Press Release
Best known for writing and creating the generation-defining romance films BEFORE SUNRISE and BEFORE SUNSET, Oscar nominated screenwriter Kim Krizan is “kicking” Hollywood to the curb and taking her career to the crowd — crowdfunding, that is — with her new Kickstarter project: a tongue-in-cheek history of dangerous women entitled Original Sins: Trade Secrets of the Femme Fatale.
Krizan’s debut non-fiction book is being offered directly to fans worldwide in exchange for pledges of support. If Krizan raises $10,000, the book will be published and those pledging $25 or more will receive a hard copy.
“In Hollywood, a writer is either handing off ideas to a studio or writing spec scripts that rely on some business person to fund. The Hollywood writer is always waiting and at every turn, her work is in the hands of middlemen,” said Krizan. “With Kickstarter, I can go to fans directly and they alone get to decide whether my project goes out in the world.”
Original Sins: Trade Secrets of the Femme Fatale was inspired by Krizan’s long-time fascination with femme fatales, femme fatale films, and her experiences as a woman and a Hollywood writer. It asks timeless questions: “What does a woman wear when she kills her husband?” “What does a woman drive when she gets out of Sh*tsville?” and “How does a woman get revenge on society en masse?” It is sprinkled with examples from real-life history and is a mash-up of profane, profound, and perverse observations on female power.
Krizan’s Kickstarter campaign features a hilarious video of her “confession” to writing a book, shows her slipping through Chinatown on what appears to be a nefarious errand, and ends with her appearance in a bar where she asks an unsuspecting gentleman to support her Kickstarter project.
“You know how to make a little pledge, doncha?” asks Krizan, a femme fatale who wouldn’t look out of place in the 1940s noir classic DOUBLE INDEMNITY. “You just put your finger on the button and push.”
To receive a copy of Original Sins: Trade Secrets of the Femme Fatale, Krizan has devised twelve pledge levels, allowing the potential reader to purchase the book in print or digitally, and to receive an array of bonus gifts. Her final pledge level allows the fan to have the unique experience of meeting Krizan at Los Angeles’ famous Union Station to live out their own BEFORE SUNRISE experience by walking and talking into the evening. “That film’s dialogue was based on my love of great conversations,” explained Krizan. “I find people infinitely interesting and I like nothing better than having an hours-long in-depth conversation on life and love.”
Krizan first stood out for her role as hip high school teacher Ginny Stroud in DAZED AND CONFUSED, who mouths the Fourth of July’s perennially favorite line, “Hey guys, one more thing, hey, this summer when you’re being inundated with all this American bicentennial Fourth of July brouhaha, don’t forget what you’re celebrating and that’s the fact a bunch of slave-owning, aristocratic, rich white males didn’t want to pay their taxes.”
Krizan went on to be part of the creative team that brought BEFORE SUNRISE and BEFORE SUNSET to life and for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. The films were directed by Richard Linklater and starred Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.
Krizan also wrote the critically-acclaimed comic book, Zombie Tales: 2061, published by BOOM! Studios, and she regularly contributes to Cafe in Space, a journal dedicated to the works of Anais Nin.
About Kim Krizan
Kim Krizan is an Academy Award-nominated writer of the films BEFORE SUNRISE and BEFORE SUNSET. She was born in Los Angeles and has a Master’s degree in literature. Krizan also appeared as an actor in a number of films, including SLACKER, DAZED AND CONFUSED and WAKING LIFE. Krizan teaches creative writing classes for UCLA Extension. Original Sins: Trade Secrets of the Femme Fatale is Krizan’s first book.