By Amanda Raymond
amanda.raymond@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — With about three weeks left in the campaign, a local resident is asking the community to help his film idea become a reality.

Brad Foster, a Salisbury resident of six years, started a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to shoot his first feature film, “Retail: A Retail Saga.”

The R-rated comedy follows two employees of a box store who “literally sell boxes.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, a little more than $2,700 has been pledged to the project. Foster’s goal is to raise $19,000.

“I’ve reached $2,700 in funding with just simple word of mouth to a few friends and family, imagine what a community or city like Salisbury could push it up to?” he said in an email.

Foster works in videography and editing in downtown Salisbury and started his own production company called Dreamency.

He said he plans to shoot about 85 percent of the movie’s scenes in Rowan County. He also wants to hire 80 percent of the actors and about 70 percent of the crew from the county.

“By keeping this local you get local actors, local help, local businesses involved, which in turn helps out the local arts and entertainment community, by putting it on the map even more than it already is,” Foster said.

Along with Foster, Josh Wainright, marketing director and director of operations for the Piedmont Players Theatre, is starring in the film.

Foster said he has known what he wanted to do with his life since college and is now ready to pursue his goal of making a movie.

“I told my wife Meredith when I hit 30, that’s when I’m simply just going for it, laying it all out there, trying to do the one thing I haven’t done,” he said. “That one thing is make my passion project feature film entitled ‘Retail.’”

He said he wants to create a movie that will be meaningful to the audience.

“I just want to make movies worth watching, worth someone’s time, not just make movies to make them. I can’t tell you how many Hollywood films I’ve been to lately that have disappointed me greatly,” he said. “I’m in it for the self-fulfillment I receive knowing that I put everything into something and reaped the creative benefits from it.”

Foster is offering equity to investors committed to the project. Those interested can email Foster at info@retailfilm.com.

He plans to follow up “Retal: A Retail Saga” with two more movies: “Corporate: A Retail Saga” and “Black Friday: A Retail Saga.”

“…(If) you believe in me enough and we hit goal or exceed it, you have my word that this trilogy will stay in Salisbury, no matter how big it gets,” Foster said.

To donate to the campaign, visit www.retailfilm.com and click on the “Pledge Now on Kickstarter” button.

The deadline to donate is Oct. 12.

Contact reporter Amanda Raymond at 704-797-4222.