Earlier this month, the original cast of the hit 1970s series Good Times launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise a whopping $1 million so that they can create a full-length reunion movie.
The show, which aired from February 1974 to August 1979, was a spin-off of Maude, the spin-off of All in the Family. The synopsis reads:
“A poor Afro-American family make the best of things in the Chicago housing projects.”
Sharing details about the project, the cast (consisting of Esther Rolle, John Amos, Jimmie Walker, Ja’net Du Bois, Bern Nadette Stanis and Ralph Carter) shared:
“From the day we walked off the set of Good Times, forty years ago, all we have heard is When are you going to have a Good Times reunion? Our audience have told us they need completion. They tell us we are not finished with the first Black T.V. family show. What happened? We want to see our favorite family show back on T.V.
“Well, here it is a chance to make that happen. We as a cast have always said maybe one day, we will have a reunion. That one day is here now. It is not just up to us, it is up to our millions of fans who have the power to make it happen.
“During these forty years as a cast we have been giving a numerous amount of scripts that were written about what happened to the Evans’ family. The ideas are countless, but as a group we have made a decision on where each character should go and what this long awaited script should be about. We are bursting at the seems to bring this exciting movie to you. All that we can tell you at this point is that it will be exactly what you expect from us and more.
“I am sure you will agree that the ones who can tell the stories of each character are those who have lived with those characters for forty years. That would be each one of us in the cast. Therefore in this movie we will have great input into what our characters will be about now. The success of kick-starter will give us as a cast control of what this movie will be about. Therefore bringing great satisfaction to our audience and to us as a cast who wants to bring nothing but the best to you.
“We as the cast have decided to go on the Kick-starter website because we had heard this would be excellent in making the dream of a Good Times Movie Re-Union happen. We checked it out, studied the success of some of our favorite artists who have decided to bring their projects right here on kick-starter and have been very successful in seeing their projects become a reality through the help of their fabulous fans. This is exactly what we want our fans and Good Time lovers to do for our project. Support us in making this movie happen. You will become an active part of bringing this generational movie to the big screen.
They continued:
“Let all of those wonderful memories, those back in the day memories, come back to you with a brand new flare. You know the ones when you watched the show with your mom and dad and grandparents. Sitting in the living room watching that one television set, on CBS one of three stations back then. Well I hope its bringing a smile to your face because its bringing a smile to mine. Those were truly fond memories that we will never forget as we pass the tradition on of watching the show with our children and grandchildren.
“Good Times has become a family staple in many American homes. The Evans Family was an African American family placed in the Cabrini Green projects in Chicago. It’s been playing on television somewhere in the world for 37 consecutive years. Proving that GoodTimes is not just anAfrican American show, it is an American iconic show that all people have come to love. It has found its place not only in television history but in the hearts of people all over the world.
“The Good Time Family as we call ourselves, want to thank each and every one of our fans for the love and support all of you have shown us throughout these forty most wonderful years that we have known each other.”
Those that back the project will receive various perks, including t-shirts, photos, official movie poster, DVDs, and tickets to the movie’s premiere. Despite its rocky start of only retaining $5,000 so far, the Good Times cast assures fans that no matter what this movie is happening:
“Only an act of God could stop this movie from happening. Its going to be DYN-O-MITE!!!!”
The campaign is set to close at the end of the month.
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