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Posted: |
Jun 29, 2025 - 11:33 AM
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By: |
ithotmk
(Member)
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THE 1444 (MCDXLIV) - THE JERRY GOLDSMITH COMPANION - CONSUMER COMPLAINT GROUP
In June 2023, 1,444 fans pledged over $170,000 on Kickstarter to support The Jerry Goldsmith Companion book set, created by Taylor L. White of Creature Features. The campaign far exceeded its $19,000 goal, fueled by the passion of Jerry Goldsmith's global fanbase. Now, two years later, after repeated delays, broken promises, and questionable communication, we—the backers—are organizing.
We call ourselves “The 1444." We are customers. We are supporters. And we are coming together to demand transparency, accountability, and the delivery of what we were promised.
Welcome to the 1444.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
FILE A COMPLAINT WITHIN THE US
https://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company
FILE A COMPLAINT OUTSIDE THE US
https://econsumer.gov/?lang=en-US
VICTIM RIGHTS PROTECTING CONSUMERS FROM ONLINE CROWDFUNDING
https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/crowdfunding
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
COPY AND PASTE COMPLAINT WHEN FILING TO LINK(s) ABOVE
INSERT YOUR NAME,
Plaintiff,
v.
CF PUBLISHING, LLC (d/b/a Creature Features),
THE MONOLITH COLLECTIVE,
P.O. BOX 1251
SIERRA MADRE, CA 91025
TAYLOR L. WHITE, individually,
Defendants.
COMPLAINT
(Breach of Contract, Misrepresentation, Unjust Enrichment)
Plaintiff alleges as follows:
1. On or about March 9, 2022, Defendants announced a two-volume book project titled The Jerry Goldsmith Companion Volumes 1 & 2, authored by Jeff Bond and published under CF Publishing’s subsidiary, The Monolith Collective.
2. On May 16, 2023, Defendants launched a Kickstarter campaign, promising backers digital and physical editions of the books. The campaign raised $171,207 from 1,444 backers, far exceeding its original goal of $19,000.
Kickstarter Campaign
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nightgalleryart/the-jerry-goldsmith-companion
3. Plaintiff contributed $INSERT YOUR PLEDGE AMOUNT in reliance on Defendants’ representations and was promised a copy of the completed book(s).
4. On March 29, 2024, backers received digital editions containing errors. A corrected version was sent on July 20, 2024.
Update: Corrected Digital Editions
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nightgalleryart/the-jerry-goldsmith-companion/posts/4064554
5. On February 13, 2025, Defendant Taylor L. White informed backers that final proofs were approved and production of softbound and hardcover editions was forthcoming.
Final Update from Taylor White
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nightgalleryart/the-jerry-goldsmith-companion/posts/4313343
6. As of the date of this filing, Plaintiff has not received the physical edition promised, and there have been no further substantive updates.
7. On June 11, 2025, author Jeff Bond confirmed publicly that he has had no contact with White since delivering materials.
Jeff Bond Statement
https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?forumID=1&pageID=182&threadID=147139&archive=0
8. On June 18, 2025, Lukas Kendall publicly stated that Taylor L. White had mismanaged campaign funds and could no longer afford printing.
Lukas Kendall Disclosure
https://www.lukaskendall.com/post/the-jerry-goldsmith-book
9. Defendants have breached their agreement, misrepresented their ability to fulfill the project, and unjustly retained Plaintiff’s contribution.
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for relief as follows:
- Damages in the amount of $[amount] or as proven at trial;
- Restitution and/or disgorgement of funds wrongfully retained;
- Prejudgment interest;
- Costs of suit; and
- Any other relief the Court deems just and proper.
DATED: INSERT DATE
Respectfully submitted,
INSERT YOUR NAME
INSERT CONTACT INFORMATION, IF SELF REPRESENTED OR ATTORNEY IF APPLICABLE
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I will file the complaint too, thanks vers much for the work! Now guys join in, we have moaned, shouted, put up silly pics. time to take action.
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Annoying that some guy who didn’t even back the book got the original thread locked by getting into a pissing match with Yavar. So stupid. Just don’t post in the thread!
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The weird thing was that our exchange did not break any board rules, did not descend into personal attacks/politics/religion… but further up in the same thread someone DID bring up politics and Lukas apparently wasn’t bothered by that.
So I really think Lukas just closed that other thread because he felt like it, and used us as an excuse.
Yavar
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There was an awful lot of mind-reading going on in the previous thread, which often led to the kind of "conspiracy theory" type thinking that seems to poison so much of everyday online discourse these days.
I contributed to the previous thread for a while, offering perspective and suggesting alternate (and more plausible!) explanations for how things might have gone down. However, the constant casting of aspersions on various people and their possible motivations made reading through it a depressing slog, so I eventually gave up. My guess is that what drove Lukas to kill the thread as well - it was just getting bogged down with invective, suppositions, and passive aggressive comments aimed at those who were working the hardest to try and get things resolved behind the scenes.
This thread, which is more "solution" focused, is still up and running. As long as it stays that way, I think it will remain up and running.
I suggested in the previous thread that the following two razors almost certainly apply to the overall situation:
"The simplest explanation is usually the correct one."
"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity (or incompetence)."
My vote is to keep this thread solution focused and based upon what we actually KNOW to be true, rather than waste time on a bunch of useless conjecture.
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Yeah, that’s not it. Lukas wouldn’t have talked about the behind the scenes at all if he were one of the people who had a piece of the Kickstarter funds.
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The weird thing was that our exchange did not break any board rules, did not descend into personal attacks/politics/religion… but further up in the same thread someone DID bring up politics and Lukas apparently wasn’t bothered by that.
So I really think Lukas just closed that other thread because he felt like it, and used us as an excuse.
Yavar
No, I closed it because I was annoyed that the crazy conspiracy theories and speculation about the book, which was bad enough, was becoming a political argument too.
Lukas
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OK, great, so people are attacking me now.
Yes, I did in fact get a small percentage of the Kickstarter take. It was so long ago I forgot. I was paid maybe around $5K upon the campaign's close. I would have to check my bank records.
So here's some context: I got this money because I did, in fact, help promote the Kickstarter!
Not only did I coordinate promotions among the mailing lists of some of the specialty labels and shops, but I did outreach to Trekmovie and Trekcore that included printing exclusive excerpts (which I formatted and prepped), reaching a whole new audience:
https://blog.trekcore.com/2023/05/the-jerry-goldsmith-companion-books-kickstarter-campaign-surpasses-85000-preorders-open-through-june-16/
https://trekmovie.com/2023/05/23/read-exclusive-excerpt-from-the-jerry-goldsmith-companion-on-scoring-star-trek-the-motion-picture/
And I asked Jonathan Frakes to tweet about the First Contact one, which he very kindly did.
At the time, the Kickstarter was a massive success—generating more money than would be needed to produce the books (little did we know)—and I was also in the midst of working with Taylor on selling his CD inventory from Creature Features, and a host of other projects (none of which happened).
It seemed fair and reasonable what I was paid, and this kind of stuff happens all the time. You know, I have a family here.
So you guys tell me, what do you want me to do with the five grand? And if the answer is you want me to put into a pool to print the books -- fine. Done. But I'm not putting in the other $55K that it would take to print and ship them.
And I'm not issuing refunds. This was not my project, I didn't mess it up.
I certainly didn't want to talk about my compensation (I did, honestly, forget about it), but I'm not going to avoid the topic and I'm not going to lie about it.
If you're going to attack me, the one person trying here to provide some information and accountability to this fiasco, you got the wrong guy.
Lukas
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Posted: |
Jun 30, 2025 - 7:06 PM
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By: |
ithotmk
(Member)
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Posted: Jun 30, 2025 - 9:50 PM By: Lukas Kendall (Member)
OK, great, so people are attacking me now.
Yes, I did in fact get a small percentage of the Kickstarter take. It was so long ago I forgot. I was paid maybe around $5K upon the campaign's close. I would have to check my bank records.
So here's some context: I got this money because I did, in fact, help promote the Kickstarter!
Not only did I coordinate promotions among the mailing lists of some of the specialty labels and shops, but I did outreach to Trekmovie and Trekcore that included printing exclusive excerpts (which I formatted and prepped), reaching a whole new audience:
https://blog.trekcore.com/2023/05/the-jerry-goldsmith-companion-books-kickstarter-campaign-surpasses-85000-preorders-open-through-june-16/
https://trekmovie.com/2023/05/23/read-exclusive-excerpt-from-the-jerry-goldsmith-companion-on-scoring-star-trek-the-motion-picture/
And I asked Jonathan Frakes to tweet about the First Contact one, which he very kindly did.
At the time, the Kickstarter was a massive success—generating more money than would be needed to produce the books (little did we know)—and I was also in the midst of working with Taylor on selling his CD inventory from Creature Features, and a host of other projects (none of which happened).
It seemed fair and reasonable what I was paid, and this kind of stuff happens all the time. You know, I have a family here.
So you guys tell me, what do you want me to do with the five grand? And if the answer is you want me to put into a pool to print the books -- fine. Done. But I'm not putting in the other $55K that it would take to print and ship them.
And I'm not issuing refunds. This was not my project, I didn't mess it up.
I certainly didn't want to talk about my compensation (I did, honestly, forget about it), but I'm not going to avoid the topic and I'm not going to lie about it.
If you're going to attack me, the one person trying here to provide some information and accountability to this fiasco, you got the wrong guy.
Lukas
Thank you for your honesty. You have admitted culpability either on behalf yourself as a lone proprietor or on behalf of FSM (Film Score Monthly) opening to potential third party litigation.
The Jerry Goldsmith Companion Consumer Advocacy Group - The 1444
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577871664209
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Ugh, come on. Taylor didn’t rip everyone off until well after the project ended. The people who worked with him on the project as it was launching got paid. That is not the issue at all. This 1444 guy is ridiculous. Ridiculous.
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