“Why fall in love with a broad you can trust? That’s like reading a book you already know the ending to.” – Mona Livingston -Kill Me, Deadly
On Criminal Minds, the dark CBS drama that my wife turned me onto, Kirsten Vangsness plays a campy, optimistic, brilliant computer nerd who is often asked to ferret information on serial killers. Joe Mantegna plays senior criminal profiler David Rossi, a man who looks into the eye of the abyss hoping that it does not look back.
Both of these actors spend a considerable amount of their days getting into character mindsets that examine the worst mankind has to offer, so in their off time, it’s only natural that they might want to slip into something a little lighter.
Like a hard-boiled noir mystery?
Kill Me, Deadly is a noir comedy movie that has become a passion for Vangsness. With half of the film completed, she and the rest of the cast have launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the closing act of the movie.
The plot focuses around a clueless detective hunting for a cursed (Is there any other kind?) diamond. The detective, played by Dean Lemont, fumbles his way through the case, running afoul of both the mob and the cops. He falls like a ton of bricks for femme fatale Mona Livingston, played by Vangsness.
In the finest smartass tradition of noir comedies, there are more similes and metaphors than there are working girls at Fleet Week, and the writer’s tongue is firmly placed in his cheek. As an author who made his bones on wise-cracking detectives, I can appreciate this!
With a goal of $200,000 they have a lot of distance to cover, but with big television names as well as a story in this month’s Variety, they stand a decent chance of raising the cash. The pledge levels start out modestly with the” Private Dick,” “Tough Guy” and “Gangster Mol” levels of $5, $10, and $15 respectively. The upper tier for pledges reaches all the way into the rarified air of “The Club House” and “The High Pillow,” with pledges of $5000 and $10000 or more.
For this kind of cash, angels can expect to receive a little bit of the action. For the lower levels, you can see your name on the film’s official web site, (small print) download the soundtrack, or a PDF of fashion tips from Kirsten Vangsness.
For more significant pledges, you can have Joe Mantegna and Kirsten Vangsness follow you on Twitter, Skype with the stars, have Vangsness compose a song or short story for you, or you can even challenge Vangsness to an old-time Indian Leg Wrestling match!
If you choose to make it rain money on the production, then the rewards are impressive. You can have a KMD (Kill Me, Deadly) party with Vangsness flying out to sing a number from the movie and rub shoulders with your guests.
Higher rewards are you and four guests flying out to meet the cast and enjoying game night with them, and the highest pledge level gets you lunch with Kristen and a private tour of the set of Criminal MInds. You’ll also get to tour the set of KMD (still Kill Me, Deadly) to see them shoot a scene, have lunch, and even go to the premier of KMD (you guessed it!).
Kill Me, Deadly is clearly a passion project for Vangsness and it shows. The entire cast has a blast discussing the project and is willing to go the extra mile to see it through. And from what I’ve heard about Hollywood, that ain’t nothing to sneeze at!
