*****

Nature Hikes will be available: (subject to change)

2 p.m.- 3 p.m.,
3:30 pm. - 4: 30 p.m.
5 p.m. - 6 p.m.

The Ernest Look Alike Contest is at 7 p.m.

7:30 p.m. Questions and Answer Session with actors from the Ernest Franchise! Eddy Shumacher (Counselor Stennis), Todd Lloyd (Chip Ozgood) and Daniel Butler (Eddy). (guest speakers subject to change)

Approximately  8:30 p.m. Ernest Goes To Camp Movie will be shown outside at the film's location!  Bring a blanket or chair and make yourself comfortable and watch the movie under the stars.

So come see us, #KnoWhatIMean?

The Event is free, however donations are always accepted!

Sprite, Vern!
about 3 years ago – Mon, Jun 07, 2021 at 11:00:38 AM

"Grapes are out, and Lymons are in... KnoWhutImean?"

Ernest pitched for a lot of products and brands... many of which no longer exist. But part of our publicity plan has been to search through the unseen Ernest content and find the brands that do still exist! (We tagged Sprite in our posts on Facebook and Twitter, if you'd like to share or retweet those.)

One Ernest-pitched product that's still around is the soft drink Sprite. Here's a commercial we digitized and upscaled recently—even though this hasn't been seen since the '80s, the dialogue and gag will be very familiar to Ernest fans. 

We also found a ton of Ernest & Sprite promo photos while digging through—what else?—the DeVault Vault. 

You could make the argument that Mello Yello is the soft drink more commonly associated with Ernest, but I think it makes sense that so much Sprite content exists. Sprite is a much more established brand, predating Mello Yello by nearly two decades. 

I almost wonder whether the Mello Yello promotion was a kind of proof of concept for The Coca-Cola Company, to see what Ernest could do for one of their not-as-well-known products. 

- David