The following is from Kickstarter:
Hello, my name is Augie Max Vargas. I’ve worked in the entertainment industry for the last 17 years of my life. I’ve had the honor of producing events for The Oscars, The Grammys, UFC, PlayStation, YouTube and I even earned my first Emmy nomination this year for the The Disney Park’s Magical Christmas Celebration special. I’ve been very fortunate and had a great career so far!
But before all the glitz and glamour the first television show I ever produced was for a small independent Professional Wrestling company based out of San Bernardino, California known as the Empire Wrestling Federation and their training school The School of Hard Knocks. As a long time Professional Wrestling fan I had attended a few EWF shows and then took a few of their training classes. After realizing I might not be cut out to be a Pro Wrestler I decided I could help them another way and asked to produce some of their shows.
The Empire Wrestling Federation and the School of Hard Knocks have been around for 21 years now and trained a dozen or so very recognizable faces in the Professional Wrestling industry including WWE‘s Rico, Melina, Kharma and TJ Perkins. Legendary Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling‘s mainstay Rocky Romero had his first match in an EWF ring. El Rey Network’s Lucha Underground stars Joey Ryan and Cortez (Ricky Reyes) as well as LU’s referee’s Marty Elias and Rick Knox. Respected workers like Ring of Honor Champion Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, “Cheerleader” Melissa and Candice LaRae have spent extended periods training at the School and wrestling on EWF shows. And for over 20 years it has stayed afloat due in part to the hard work of promoter and trainer Mr. Jesse Hernandez.
Jesse is a legend in the sport. He’s respected by his colleagues and students throughout the industry and has been a important part of the foundations of my career. A career that has taken me to places I never thought I would go.
After I had the opportunity to work on a recent project I was inspired to make my first film. I decided that I wanted to take it back to the beginning and tell the story of the first company to give me an opportunity to produce anything and all its successful alumni who have agreed to be interviewed without asking for a dime.
Where Will Your Money Go?
I’ve already shot a lot of footage but I still need to shoot more interviews and start editing the full film. Names like Christopher Daniels, Kia Stevens (Awesome Kong / Kharma), legendary magazine publisher Bill Apter, Bobby Bradley and Bill Anderson have all agreed to be interviewed. All we need is a paid crew and some time.
I need to pay for venues to shoot the additional interviews, video production gear & vehicle rentals for any interviews shot on the road. I have to pay my director of photography, makeup artist, and editor, plus food to feed them all plus AND I still need to be able to pay my own bills.
Some of the perks include an on-screen film credit, getting to watch the Behind-The-Scenes vlog, watching the completed film, a digital copy of the film as well as the opportunity to attend the Hollywood Premiere of the film. There’s even the chance to become a Producer on the film!
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