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LaVoy: Dead Man Talking Kickstarter Campaign - How to Help...

• Center for Self Governance - Kickstarter

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Telling the Impossible Story

LaVoy: Dead Man Talking will draw you into the tale of a dreamy life and epic death of one of the last Wild West American cowboys—LaVoy Finicum. Regardless of which political side you fall on, his story is so compelling, tragic, and iconic that we found ourselves constrained to add this bio-documentary about his journey to our Governed V Governing series.  

A Simple Cowboy

A Simple Cowboy

The raw nature of this film is the deep desire to strike a balance between learning from and educating about these real life stories, while neither vilifying nor vindicating LaVoy's decisions and actions leading up to his death. And while his freedom of conscience is deeply sacred, both the LaVoy Finicum family and the film's producers recognize and understand that to neglect the study of political strategy would be a travesty to future preservation of life, liberty, and property.

LaVoy's Memorial, Highway 395

LaVoy's Memorial, Highway 395

This story needs to be told in its entirety, void of misrepresentations. The outcome will inspire more of today's culture to ask hard questions of itself with the intent to seek difficult-to-find answers. This Cowboy's story will stir within the soul of each viewer a need to embark on the challenging endeavor to discover the delicate line that separates preserving and losing life, liberty, and property.

This Story Is Not About Cows!

The iconic Wild West, cows & cowboys way of life are giving way to the 21st century. Putting that into perspective, 99% of the current American public doesn't own a cow, let alone heard of or know what "grazing rights" are. In a world of city life and virtual existence, it is difficult to empathize with the mosaic of an open range, spotted with cows, a cowboy and his dog, moving the herd, day to day, from sunup to sundown.  

On April 12, 2014 a group of cowboys and non-cowboys, a few armed and the vast majority not, at the behest of a ranching family—the Bundys—came face-to-face with heavily armed federal agents on a patch of desolate dried up river wash in Northwestern Nevada. It was EPIC—we were there and filmed it!

Surprisingly and profoundly life, liberty, and property were preserved that day. No one died, no one went to prison, and the Bundy cows (their property) were returned. The story was so epic that to this day we use it in our Applied Civics classes and we made it into Part I – The Bundy Standoff of our Governed V Governing documentary series. One of the cowboys there that day was LaVoy Finicum. Little did he (or we, for that matter) know that his standing with the Bundys (2014) was the beginning and his going to Oregon (2016) would be the ending of a profound life's journey.

It Matters How You Stand

LaVoy said, "I'm just a redneck doing the right thing… was never one to poke people in the eye or cause trouble. I always stood in line, rose my hand, and never had a parking violation." LaVoy definitely does not fit the description of 'loose cannon' or 'hothead'. Interviews with his family and footage from his own homemade videos bear witness that he was more family man and ranching cowboy, than closet criminal.

The LaVoy Finicum family

The LaVoy Finicum family

So what changed in LaVoy's life, why did he go to the 2014 Bundy Standoff? Why did he go to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in 2016, and on his way to a meeting in John Day ended up stepping out of his truck into a hail of bullets? In answering these questions we review his personal footage, interview his family and those associated with him in Oregon to discover the motivations, frustrations, and resolve that prompted his fateful decisions.

LaVoy Speaking to the Press

LaVoy Speaking to the Press

You will be shocked by his own words and actions when compared to the picture painted by the media and cemented into the collective memory of the American mind. Our film gives LaVoy Finicum the opportunity he never got—to tell, in his own words, how he came to his final decision on January 26, 2016.

The Final Verdict

Everyone who was there with LaVoy on that fateful day, was acquitted in an Oregon Federal Court. This film gives the dead man his day in court, and you are the jury—hearing his side for the first time.  

This film is momentous and historic. With your help, together we can continue LaVoy's mission of educating the American people, help correct the distorted image of the Finicum family's husband and father, cultivate new alternative media, and promote positive change in the destiny of our communities.

We hope you will join us in this endeavor.

Meet The Team 

Thara & her dad

Thara & her dad

Liaison & Consultant. Thara is the oldest daughter of LaVoy Finicum. She lives in western Utah with her husband Tom and four rambunctious boys. She acts as liaison on behalf of the Finicum family, researches and locates audio & video recordings of her father, and provides invaluable input and direction into this project.

Vitaliy Maksimov

Vitaliy Maksimov

Crowd-funding Consultant. Vitaliy lives with his family in Eastern Washington. He brings his previous experiences with crowdfunding to the team. He has provided the team with invaluable consultation and direction.

Jeremiah Lofthus

Jeremiah Lofthus

Director. Jeremiah lives with his amazing family in Northeastern Washington. His passion is filmmaking. He has been learning the art since he was a young teenager. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Digital Film with an emphasis in Production, a Master's Degree in Strategic Communication, and is certified by RED Digital Cinema.

Mark Herr

Mark Herr

Producer. Mark lives with his amazing wife, beautiful daughter, and four fabulous step-children in north eastern Washington. While he never dreamed of doing this project, he feels compelled to tell this very challenging story and use it to change the destiny of the country. He is president, co-founder and applied civics instructor for Center for Self Governance for over 5 years. He has a masters degree in business administration and is a retired Air Force veteran.

How You Can Help - Join Our Team!   

1. Back the Project: Kickstarter is all or nothing – if we don't make our goal, we get nothing. Your support is tax-deductible (we are non-profit).

2. Spread the Word: Even if you can't donate, sharing the link with your family and friends does a world of difference in getting more people to contribute.   Let them know their support is tax-deuctible.

3. Follow Us Online: Be sure to check out our Facebook, Twitter, and official website for more information including behind the scenes photos, clips, and anecdotes!  

4. Connect With Us: If you have any questions (or would like to contact us for press), send us an email at info@tncsg.org

Risks and challenges

We have never done something this big before. However, this isn't our first time making media. We want to grow from here by continuing to learn and gain experience.

Unforeseen events in the film making process that are out of our control can happen. As independent film makers we are not backed by a multi-million dollar studio, we are attempting to achieve the highest quality possible and at the same time keeping costs managed.

We have acquired and shot a significant portion of this project. We are well on our way to completing this project, however need the funds to push through to completion and cover post-production.

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