Nearly six years after it was cruelly ripped from our hearts by its untimely cancellation, Veronica Mars may live again. After years of on-again, off-again plans to revive the cult detective drama for the big screen, creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell have decided to take the matter into their own hands and ask the fans to fund the project via Kickstarter. Update: The Kickstarter has now been funded.
For those who missed the series: Well, firstly, we're very sorry for you. You should take care of that. (It's on Netflix streaming, you know.) Veronica Mars was a show about the daughter of a private investigator who follows in her father's footsteps at high school (and later, college). Smart, funny and more than a little noir, Veronica Mars wasn't the best fit for the UPN and CW networks that aired the show, and after three critically acclaimed but low-rated years, they pulled the plug in 2007.
Rumors of a follow-up movie started circulating almost immediately, with show creator Thomas talking about the possibility for a couple of years before financial realities set in. "I would write it if anyone would finance it," Thomas said during an appearance at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in 2010. "If anyone's interested in making that movie I am available, Kristen's available. I would love to do it."
In these crowdsourced times, of course, it turns out that some people are willing to finance it: the fans themselves. Less than 12 hours since the Kickstarter campaign was launched, the Veronica Mars campaign has already broken the $100,000 mark. At time of writing, it's over $400,000, but will likely be far beyond that by the time you read this. The campaign is asking for $2 million by April 12 in order for the movie to become a reality. So, what happens then?
The money raised will go into a production account set up by Warner Bros., the studio that owns the concept and will distribute the movie if it gets made; Warners has also committed to funding marketing and release costs for the project. Current plans call for production to happen over the summer -- Bell, along with other actors, has fall commitments to other projects -- with the finished product getting limited theatrical release in early 2014 before moving into digital distribution and Blu-ray release. Kickstarter backers can get access to digital copies of the movie early if they fund at certain levels.
So is this thing really going to happen? It almost seems to be tempting fate to say yes, but early signs are certainly promising. And if the campaign does get funded and the movie gets made, it opens up a whole new avenue for cult shows and movies to get new life.
Fan works are nothing new, but this hybrid of crowd-funded-but-studio-released is something different and interesting, especially for movie executives looking to exploit properties with little financial risk to themselves. If Netflix's revival of Arrested Development gave hope to fans of shows that couldn't survive under the traditional network television model, this project goes a step further, offering a new model in where studios don't even have to pay for the production of new product altogether but still get to reap the rewards.
Just imagine what kinds of things could follow: Will we finally see that second Firefly movie that Browncoats have been dreaming of for years? That FlashForward wrap-up? A third age of Skeet Ulrich as Jericho? The possibilities are, worryingly, endless.
