Sons & Daughters of Thunder

You can Contribute to an Important Harriet Beecher Stowe Film Project

The end of the year is near, but there is still time to make a tax-deductible contribution toward the completion of Sons & Daughters of Thunder.  Thunder tells the unknown story of Harriet Beecher Stowe's awakening during the Lane Seminary anti-slavery debates in Ohio in 1834.

www.LaneRebelsMovie.com

Tax-deductible contributions can be made via our fiscal sponsor the Shell Rock Historical Society.  Make our your check payable to "Shell Rock Historical Society-Thunder Film" and mail it to:

Fourth Wall Films
P.O. Box 702
Moline, IL 61265

We forward your check to the historical society along with a request for reimbursement.  The society will forward a receipt for your contribution by mail.

View a teaser for the film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S15-ZiqODbI

Non tax-deductible contributions can be made directly to Fourth Wall Films via check to the above address.  We can also forward a PayPal invoice via email if you wish to make a non tax-deductible via your credit card.

Please email FourthWallFilms@aol.com to request a PayPal invoice.

Visit our blogsite for more information on the film and how to contribute: http://docublogger.typepad.com/thunder/how-to-contribute.html

Thank you in advance for your support.  Your contributions will help make this important civil rights and free speech docudrama a reality.

We wish you a very happy holiday season!

Kind regards,

Kelly & Tammy Rundle

"Sons & Daughters of Thunder" 2011 Update

Kelly Rundle with Martha Good from the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati.

An Update from Filmmakers Kelly & Tammy Rundle

It has been a wonderfully productive year for the new docudrama film project Sons & Daughters of Thunder! 

The screenplay, based on the critically-acclaimed play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter, went through several revisions and was completed in July.  

In August, a private read-through of the script was hosted by the Curtainbox Theatre Company in Davenport, Iowa.  Producers Kent and Earlene Hawley attended the event.  The film project came to life when eighteen professional actors read the characters' lines aloud.  Earlene, who sat in the circle with the performers, found the experience extremely moving.

We kicked off the first phase of production in late September in Cincinnati, Ohio, capturing footage of Harriet Beecher Stowe's home and what would have been Lane Seminary grounds.  We are grateful to Martha Good, President of the Friends of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, for all of her assistance and support on the project.  And, our appreciation the Ohio Historical Society for allowing us to film at the Beecher home.

In addition to filming Ohio landscapes and historic sites, we shot footage of James Thome's family plantation in Augusta, Kentucky.  Thome is a key character in the film.  Thank you to Christopher Desimio for making us aware of this significant historic site.  Chris also saw to it that our production work at the Beecher home made the 6 o'clock news in Cincinnati!

Tammy and Kelly Rundle at Whitehall Plantation, the former home of abolitionist James Thome.

We were invited by Martha Good to talk about Sons & Daughters of Thunder at Stowe House Bicentennial Commemorative Conference, which took place September 30th-October 2, 2011.  The conference celebrated Harriet Beecher Stowe's 200th birthday with informative presentations on "Writing For Justice: The Origins & Legacy of Uncle Tom's Cabin."   The public was invited to take part in special programs at the Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton County, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, The Mercantile Library, the Cincinnati Museum Center, and the Harriet Beecher Stowe House.

In November, we completed the teaser for Sons & Daughters of Thunder and it will be posted soon!

Great news!  We are happy to report that one-third of the budget for the Sons & Daughters of Thunder film project has been raised!  We extend our deep gratitude to everyone that has supported and contributed to the project.  It is exciting to know that there are so many interested in helping us tell this important story on screen.

Tammy Rundle in the Beecher house with a cameraman from a local Cincinnati TV station.

Now for the challenge!  Fundraising efforts continue and we hope to secure the remaining funds for the project before the Fall of 2012, when production will begin in and around the Quad Cities.

If you or anyone you know are interested in supporting Sons & Daughters of Thunder and making a tax-deductible contribution before the end of 2011, read on!

Tax-deductible contributions toward Sons & Daughters of Thunder can be made via our fiscal sponsor, the Shell Rock Historical Society in Shell Rock, Iowa.

Make your check payable to: Shell Rock Historical Society-Film.

Non-tax-deductible contributions can also be made directly to the production.
Make your check payable to Fourth Wall Films.

Mail all checks to:
Fourth Wall Films
P.O. Box 702
Moline, IL 61265

CREDIT CARD CONTRIBUTIONS
A way to contribute directly by credit card will be added soon. If you wish to contribute via a credit card in the meantime, please email us with the desired amount and you will receive a PayPal invoice by email.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions!  Email us at: FourthWallFilms@aol.com

CONTRIBUTION LEVELS

Primary Benefactor - $500 or more
Website and onscreen credit, credit in printed programs for the premiere and other special event showings, two premiere or special event tickets, Sons & Daughters of Thunder movie poster and DVD, and a keepsake Thunder postcard in an archival sleeve signed by the filmmakers.

Optional "In Memory of..." memorial message credit.

Special Patron - $250
Website and onscreen credit, Sons & Daughters of Thunder movie poster and DVD, and a keepsake Thunder postcard in an archival sleeve signed by the filmmakers.

Contributor - $100
Onscreen and website credits, Sons & Daughters of Thunder movie poster, and a keepsake Thunder postcard in an archival sleeve signed by the filmmakers.

Donor - $50
Onscreen and website credit and a keepsake Thunder postcard in an archival sleeve signed by the filmmakers.

Supporter - $25
Website credit and a keepsake Thunder postcard in an archival sleeve signed by the filmmakers.

"Thunder" Begins Production in Cincinnati, Ohio where Historic Lane Debates Took Place

Director Kelly Rundle films the Beecher home on what was once Lane Seminary grounds in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Filming for the new docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder began in Cincinnati, Ohio in late September and early October.  Producers Tammy and Kelly Rundle of Fourth Wall Films met with Martha Good, President of the Friends of the Harriet Beecher House, to tour the former home of Lyman Beecher and his daughter Harriet.  The house once stood on the grounds of Lane Seminary, the setting for the infamous Lane Debates.

"It was a wonderful experience for both of us to stand in the yard where several of the key historic figures in the script surely walked and discussed the debates, and so exciting to meander through the house where a young Harriet Beecher lived, learned and fell in love," said producer-writer Tammy Rundle.

Producer Tammy Rundle and Martha Good, President of the Friends of the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, tour Lane Seminary grounds in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The film project is based on the critically-acclaimed play by Earlene Hawley of Waverly, Iowa and Curtis Heeter. 

Filming on Sons & Daughters of Thunder will continue in Illinois in 2012.  To find out more about Sons & Daughters of Thunder and how you can support this exciting new film project, visit the "How to Contribute Page" or email FourthWallFilms@aol.com.

Actress Kimberly Furness and Curtainbox Theatre Co. Hosts "Thunder" Screenplay Reading

 
Professional actors took part in the cold read of the "Sons & Daughters of Thunder"
screenplay at the Curtainbox Theatre Co.  The reading was organized and hosted by
Curtainbox director and actress Kimberly Furness.

Sons & Daughters of Thunder came to life on Sunday, August 14, 2011 when a group of fifteen professional actors gathered at the Curtainbox Theatre Co. rehearsal studio in Davenport, Iowa to do a cold reading of the screenplay.  The event was organized and hosted by actress/producer/director Kimberly Furness.  Thunder director Kelly and producer Tammy Rundle, and producers Kent and Earlene Hawley also attended.

 
 Thunder Producers Earlene and Kent Hawley.

Based on the critically-acclaimed play by Earlene Hawley & Curtis Heeter, Sons & Daughters of Thunder tells the unforgettable true story of the beginning of the end of slavery in America.

The first public debates about the abolition of slavery were undertaken by students of Lane Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1834.  Organized by Theodore Weld, one of the architects of the abolitionist movement, the shocking discussions sparked intense controversy and awakened a young Harriet Beecher Stowe to the horrors of slavery.  When school trustees slapped a gag order on the "Lane Rebels," most of the students left the school in collective protest. Years later, Harriet's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was the second best-selling book in the world after the Bible.

Actors gathered in the Curtainbox Theatre studio and were assigned characters to portray.  Following the two-hour reading, most of the actors participated in a discussion about the screenplay.

Actors that took part in the reading: Daniel Sheridan read Theodore Weld; Mike Schulz read Lyman Beecher and Frederick Douglass; Jessica Sheridan read Harriet Beecher; Kimberly Furness read Catharine Beecher; Tom Walljasper read Henry Biggs; Louis Hare read Judge Wright; Dee Canfield read Older Harriet; Daniel Rairdin-Hale read Calvin Stowe; Tom Taylor read Professor Morgan and William Allen; Joe Goodall read Student James Thome; Joseph Maddox read Student James Bradley; Tyson Danner read Augustus Waddles and Student Streeter; Jessica Denney read Student Robinson; Don Abbott read Student Ruggles; and Corinne Johnson read Mrs. Beecher and camera/stage directions.

 
"Sons & Daughters of Thunder" director Kelly Rundle, Curtainbox Theatre Co. director and actress
Kimberly Furness and "Thunder" producer Tammy Rundle.

Fundraising for the film project continues.  Location shooting in Ohio is scheduled for fall 2011.  Casting for the film is anticipated to take place in the spring of 2012 with the majority of production slated to begin in autumn 2012.

Our sincere thanks goes out to Kimberly Furness and the Curtainbox Theatre Co. for organizing and hosting this memorable event.  We are also grateful to the actors who brought the pages to life.  Thanks also to playwright and producer Earlene Hawley and producer Kent Hawley for attending.

Curtainbox Theatre Co. to Host "Sons & Daughters of Thunder" Screenplay Reading

 

Tammy and Kelly Rundle's new docudrama Sons & Daughters of Thunder based on the critically-acclaimed play by Earlene Hawley and Curtis Heeter begins the first phase of production with a private read-through of the screenplay.

Kimberly Furness, acclaimed actress, producer, director and president of the Curtainbox Theatre Co., will host the read-through event on Sunday, August 14, 2011 in Davenport, Iowa.

Sons & Daughters of Thunder tells the unforgettable story of the public student-sponsored debates at Cincinnati's Lane Seminary on the divisive subject of abolition and the awakening of a young Harriet Beecher Stowe to the horrors of slavery.  The "Lane Debates" marked the beginning of the end of slavery in America.

Fundraising for the project continues with casting and film production slated for 2012.

"Sons & Daughters of Thunder" is a co-production of Fourth Wall Films and Kent and Earlene Hawley.  Tentative release of the motion picture is planned for 2013.

Contact FourthWallFilms@aol.com for more information.

New Docudrama to Tell Forgotten Harriet Beecher Stowe Civil Rights and Free Speech Story Set in 1834

QUAD CITIES, USA--Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films in Moline, Illinois and Kent and Earlene Hawley of Waverly, Iowa have announced the commencement of Sons & Daughters of Thunder, a docudrama based on Earlene's critically-acclaimed play by the same name.

The film tells the story of the 1834 Cincinnati, Ohio Lane Theological Seminary anti-slavery debates.  The controversial meetings, led by abolitionist and firebrand Theodore Weld, were among the first to publicly discuss the end of slavery in America.  The meetings angered Cincinnati residents and school officials, who promptly slapped a gag order on the entire student body.  This action was followed by a freedom of speech protest and mass exodus by students from the fledgling Ohio seminary.

The president of the seminary, Lyman Beecher, was also father to Harriet Beecher (Stowe).  Harriet's exposure to the debates and Weld's continuing work to free the slaves sparked a flame that led her to write her magnum opus Uncle Tom's Cabin.

"A classic American play," said The Portland Journal.  "Historically accurate and emotionally exciting," said The Portland Scribe.  "A made to order conflict not only of principles but of personalities...a neatly staged battle between people history has made into heroes and villains," said The Oregonian.

Kelly and Tammy have previously produced several award-winning historical documentary feature films including Villisca: Living with a Mystery, Lost Nation: The Ioway, and Country School: One Room - One Nation.  They are currently in post-production on Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg with Emmy-nominated producer Garry McGee, and in production on a sequel to Lost Nation: The Ioway.

An acquaintance of the Hawleys, who was both familiar with Earlene's play and the Rundles' Lost Nation: The Ioway, introduced the couples and suggested adapting the play for the big screen.

Fundraising and pre-production planning is currently underway with an eye toward shooting Sons & Daughters of Thunder in the fall of 2011 and completion and release in 2012.

Fourth Wall Films is a film production and distribution company, formerly based in Los Angeles, California, and now based in Moline, Illinois.

Visit www.LaneRebelsMovie.com for more information.