The Plan Was Good Til Mannion Spoke Short Film

Hi everyone (",) I hope you're all well.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Rickie O'Neill & I am a 30 year writer/director/actor/producer currently residing in Galway in the West of Ireland.

After months of deliberation I have decided to do a Go Fund Me campaign for my next/2nd short film which is called "The Plan Was Good Till Mannion Spoke". Set in 1954 London, it is a film that deals with the conflicted mind of one Irish man (Joe Sweeney) who (like so many other Irish men) had to move away from his home county in order to find work. As I explain in the video, this period is a very definitive time in Irish history & something that I feel needs to be addressed. Yes these people worked very hard throughout this time building a "Greater Britain", but a massive by product of this work & sacrifice was the immense loneliness, despair, anger, depression, alcoholism & in some cases suicide that these people had to endure on a daily basis. The culture shock to a lot of these people, as you can imagine, was just too much. Imagine being on a quiet farm in rural Ireland on a Tuesday only to find yourself, two days later, on a busy London building site (hundreds of miles away from home) with 40 strange men & an oftentimes shady business scheme that guaranteed you little/no solid pay at all. In these times, to get paid for the work you had to be good, fit & strong. The work had to be done without hassle & without complaint, and if you weren't able to meet that demand then you were simply cast off the grid like an unwanted piece of clothing & it didn't matter who you were or where you came from - it was good riddance. Nobody cared if you lived or died.

I always wonder if I would survive this kind of life being the 30 year old modern day person that I am?. . . . .The answer : Absolutely not. The ferry journey alone would kill me & I don't mind saying it.

This is my first time ever doing a Go Fund Me & yes I am a little nervous about it (similar nerves to the ones you get when you're about to kiss someone new for the first time - excited nerves, buzzy nerves...but nerves nonetheless) Of course it goes without saying that any contribution to this cause no matter how big or small is greatly, greatly appreciated. The money raised will go solely towards production costs (Transportation, lighting equipment, props, talent, crew, food, location etc)

At the moment I am not tied in with any producer/production company. The only other funding going into my films comes from myself. It is a great investment & one that I am happy to stand by. I guess with this short film I just need a little extra help is all.

We want to make the best film that we can & do it 100% justice.

When the film has been shot & completed it will most likely do the film festival circuit after which time it will have its official public release & that is a day that I personally cannot wait for. I will decide on a concrete distribution plan when I get to that phase but for now that's the rough plan & one that I am happy to pursue. Of course you will all be sent an online copy of the film when we are in a position to share it.

I would like to thank you all in advance for any contributions made to this little production. I will be absolutely sure to thank & announce (if desired) each person/entity as they donate. It really means a great deal to me.

For more in dept information (& a good look at my scruffy mug) please watch my Go Fund Me video. In it I go into great detail about the project & my reasons for doing it. As well as that I talk about my first short film "Sunny Afternoon" which is currently doing the international film festival circuit. I am thrilled to announce that "Sunny Afternoon" has already played in Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto & London. We are very pleased with its great success so far & of course we are hoping for more good news over the next few months.

Thank you for your time folks, it means the world.

Sending immense love from Ireland's west coast.

Rickie.