Hit web series Steam Room Stories is heading to the big screen.
Amassing more than 47 million views on YouTube, Steam Room Stories has recently launched a campaign on Indiegogo to complete funding for the movie. In exchange for a wide variety of perks, fans can help make the movie become a reality by donating.
Visit https://igg.me/at/srsmovie/ to check out the campaign.
I caught up with writer/director JC Calciano and producer Nicholas Downs to talk about the movie, discuss the Indiegogo campaign, and find out what the secret to the show’s success is.
You recently launched an Indiegogo campaign for Steam Room Stories: The Movie. What’s the movie all about?
Nicholas: The movie takes our hit YouTube web series and really opens it up. It follows Sallie Faye an ageing cosmetics magnate who discovers the fountain of youth, which is actually hidden under, yep you guessed it, the Steam Room. The Steam Room guys need to do everything they can to save their gym and the Steam Room. It’s a full on comedy and holds nothing back.
Why did you decide to make the leap from YouTube to the silver screen?
N: JC and I have been talking about make a film version of the show for some time now. And the fans have been asking for it for just about as long. JC has had 3 hit films and making a Steam Room Stories movie really seemed like the right fit to be the 4th.
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Your Indiegogo campaign has been doing pretty well. Tell us why you decided to crowdfund the movie and what can people get for donating?
N: A good chunk of the budget is in place, the campaign was set up to get us some more funds in order to really do this film right. Such as add some name actors, especially for the Sallie Faye role and make sure that the scope of the film is met. People who donate can get things like the streaming versions of the SRS film, films from the past (Is It Just Me?/eCupid/The 10 Year Plan) compilations of current SRS episodes as well as visits to the set and special sexy behind the scenes footage.
JC: We even offer a special secret perk – the wardrobe (towel) from your favorite SRS guy!
What will happen if you don’t hit your goal of $40,000?
N: It will unfortunately not allow us to make the film the way it deserves to be made. And perhaps not at all, which would be so unfortunate as this film has so much potential.
Steam Room Stories is one of the longest-running web series. What’s the secret behind the show’s success?
N: I think the basic secret is being able to continually to put out new content. We release 2 episodes a month and although that takes a lot of work, if we didn’t continually release new episodes I think our fans would go elsewhere.
JC: The “secret” is the cast and crew. We have a blast filming them. All the guys really genuinely like each other. We all look forward to being together and making the fans laugh. People can tell if something is authentic or not, we love making Steam Room Stories and we guess it shows.
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Where did the original idea for the show come from?
N: I was JC’s lead actor in his first feature, Is It Just Me?, and we became great friends and decided that we wanted to find a way of working together again.
JC: We didn’t have the money or resources to do anything fancy but we knew we wanted to do something funny and sexy. What’s sexier than hot guys in skimpy towels, pumped up and sweaty? Where do guys hang out? The rest is history.
Have you been surprised by how successful the show has become?
N: It’s been a great amount of fun to work on this show and with all the Steam Room Stories guys, past and present. You never know what’s going to hit and not, this just seems to fill a niche that was missing and it’s really the fans that make this show such a success.
JC: Shocked! We had hoped it would put a smile on a few faces, but 47 million views? Steam Room Stories is popular worldwide. In fact, most of the fans come from outside the US. Believe it or not in territories like Saudi Arabia, Russia and many, many non gay friendly countries! We get fan mail from guys all the time who thank us for showing them inclusive side of being gay, or bi. We reach people who are afraid of being who they are or have no exposure to other LGBT people and we send out a very important message to all of them, “you’re awesome as you are and you’re totally accepted in the steam room”.
You’ve cast many hot guys on the show over the years. How would you describe the perfect Steam Room Stories guy?
N: Funny, charming, knows how to land a joke.
JC: Of course we enjoy sexy guys, but it’s more than that. It’s about being a great guy. Kind, sweet, generous, friendly, sweet and of course have a great sense of humor.
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Which celebrities would you like to get in the steam room and why?
N: Henry Cavill – Okay I’m biased, but I’m sure he could land a joke.
JC: That’s tough. I’d leave it up to the fans. We can ask in the comments and based on who they want, we’d try to get them. I think we’ve asked that question before and it seems Zac Efron usually wins.
Lastly, tell us why people should consider donating to the Indiegogo campaign.
N: It takes a village to really make something special and we are just a few people wearing multiple hats, so any support to get us across that line so we can continue to bring films and content to our fans is our main goal.
JC: Hollywood doesn’t make LGBT movies. Sadly the movies you see on TV are about gay men being persecuted, teased, sick or suffering. Think about it, when was the last gay movie you saw that two men were happy? Fell in love and just enjoyed life? Steam Room Stories: The Movie is about guys loving life, having a blast and being friends. They laugh, love and do crazy things.
Movies like this get made by fans and indie filmmakers. We need each other. Without filmmakers who want to create these products for the fans and fans who want to support filmmakers who make these movies, they just won’t exist. The LGBT community sadly needs to support itself because unfortunately no one will do it for us. Steam Room Stories: The Movie, we hope reaches a global audience. From Russia to the Middle East to the farm boy in Ohio, we hope to make everyone laugh, feel special, loved and give them the message that in the steam room, you’re just one of the bros.
Contribute to Steam Room Stories: The Movie on Indiegogo now by heading over to https://igg.me/at/srsmovie/
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