As a huge fan of Joe Dante (I’m one of the folks that thinks Gremlins 2 is a masterpiece just like the first one), I was thrilled to get an email yesterday urging me to drive down to the set of his new film, Burying The Ex. It stars Anton Yelchin (Fright Night 2011), Ashley Greene (The Apparition), Alexandra Daddario (TCM 3D) and Oliver Cooper (Project X).

If you haven’t heard what it’s all about it “follows Max (Yelchin) and Evelyn (Greene) as their relationship takes a nose dive once they move in together. Max discovers how controlling and manipulative Evelyn is but he’s too scared to break up with her. When fate steps in and Evelyn dies in a freak accident, newly-single Max prepares to move on with Olivia (Daddario). His romantic life becomes complicated when Evelyn rises from the grave and sets out to get her boyfriend back, even if that means turning him into one of the undead.“

Burying The Ex is currently shooting in Los Angeles and they are moving at a lightning pace. Typically I see two to four setups in a 12 hour day on a film set, yesterday I saw 6 set-ups in less than two hours. Everything I’ve seen from the film looks fun, twisted and cinematic – and it also looks like they have a much larger budget than they actually do. While the film is financed by Voltage pictures, and will no doubt be completed, they have started a crowdfunding campaign to tie together some additional funds in order to enhance the post-production process (special effects, editing, etc…).

Since the film doesn’t have to wait until the campaign is complete in order to start issuing awards, some of them are available immediately. Some tiers that allow you your own private set visit (there are also smaller tiers for premiere tickets, blu-rays and a ton of other stuff). Producer Cassian Elwes, an indie legend I hold in high regard, explains that the campaign is about getting fans involved from the ground up, “we wanted to get it out of being a little independent movie and get it to be something peopleare talking about. We want to be aware of who our audience is so we can work with them as the film is being finished. Show them clips from the film, keep them involved in the process of making a movie.”

For his part Dante is thrilled to actually be shooting in Los Angeles (an ironic rarity in the film business these days), “miraculously it has come together in Hollywood, where it’s set. It’s a very Los Angeles specific movie. And we get to sleep in our own beds at night.” He’s also not fazed by the breakneck shooting pace, “the schedule is twice as long as my first picture, which was 10 days. It’s only 8 days shorter than ‘The Howling’!”

I’ll post a much more lengthy piece closer to the film’s release, which will feature full interviews with Dante, Elwes, Anton Yelchin and writer Alan Trezza. In the meantime go here to arrange your own set visit or trip to the premiere! Check out a few looks at the set below.