THERE IS A KICKSTARTER FOR A VERONICA MARS MOVIE

[NorthernChaosGod]

$10,000 to say "Your check, sir."

Ha.

Right?! smurfing 10,000 down the drain.

I think you are all forgetting that a lot of very rich, Hollywood-involved people are interested in seeing this happen. For instance, Joss Whedon was a huge fan of Veronica Mars when it was airing (and he appeared in one episode to show for it). 10k is certainly within his means and he, or any other big fan, could have plopped it down to appear in the movie. I doubt a college student put down ten thousand dollars just to say a simple line, that would be fairly outrageous. A rich person doing so, however, is not.

I am a pretty big fan of Veronica Mars and I am happy to see that they are finally going through with the promises they were making since the series ended. I am not particularly worried since I do not think any of the cast (aside from Kristen Bell, and maybe Ryan Hansen, have any major obligations) but the format of a just does not seem to fit with what the show actually needed to succeed.

Oh well, I won't see it in theaters anyway.

I'm with Shiny on this; they should really get a more worthwhile reward no matter how rich they are.

[XxSephirothxX]

I think the concept of rewards has really clouded or changed what Kickstarter was originally about, which has both advantages and disadvantages. In a lot of cases it's basically a pre-order system--you pay money upfront to let someone make something, and you secure a copy of your own. In its purest form, though, it's also meant to enable a system of patronage. People give money to the arts to see things exist and expect nothing in return except the satisfaction of that thing existing and the enjoyment you derive from it.

So, yeah, on the one hand, obviously getting one crappy line in a movie doesn't seem like much of a reward for $10,000. But that's not really the point of the donation. The point is that you have the money to put towards a cause you believe in--getting a movie made that you really want to see, in this case--and the reward is secondary. Could the reward be better, though? Sure.

Also, an executive producer credit wouldn't really make sense, since that's an actual job with actual responsibilities on the movie, and being able to donate a few thousand bucks doesn't qualify you to do that job. And it seems like they've removed that associate producer reward now, or at least I can't find it on the page. Weird.

I am a pretty big fan of Veronica Mars and I am happy to see that they are finally going through with the promises they were making since the series ended. I am not particularly worried since I do not think any of the cast (aside from Kristen Bell, and maybe Ryan Hansen, have any major obligations) but the format of a just does not seem to fit with what the show actually needed to succeed.

Oh well, I won't see it in theaters anyway.

Your posts about Veronica Mars here years ago were actually the first thing that put it on my radar. I somehow forgot or missed the fact that it was noir/detective mystery--all I retained was that it was set in high school, had snappy dialogue, etc. Once I started watching it a year or so ago I couldn't stop.

Why not see it in the theater if you're a fan, though?

[Bunny]

The point is that you have the money to put towards a cause you believe in--getting a movie made that you really want to see, in this case--and the reward is secondary. Could the reward be better, though? Sure.

This is exactly the point. If you are donating to something solely based on the reward you are getting in exchange, you might want to rethink the actual reasons you are donating in the first place. You donate because you are able and it is something you would like to eventually see, not because you get cool stuff in return.

Why not see it in the theater if you're a fan, though?

The main reason is that I have found it increasingly difficult to sit through recent movies in a theater. I also have an increasing dislike for movies as a storytelling medium when compared to things like books and television.

I also think that Veronica Mars existed in a time and place that is no longer obtainable. Had the movie come out shortly after the series had ended, I probably would be more thrilled and excited about the prospect of the film. But it has been six years, likely 7 or 8 when the movie actually comes out. The cast has grown up and gone separate ways and their connection to the characters have diminished over this time.

It's the same reason why, while I loved Firefly as a series and Serenity as a companion movie, I would not like to see Whedon and the cast back at it because I think it would pollute the good memories that Firefly and Serenity provided me when I first watched them.

I am still excited for the movie, but not as excited as I would have been. I will see it, just like I would see and support a Firefly expansion, but I am very wary of it at the same time.

[Shiny]

Investors are credited as Executive Producers a lot these days for films, not so much for television though.

The point in any Kickstarter donation is yes, that you want to see the project happen, but with film projects there is also the romanticism of getting your name on the big screen with a major credit. Some people may be more than okay with the cameo appearance, but I'd much rather have the IMDB Producer credit if I'm to go giving out 10 g's or more.

I think these VM people need to take better care of the people backing this project. Financing is really the most important thing in getting a film of this caliber made. The finnacers don't seem to hold the same importance to them judging from the lame rewards. I would be thankful to get $10,000 for a film project and $2 million is exactly what I need to get the indie film I'm working on off the ground, so I guess I'm also a little bitter about that.

[Shiny]

The money raised won’t all go toward making the movie:
“We only get to count the money that we have after we fulfill rewards, and the rewards could be expensive because we are giving really good packages, so we’re losing a lot off the top. It’s not as though you can look at our total, like right now we’re at $3.5 [million], and say, “That’s, $3.5 for their production budget.” [Ed. note: At publishing time, the fund sits at just over $3.7 million.] It’s going got be significantly less than that once we send out 50,000 t-shirts and all those DVDs and posters and pay to rent the giant theaters for premieres. There’s a lot of overhead.”

Read more at ONTD: Oh No They Didn't!

[XxSephirothxX]

That's something that has actually smurfed over a few Kickstarter projects, I think. Probably moreso when there was first a big popularity explosion last year, but I remember some guys doing video game kickstarters not accounting for how expensive it is to produce and ship physical goods. And Amazon takes a cut.

Since this is the first studio-backed movie to hit Kickstarter, it's going to be interesting to see how much money Warner puts into it on top of what they raise. Seems like this may be a rare case where the funding isn't that important--it's mostly just about proving there's an audience. I'm sure they'll still be making it on the cheap, though.