Brisbane brewer 4 Hearts Brewing Company has launched a campaign to support the funding of the Michael Jackson Beer Hunter Movie and encourages other beer lovers and breweries to do the same.

The project is nearly 50 per cent funded under the Kickstarter program, a new way to fund creative projects by crowdsourcing the funds from individuals with a common interest.

The director of the Beer Hunter movie is seeking US$30,000 to fininsh production of his movie on legendary beer writer, the late Michael Jackson, and ha so far raised more than US$13,000 towards that goal.

In pushing for others to support the project, 4 Hearts Brewing Company’s Wade Curtis spoke of the influence Michael Jackson had had on his career.

“Michael Jackson’s books inspired me to try new beers and source different beers long before many were even available in Australia,” he said.

“Michael was a brilliant ambassador for craft beer and it only seems fitting to honour his memory by helping to produce this move.”

“C’mon Australia get behind this project.”

A media release from the director is below, you can back the project with a minimum pledge of US$1 by going here.

Media Release

HELP SUPPORT THE BEER HUNTER MOVIE!

The first – and only – documentary film about Michael Jackson launches on Kickstarter.

Tuesday, January 4, 2012 – Several years in the making, the eagerly anticipated documentary film about Michael Jackson turns to Kickstarter, and the craft beer community, for help in finishing. Incorporating rare footage shot between 2004-2006, the film is an intimate tribute to the legendary British journalist and writer who championed the rise of craft brewing and distilling.

“I have over sixty hours of priceless footage of Michael that needs to be seen,” says Director J.R. Richards, “but we really need help to see us through the final stages. I also want to tell some of Michael’s story. There’s so much more to his career than many of his fans know.” To that end, the producers would like to gather current interviews from the world’s leading brewers, distillers, and writers talking about Michael’s history and his significant contributions towards craft brewing and distilling. According to J.R., “a film is the best way to actually bring people together, to raise a pint in honor of Michael. And Kickstarter seems the perfect platform for the craft brewing community to get involved directly in the success of this project.”

Kickstarter is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Backers are rewarded at various levels, and backers of the Beer Hunter movie will be entitled to limited edition DVDs, t-shirts, posters, and VIP tickets to premiers, but only if the funding goal is reached by January 29th.

Pledges raised through Kickstarter will go towards gathering current footage and help provide for soundtrack, post-production, distribution and captioning costs. “We have backers and supporters from over 20 countries already, and potential screenings lined up on every continent,” according to J.R. “This is very much a grass-roots, global effort. We’d also like to make a series from all the footage not used in the film, to be distributed as an open-source, online archive for fans of Michael, and craft beer, around the world.“ The producers are encouraging all screenings of the film to be fundraisers to benefit Parkinson’s research, and would like to hold annual events in Michael’s memory.

For more information on the campaign, see it on Kickstarter at http://tinyurl.com/6s54jl5.

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