Homeless Friend Drained Settlement to Finish 'Rescued'
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- D.J. Hale financed his debut feature "Rescued" through personal loans, maxed-out credit cards, and crowdfunding campaigns, with no studio backing, investor, or safety net to fall back on.
- "Rescued" production stalled on day 18 of a 26-day shooting schedule after the money ran out, leaving Hale with just a couple hundred dollars in his bank account and tens of thousands in remaining expenses.
- Hale took a full-time job and continued driving Uber to pay down production debt, with completion of the film potentially taking years at that pace.
- Dominique Smith, Hale's close friend and creative partner, committed a significant portion of his years-delayed work-injury settlement to eliminate production debt and restart filming.
- Smith, who was homeless and living with Hale at the time, then worked long hours alongside him driving Uber and doing whatever was necessary to push the film across the finish line.
- "Rescued" will premiere at the Dances with Films: Los Angeles festival, co-starring Lindsey Shaw, David DeLuise, and Elissa Kapneck, with Hale serving as writer, producer, director, editor, and lead actor.
Why it matters: Both Hale and Smith remain financially rebuilding after completing "Rescued," with Smith having depleted a years-tied-up work-injury settlement that could have stabilized his own life while he was homeless. The premiere at Dances with Films: Los Angeles surfaces the hidden personal costs behind independent features that audiences never see on screen — credit card debt, side hustles, and friends betting on each other when logic says they shouldn't.
