We're starting to get far enough away from the rise of Kickstarter now to see if these high profile projects are delivering on their promises. Some are, like the Ouya, though it has struggled with the reality of delivering exactly what it promised, with people just not being as interested as they thought they were. And some have faltered, like Double Fine admitting that they simply ran out of money for their game, as their costs ended up surpassing their Kickstarted funds.
Veronica Mars is shaping up to be the "success" category, as they've just released the first footage from the movie, which includes behind the scenes interviews and actual minutes taken from the film. In short, it's happening. The movie was funded, they said they'd film it this summer, and that's exactly what they're doing.
Since its funding, Veronica Mars has drawn some ire from some people saying that it's "rich famous people" using Kickstarter to fund their own pet projects. More recently, people have been irritated James Franco and Zach Braff have taken to the site, asking for donations for their own projects.
But I don't believe you can lump Kristen Bell and her co-stars in with those two. You may say that Kickstarter backers should be funding indie films instead of properties starring well-known actors, owned by mega-corporations, but that's really the point of Kickstarter, isn't it? You can fund anything you damn well choose to. And the fact is, no random indie movie would ever raise $5.7M on the site unless it was an established, beloved franchise like Veronica Mars. The heart overrules the head in most cases, and people don't care that the money from the film will line the pockets of the network that cancelled the show in the first place. The fact that the movie exists is reward enough.
Those who criticize people who fund "corporate" projects like Veronica Mars must not have deep associations with shows that have moved them. Yes, sometimes you can wait for the stars to align and resurrect a beloved show (ie,
Since Veronica Mars raised that much cash to support its movie dreams, I felt like I should see what all the fuss was about. Over the past month or so, I've gone through all three seasons and I've become a convert. Had the Kickstarter been running today, I'd probably throw in $50 to get a movie made. It doesn't matter than I'm paying five times the price of a movie ticket, it's the feeling like you're contributing to the success of something you love.
So far, Veronica Mars seems to be doing its fans proud by delivering on their promises in a timely fashion. At Comic-Con this week however, creator Rob Thomas spoke about what happens if the Veronica Mars movie does well.
"I want this to be a franchise," he said. "I hope we make a ton of money on this movie, and we get to do it through the normal channels. If we're a huge hit, I'm not sure Kickstarter is meant to fund huge hits."
People are saying this means that Thomas is "over" Kickstarter, but I don't think that's what he's saying. I believe he means that if the movie is a hit, then it should be Warner Bros. itself who greenlights and funds the sequel which could make even more money for them. Fans shouldn't be expected to fund something like that when the initial film is a proven success. That would just be exploitative, and it's a different situation from the original crowd-sourced round of funding for the first film.
So far, Veronica Mars seems to be an example of Kickstarter done right. If the film does well, expect other projects to spring up like it, but there are few shows that can rally this sort of fan support long after their demise. I expect if it's a hit or miss, Veronica Mars will be a relatively unique case when it comes to Kickstarter.
Follow me on Twitter, subscribe to my Forbes blog, and pick up a copy of my debut sci-fi novel, The Last Exodus.
