Matt Riddlehoover knows a thing or two about making a movie. His “Scenes from a Gay Marriage,” available Nov. 27 on DVD/VOD exclusively at TLAvideo.com, has been called “witty,” “winning,” “clever” and “like a gay-themed ‘Manhattan Murder Mystery’ minus the murder.”

His as-yet-untitled next film is a comedy, but it also deals with many serious issues. And “many” may not be quite strong enough. Throughout the film, the characters deal with civil rights, hereditary illness, addiction, bullying, family dysfunction, unwanted pregnancies, living in a bilingual home, religion, love, and just in case that wasn’t enough, there’s a power outage.

“Timing is crucial,” Riddlehoover said. “In one scene, there's a heated argument, but it's also meant to be quite funny, and then something that would normally be really devastating happens. For me, the trick is to keep the story moving. A movie, like life itself, is too short to dwell on tragedies.”

Tragedies such as, movies being super expensive to make? “So much goes into making a movie, truly,” Riddlehoover said. “Location fees, set decoration, equipment rentals … it all adds up very quickly.”

So for this next film, Riddlehoover is taking it to the streets. He’s doing an Indiegogo campaign (an online fan-funding platform similar to Kickstarter) and asking people to help him get things off the ground. “I’ve had folks write in regards to ‘Scenes from a Gay Marriage,’ saying if they’d known about the production in advance they would have helped us out.”

Riddlehoover’s $25,000 goal is ambitious, but if it is reached, “We will definitely be able to move into post production much more quickly and get through things much more smoothly.”

Riddlehoover has until Nov. 9 to his his goal, and he’s already making steady progress. Funders of his project have left comments on the page bemoaning their inability to give more to the project and asserting the importance of supporting independent filmmaking.

In addition to supporting the project, funders can also receive a variety of rewards from being thanked in the credits to signed DVDs or even a free trip to the set location of the funder’s choice and a chance to meet the cast and watch the camera roll.

Watching Riddlehoover’s Indiegogo video, it’s clear they will be able to keep the mood of the movie light. Actor Jared Allman, with a part in the new film and in “Scenes from a Gay Marriage,” says this next film is a “cast of friends.”
Actor Devin Walls, also in “Scenes from a Gay Marriage,” had nothing but great things to say about the friendly vibe that Riddlehoover creates. “I loved working with Matt and the rest of the crew. So much so that I stayed on set for almost the entire shoot, even though my part was filmed in a day.”

Walls is local to Nashville and if you send him an email asking about the film scene in Nashville, he will write you an enthusiastic novel that you will have to abridge for print, even though you love how enamored he is with the town.

“The film scene here is incredible. There’s a lot of high-profile talent coming to town to make films.” He cites Park Chan Wook bringing in Nicole Kidman as an example, as well as Harmony Korine and Josh Danger’s Giantkiller Productions. Additionally, several scenes from Riddlehoover’s film will be shot in our very own Murfreesboro.

Shooting for Riddlehoover’s next film will begin next Spring, and after post-production will hit festivals worldwide before its DVD/VOD release. If you’d like to help an exciting, funny project get going and support the film scene here in Nashville, you can make a contribution at www.indiegogo.com/untitled-matt-riddlehoover-project.