KickTraq

It’s hard to imagine that the Zach Braff of the underrated and delightful “Scrubs” would grow into the incredibly divisive filmmaker behind “Garden State” and “Wish I Was Here.” It was Braff’s latter film, his sophomore feature, that stirred controversy after he turned to Kickstarter for funding his personal passion project. Now, in the new episode of the podcast “Off Camera with Sam Jones,” Braff finally opens up his experience with the crowdfunding site and how the internet-at-large treated him. (Read More)

When Zach Braff decided to use Kickstarter to fund his now-completed movie Wish I Was Here, he was anticipating, well, a different reaction. (Read More)

Sam Joyce looks at whether Kickstarter is still a filmmaker's financial saviour. (Read More)

Zach Braff’s Kickstarter-funded project Wish I Was Here hit theaters last weekend across the nation. The script was penned by the Braff Brothers and is Zach’s sophomore directorial film. The film stars Zach Braff in the lead role and he is supported by Kate Hudson, Josh Gad, and Mandy Patinkin. Wish I Was Here has a much different upbeat tone than Braff’s debut effort Garden State, but this new ambiance suits him much better. (Read More)

"Wish I Was Here' director and actor Zach Braff visited Seth Meyers on an episode of "Late Night" earlier this week. Meyers and Braff started their conversation by mentioning that they both attended Northwestern University together. Braff also talked about funding his film "Wish I Was Here" through Kickstarter, which got him in some trouble with a dentist. (Read More)

Audiences continued to flock to Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" this weekend as the film took in over $1 million from just 34 theaters. That trumped any news from debuting films in the specialty market, as Zach Braff's "Wish I Was Here" managed a decent but unspectacular debut and Mike Cahill's "I Origins" stumbled. (Read More)

Zach Braff thinks "too many cooks in the kitchen" can ruin a film. (Read More)

When Zach Braff took to Kickstarter to fund his new movie, “Wish I Was Here,” he explained to fans where their money would go: It would ensure his creative control, allow him to cast the actors he wanted, and enable him to shoot in Los Angeles, rather than someplace cheaper. We can argue about whether these were worthy reasons to ask for $2 million (in fact, fans ultimately gave Braff more than $3 million, after which he also got traditional financing.) Certainly there was controversy — maybe not deserved — over whether a wealthy actor should be seeking money on Kickstarter. (If people are willing to pay, isn’t it up to them?) But here’s a more urgent question: Why didn’t Braff use this money to make a better film? (Read More)

Zach Braff talks about "Wish I Was Here" and the Kickstarter campaign that made it happen. (Read More)

This weekend, Zach Braff's hotly-anticipated "Wish I Was Here" hits theaters. (Read More)

It’s really simple economics when it comes to movies: studios want as many people as possible to see a movie. More people equals more money. You’re still with me, right? (Read More)

Zach Braff's Kickstarter-backed "Wish I Was Here" opens on Friday, so we thought it was a good opportunity to highlight other great films which turned to the crowdfunding platform for funding and are being released this year. (Read More)

Kate Hudson and Josh Gad talked to THR about how they connected with their roles while Joey King explained how she supported the project before she joined the cast. (Read More)

After fans helped him raise $3.1 million to fund his latest project, “Wish I Was Here,” via Kickstarter, multi-hyphenate Zach Braff was able to share the end result with several backers who attended the film’s premiere Monday night at the DGA Theater. (Read More)

The Wish I Was Here soundtrack proves that Braff still has a knack for music. (Read More)

For-profit businesses raising money for nothing on crowdfunding platforms should probably raise more ethical questions than it has thus far. (Read More)

A decade has passed since "Garden State," but Zach Braff still loves indie music and soundtracking lifechanging moments. He's back with his sophomore feature, "Wish I Was Here," and following The Shins-powered teaser, a brand new full-length trailer is here to deliver your requisite amount of quirk for the week. (Read More)

Zach Braff's upcoming film was funded via the Internet, and now that's exactly where the frenzy for "Wish I Was Here" is taking hold. As Braff's upcoming film approaches its July release date, the film, entirely financed by donations via crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, is spurring waves of anticipation online. (Read More)

Last year Zach Braff launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking funding for a new movie. The actor received a lot of criticism for using the service when he himself is an accomplished actor with ties to Hollywood. Regardless of the criticism, Braff was able to raise around $3 million dollars to fund his project and it looks like he put that money to good use. (Read More)

You may remember a few months ago that Zach Braff (of Scrubs and Garden State-fame) decided to make a film and get the funding for it on Kickstarter. Said film now has a trailer, which is less like a proper trailer than you think. (Read More)

Zach Braff's Kickstarter campaign for his latest film has been in the news for quite some time, and now fans can finally catch a glimpse of the funnyman's flick! (Read More)

Up until this point, Zach Braff’s follow-up to Garden State has primarily been known for the writer/director/actor’s usage of Kickstarter to get the film financed which many criticized him for given his ties and relationships in Hollywood. Regardless of one’s opinion, the film debuted at Sundance and was met by rave reviews. (Read More)

Focus Features will release Zach Braff’s “Wish I Was Here” on July 18 in New York and Los Angeles and then expand the film on July 25 and again on Aug. 1. (Read More)

"Wish I Was Here" will be here on July 18, if "here" means New York or Los Angeles. Focus Features announced today Zach Braff's Kickstarter-funded project will see its first public screenings this summer with initial engagements on the coasts before expanding the following two weekends. (Read More)

If Zach Braff’s new film “Wish I Was Here” ends up making money, the regular folks who funded the thing via Kickstarter probably won’t see any of the profits. That said, certain donors will get to see a little more of Braff himself–like this mysterious donor who apparently requested that Braff record a Purim video promoting Yeshiva University. (Read More)

When it comes to financing movies, there is so much about the procedure I don’t understand. When Spike Lee was doing Malcolm X, he was complaining about how the studio didn’t want to give him more money. It was amusing, because director Norman Jewison was originally attached to do the film. Lee complained that only a black director would understand the struggles Malcolm went through. (Read More)

Poor Zach Braff just can’t catch a break. You would think he’d be on top of the world: successful actor-turned-director with a new movie playing at Sundance that just sold for seven figures. But that’s not what’s getting him attention. Various outlets have noted that while Braff is riding high in Park City, the Kickstarter backers who financed a significant chunk of the budget for his film, Wish I Was Here, have been reduced to begging for tickets outside of screenings and wondering why they haven’t even received the meager rewards (T-shirts, posters, and the like) attached to their contributions. (Read More)

While Hollywood insiders talk about which big-budget studio movies made and lost the most money in 2013, there’s a far more interesting number to consider: 3,000,000. That’s how many people backed crowdfunding projects for a total of $481,788,567 last year — and that’s on Kickstarter alone. (Read More)

Zach Braff finished that movie he made with Kickstarter money and took it to Sundance. A friend of ours had donated to his project even though we asked “Why are you sending money to a wealthy actor?” She believed in his talent and enjoyed receiving emails about his progress. The movie, titled “Wish I Was Here,” is a dramatic family comedy written by Zach and his brother as a follow-up to ”Garden State.” (Read More)

“Wish I Was Here” filmmaker Zach Braff returns to Sundance and talks about the risks and rewards of making a film backed by Kickstarter. Co-stars Mandy Pantinkin and Josh Gad praise Zach’s ability as an actor and a director. (Read More)

The "Garden State" director is back in Park City with no regrets about his crowdfunding gambit (Read More)

The Sundance Film Festival, the movie industry's love song to small, intimate, character driven indie films, starts on Thursday. There's a lot to look forward to at Sundance this year, including the release of Richard Linklater's mysterious, 12-year coming of age story Boyhood, and, to a lesser extent, Zach Braff's Kickstarter project. There are also more movies than you can physically be excited about, glamorous people, and great parties. (Read More)

So I haven’t always been the biggest fan of rich, famous people asking their fans for money to make movies, but with 20 features, shorts and documentaries that were made with the help of Kickstarter headed for Sundance this year, it certainly gives me and other like-minded individuals a new perspective to think about. (Read More)

So many ideas in our country begin with the best of intentions and end up completely corrupted. From Lindsay Lohan's acting career to the once-noble filibuster, well-meaning stuff sometimes just gets out of hand here. But has it caught up with Kickstarter, too? Launched in 2009, this crowd-funding platform seemed, originally, to be a brilliant concept—especially for filmmakers struggling to secure financing. Directors who had no money could use this vehicle to attract average people as backers—plus, retain 100 percent control of their project. Perhaps film fans just assumed it was for the struggling masses, huddled together. But considering the mostly no-name directors who used it to finance films, it wasn't a bad assumption. There was no mission statement by Kickstarter to back this up, yet it seemed custom-built for the underdog. (Read More)

In its annual roundup, Kickstarter highlighted some of the most notable projects. (Read More)

Congratulations are in order for Zach Braff and the team behind his Kickstarter-funded film Wish I Was Here. The film will premiere at 2014′s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The festival is slated to take place between January 16-26, 2014. (Read More)

Zach Braff's Kickstarter movie is coming to Sundance (Read More)

The Sundance Institute today added two new films to its 2014 Sundance Film Festival lineup: Zach Braff's partly Kickstarter funded sophomore feature "Wish I Was Here" and a 20th anniversary screening of Kevin Smith's classic comedy "Clerks." "Clerks" joins the previously announced From the Collection screening of Steve James' documentary "Hoop Dreams." (Read More)

Earlier this year, Zach Braff raised millions of dollars from fans through a Kickstarter campaign to fund a passion project called "Wish I Was Here." The film, directed by Braff, boasts a star-studded cast including Mandy Patinkin, Kate Hudson, and Donald Faison. (Read More)

Kickstarter, the poster child of the reward-based crowdfunding industry, is quickly becoming a household name. Part of what has made Kickstarter so successful is its ability to tap into the long tail — a concept outlined by Chris Anderson in a 2004 Wired article. (Read More)

All the rich famous people who have asked for your money in one handy dandy chart. (Read More)

Last night before heading to bed I was browsing through Kickstarter, in particular the film and video category, to see what projects are raising funds or have been funded already. (Read More)

Since 2009 the crowdfunding Web site Kickstarter has matched artists and entrepreneurs struggling to finance creative projects with people on the Internet willing to contribute a little cash. The earliest adopters of the technology, on the pitching side, were small-time musicians, unestablished filmmakers and others with no clear access to capital. (Read More)

I'm a Scrubs fan. I saw the first few episodes, didn't get the conjunction of gore and sitcom, but then I rapidly got hooked...by the actors (especially Ted Mcginley as Cox) and even more by the writers. The writing was just loopy. I loved it. So when I see Zach Braff, star of the show, doing something, it is admittedly through a pair of Scrubs-colored glasses. However, things changed when I found out that Braff was financing his second movie via Kickstarter. (Read More)

For whatever reason, Kate Hudson was more interested in showing off her gigantic purse—as opposed to her face—on the set of her new movie, “Wish I Was Here” Friday (August 30) in Los Angeles. (Read More)

Werk it, girls! Kate Hudson and Ashley Greene sashayed their way onto the set of their upcoming movie Wish I Was Here! These two co-stars were hard at work this week on the Zach Braff Kickstarter film that was partially financed by his fans! (Read More)

Last week, “The Newest Hottest Spike Lee Joint” reached its funding goal thanks to more than 5,000 backers. While filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh cheered Spike Lee’s project, outlets like CNBC and Bloomberg accused him of abusing Kickstarter and taking money from other creators. As we’ve shown before here and here, arguments like these are not grounded in fact. Kickstarter is not a zero-sum game where projects compete for pledges. All projects benefit from the network effect of a growing Kickstarter ecosystem. (Read More)

Earlier this summer, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, an Oscar-nominated documentary film-maker, decided she needed $80,000 to finance her next project. Once, she might have tapped up movie studios, private equity firms or rich investors. But in fact the California-based Newsom did something else: she dispatched emails to everyone she knew via the social media website Kickstarter, appealing for donations. (Read More)

Flying fox Ashley Greene is stepping in for her all-booked-up “Twilight” co-star Anna Kendrick on Zach Braff’s new YOU-funded film “Wish I Were Here”. Braff told Kickstarter-contributors the sad news – that Kendrick wouldn’t be doing the film – via email yesterday, citing a scheduling clash as the cause (yeah, but isn’t it always? sheesh.. we want dirt, man!). (Read More)

Zach Braff wishes Anna Kendrick was able to star in his next film, "Wish I Was Here," but scheduling conflicts will prevent Kendrick from making her scheduled appearance. "Twilight" star Ashley Greene will replace Kendrick in the indie film, which Braff financed, in part, through Kickstarter. (Read More)

"Twilight" star Ashley Greene has come on to replace Anna Kendrick in Zach Braff's Kickstarter movie "Wish I Was Here," the director announced to the project's backers on Tuesday night. (Read More)

Joey King (Oz the Great and Powerful) joins the cast of Zach Braff's Wish I Was Here, starring Braff, Kate Hudson, Josh Gad, and Anna Kendrick. (Read More)

Actors Zach Braff, Lena Dunham and Melissa Mccarthy have been named among the top 12 innovators of the year. (Read More)

Tricia Romano on the growing frustration with celebrities using Kickstarter to finance their pet projects. (Read More)

This is a great clip form a BBC interview of Hangover III stars Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper, shared by Andy Baio. In the segment, Galifianakis jokes that he’s crowd funding his headshots on Kickstarter and that sets off a little discussion about how much money the Veronica Mars movie and Zach Braff projects have raised. (Read More)

Kate Hudson on board as Scrubs star's online fundraising drive for new project Wish I Was Here attracts 46,000 supporters. (Read More)

Crowdfunding website Kickstarter hit a major milestone today when it finally passed over 100,000 campaigns, according to statistics released by the company. In the three years since it launched, Kickstarter has made otherwise nontraditional crowdfunding a legitimate form of project financing. (Read More)

It turns out Zach Braff will be making his new film exactly the way he wants to make it, thanks to your contributions. (Read More)

The star's crowdsourcing initiative on Kickstarter.com shut down on Friday and the star couldn't be happier with the response from fans pledging donations to fund a sequel to his cult film Garden State. Kate Hudson, Jim Parsons, Josh Gad and Mandy Patinkin have been cast in the film, entitled Wish I Was Here. (Read More)

Zach Braff must be having quite a hearty laugh at all the critics who slammed him for relying on Kickstarter campaign to help finance his new directorial effort, Wish I Was Here! The flick, which will tell the story of a man dealing with the news that his father is dying, has already cast Kate Hudson and Mandy Patinkin…and now, has ALSO signed the supreme talents of Anna Kendrick and The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons, the latter of whom you may recall as the HIGHlarious "Knight" from Garden State! (Read More)

Despite polarized reactions, Zach Braff's contentious Kickstarter campaign closed Friday with more than $3.1 million in pledged donations. That figure significantly surpasses the project's $2 million goal, which was met within two days of its launch. (Read More)

Zach Braff, the former 'Scrubs' star and 'Garden State' director has reached his goal of $3 million to fund his next independent film project thanks to his unorthodox fund-raising campaign. (Read More)

This question refers to the recent — and ultimately successful — attempt by an established actor and director, Zach Braff, to finance a movie through the revenue-generating Web site Kickstarter. In simplest terms, Kickstarter is a way for random people to finance creative projects by asking other random people for money over the Internet. An artist proposes a project and describes it on the site, and people voluntarily pledge from their own pockets. This is usually — but not exclusively — attempted by creative people with no other obvious way of producing start-up capital. The reason some are upset with Braff’s ability to raise $2 million through these means is that he has numerous ways to produce capital, including his own bank account — as an actor on the (since canceled) TV show “Scrubs,” Braff was reportedly paid $350,000 per episode. He appears to be asking for help he does not need. This is widely seen as uncool. But it’s not necessarily unethical. (Read More)

Zach Braff's Kickstarter project closed on Friday with over $3.1 million in pledged funds from over 46,000 supporters. OUR EDITOR RECOMMENDS The Dangers of the 'Veronica Mars' Kickstarter Victory (Guest Column) Zach Braff: I Explained Kickstarter to Woody Allen (Audio) Zach Braff on His $2 Million Kickstarter Project: 'I Had Nothing to Lose' The Garden State filmmaker launched a project to raise money for a new film, titled Wish I Was Here, on the crowdfunding website on April 24. Within days, he hit his goal of $2 million in pledged funds. (Read More)

Zach Braff has reason to be excited. The Kickstarter campaign that the actor set up to raise funds for his latest film project, Wish I Was Here, passed the $3 million mark today, the final push perhaps spurred on by the likes of Kate Hudson, Anna Kendrick and Jim Parsons joining the cast. (Read More)

The Final 24 Hours!Dearest Backers, When I was a kid, I loved the movie "War Games." If you haven't seen it, check it out. But I always remember there was this sequence where they were racing to get into this underground bunker before this GIANT... (Read More)

he actor, who crowd-funded millions to launch his film project "Wish I Was Here," says the famed director was "riveted" during a discussion about the non-traditional financing platform. Zach Braff, who launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to get his upcoming film off the ground, says he explained crowd-funding to none other than Woody Allen. (Read More)

Kickstarter, an online funding platform founded in 2009, has recently caught Hollywood’s gaze, thanks to a girl named Veronica Mars. Fans of the beloved cult series have been wishing and hoping and thinking and praying for the return of Veronica Mars, ever since the series was abruptly taken off the air after its third season in 2007. Series creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell took to Kickstarter to raise $2 million for a “Veronica Mars” movie. Within twelve hours, the project surpassed its initial goal, garnering $5,702,153. Breaking Kickstarter records for not only having the most backers on a single project (91,585), the campaign is also the highest-funded movie project, as well as the fastest growing. (Read More)

Zach Braff recently told the hosts of Sirius XM's show Unmasked how he explained Kickstarter and his project to 77-year old director Woody Allen. (Read More)

Since hitting the $2 million goal for his new film, Wish I Was Here, on Kickstarter, Zach Braff has been making a ton of progress putting together the project - primarily with forming the cast. We already know that Mandy Patinkin, Anna Kendrick, Josh Gad, Jim Parsons, and Donald Faison have signed for various roles, but now Vulture is reporting that Kate Hudson has joined the cast as well. (Read More)

By now, most Nordic entrepreneurs are likely to have had a brush with crowdfunding; whether because they’ve considered it themselves or because they’re one of the “friends, family and fools” who’ve funded another’s dream project. (Read More)

Kate Hudson (Something Borrowed) is set to join Zach Braff’s Wish I Was Here. The story follows 35-year-old husband, father, and struggling actor Aiden Bloom (Braff), who decides to home school his kids when his father (Homeland’s Mandy Patinkin, playing another Saul) has to stop funding their private education. Hudson will play the part of Braff’s wife. (Read More)

Recently, the act of donating to or promoting a Kickstarter campaign has become a highly politicized and moralized one for movie fans, an act brimming with questions, crises, and conundrums about systemic economic disadvantages normalized by dominant industries of filmmaking. Suspicion has been directed in droves toward legitimate-seeming yet vastly-supported projects like the studio-release Veronica Mars movie or Zach Braff’s directorial follow-up to Garden State, whose constellation of multiple funding sources perhaps says more than we’d like to admit about the complex process of realizing even the most distinctly above-the-line indie projects. (Read More)

The character of Sarah (my wife) needs to be pretty, funny, believable as a mother of two children ages 5 and 12 and an actress who’s skilled at both comedy and drama. I fell in love with Kate Hudson when I first saw her in Cameron Crowe’s... (Read More)

Thanks to all of you for your incredible designs for the Backer created T-Shirt! 10,109 backers voted, and the design you chose is attached below. Joscha Viertauer's Dandelion Design! Congratulations Joscha! Joscha also created a very cool digital... (Read More)

Dear Amazing Backers,Happy Saturday. I'm giving you guys first crack at this so it doesn't jam the server... Here's a free song from Cary Brothers to celebrate spring. Feel free to share... I hope you have a splendid weekend. T-shirt... (Read More)

How did the smiley doctor from a cult favorite sitcom become the biggest lightning rod in Hollywood and on the internet? Last month, Zach Braff launched a Kickstarter drive to finance a new feature film, Wish I Was Here; he had already written the script, about a struggling actor trying to balance fatherhood and his artistic ambition, and he would serve as director and star as well. (Read More)

Dear All, The movie trade publication "The Hollywood Reporter" released an article today with a lot of wrong information about our project and I need to clear up some of what they said. I seem to get called a "douchebag" quite often these days. And... (Read More)

Emmy-winning "Homeland" star Mandy Patinkin has joined the cast of Zach Braff's sophomore feature "Wish I Was Here," which has been made possible by Kickstarter. (Read More)

In all the fuss over Veronica Mars and Zach Braff raising millions of dollars on Kickstarter, people are getting stuck in the trees and missing the forest. The crowd-funding/Kickstarter movement in general is changing the fundamental paradigm of film financing from "investing" in films to "donating" to them. (Read More)

Zach Braff is a rich guy asking us for money. That’s the 10-word summation of why there was such a backlash against the actor best known for starring in the hit TV show “Scrubs.” (Read More)

Well, well, well this is a bit new isn’t it? As you may have noticed, I haven’t really ventured into anything other than my weekly articles for awhile so this feels a bit special. If I’m being honest, the idea for this article (or some form of it) has been kicking around in my brain for months, practically since House of Cards debuted on Netflix, but it was only after I saw the vitriol and outrage over Zach Braff (Scrubs) starting a Kickstarter for his film, Wish I Was Here, that I felt I could say something more than, “yeah, sounds like fun stuff for the future.” As you can imagine, that doesn’t make for a very compelling piece of writing. So, I put the idea on the backburner a bit, hoping that the idea would evolve to the point where it would be, at the very least, a slightly compelling piece of writing. I think I’ve reached that point, thanks to the previously mentioned vitriol, albeit a bit indirectly. I say indirect because there’s a part of this that has nothing to do with Zach Braff’s Kickstarter. I recognize the tenuous-at-best link between Netflix and Kickstarter but I also believe that both will be very important in shaping how we not only view entertainment (the Netflix of it all) in the future, but also how it gets made (the Kickstarter of it all). (Read More)

A lot of you wonderful humans have offered to help us out with this project in all kinds of creative and awesome ways. Here is your chance!  Since you'll be wearing them, I think it's only fair that you all get to design and choose one of the reward... (Read More)

Now that everyone else on the Internet has weighed in on who is and isn’t allowed to crowdfund creative projects, Kickstarter has published its own statement. The short version: Stop whining about the “Veronica Mars” movie and Zach Braff’s “tonal sequel” to “Garden State.” A rising Kickstarter tide lifts all boats, so says their math... (Read More)

People are opposed to the Kickstarters of celebrities like Zach Braff and Rob Thomas, but the company insists that these high-profile projects help the little guy. (Read More)

here’s been a lot of talk lately about what, exactly, are Kickstarter‘s guidelines and how they apply to various bigger fish, as it were, coming into the rather small pond of crowdfunding. Lots of claims have been made, and the grumbling is audible across most forms of social media, but what does Kickstarter the company actually think about all this? Hint: They like projects like the ones Zach Braff, Penny Arcade, and Veronica Mars have run. (Read More)

Zach Braff. Nine-year-olds. Penny Arcade. It doesn’t matter who has a Kickstarter out there… somebody is angry about it. But how angry should you actually be? Here’s a useful guide. Actually, it really boils down to one fundamental question: Did the Kickstarter guarantee some form of product for the money given, and then not provide that product? If yes, get pissed. If no, calm down. Let’s take apart the objections to every single Kickstarter for existing, and why at root they’re absurd. (Read More)

Three co-founders of Kickstarter, Charles Adler, Perry Chen and Yancey Strickler, have taken to the company blog to address a rather perplexing wave of controversy over a couple of high-profile film projects. (Read More)

Let's be honest, the backlash against Zach Braff's new crowdsourced movie project is directed towards capitalism more than Braff himself. Last month, the former Scrubs star took the bold step of using Kickstarter, a crowdsourcing site that entrepreneurs and artists use to try to fund projects by offering a range of incentives in exchange for money, to fund a new movie, Wish I Was Here – a "sequel in tone" to the 2004 indie hit Garden State. Braff is offering everything from a "production diary", for $10, all the way up to the opportunity to be a cast member for $10,000. (Read More)

Zach Braff thinks Kickstarter is the "coolest," and he doesn't care if you feel differently. He doesn't, it seems, have similar feelings for Morgan Freeman. The Emmy-nominated "Scrubs" actor was the latest subject on "Kickstarted," a YouTube series that follows the progress of major players looking to crowdfund their entertainment projects as well as up-and-comers as they embark on seeing their work brought to fruition. Braff addressed the controversies surrounding his upcoming movie, which was largely funded via a hefty Kickstarter campaign and has therefore received flak for being thrown in among burgeoning artists pining for audiences. (Read More)

Among the projects that have recently launched campaigns on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter are an animated short called Samurai Chinchilla, a low-budget zombie film called I Am Alone, and a short film called Necrophilia: A Love Story, which is about exactly what it sounds like. But odds are you haven’t heard of any of those. What you probably have heard is that actor Zach Braff—inspired by the wildly successful Kickstarter campaign to fund a Veronica Mars movie—just raised nearly $2.5 million on the site in a few days to direct a follow-up to his 2004 movie, Garden State, titled Wish I Was Here. Such is the power of celebrity. (Read More)

Should celebrities like Zach Braff be using Kickstarter? Braff thinks so. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, so does Kickstarter -- which also has much to gain from million dollar pledge funds. In a post on the crowd funding site, co-founders Yancey Strickler, Perry Chen and Charles Adler explain how projects like Braff's $2 million Wish I Was Here film and Rob Thomas' $5.7 million Veronica Mars movie can be good for everyone else. Their reasoning: Celebrity projects drive more people to contribute to other Kickstarter dreams. (Read More)

The founders of Kickstarter today rallied behind celebrities who have been criticized for hijacking their open platform to serve a more privileged cause. Why does Zach Braff need Kickstarter’s sympathy? Because the crowdfunding platform is beloved as a site that can turn independent passion projects into reality when fueled by the money and goodwill of fans and supporters. (Read More)

There has been a lot, and I mean a LOT of digital ink spilled on the issue of "who Kickstarter is for" in the past few weeks. Ever since actor-director Zack Braff turned to the crowdfunding site looking to fund his followup to the indie hit Garden State. (Read More)

Dear Amazing Backers: We’re off and running!  Our crew is about to start getting larger every week. There are now 5 of us: Stacey – Producer Michael – Producer Coco- Co-producer and Queen of all Kickstarter Backer relations  Mark – my... (Read More)

Zach Braff's been in the news quite a bit over the past two weeks. The actor/director's Kickstarter campaign for his newest film project, Wish I Was Here, has already collected more than $2 million and 35,000 backers from across the world. (Read More)

We may have thought the world was done complaining about or defending Zach Braff's Kickstarter campaign, but earlier this week Emmy-winning television writer/director/producer Ken Levine ("M*A*S*H," "The Simpsons," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Dharma & Greg") reignited the debate over whether having multimillionaires on Kickstarter is a good or bad thing. (Read More)

Things are heating up when it comes to established celebrities and directors using Kickstarter to raise money for film projects, and Kevin Smith is starting to look like a wise prophet. When Kickstarter was used to raise money for a new Veronica Mars movie, fans rallied to support the film. There was a little backlash about Veronica Mars, but most seemed accepting that the film would never get made without Kickstarter. The Veronica Mars Kickstarter became the most successful Kickstarter campaign ever, raising $5.7 million for production of the film. (Read More)

There's been no shortage of outrage over Zach Braff's Kickstarter campaign for Wish I Was Here, the first film since his 2004 directorial debut Garden State. But the project's most damning — if not the most hilarious — indictment actually came last year, when New York wrote about the actor-director's newly gut-renovated downtown Manhattan loft. "I had this daydream of a cozy barn in upstate New York, but floating above the city," Braff told the magazine. "Manhattan is so crazy and mayhem-y, and I wanted something peaceful." The eleventh-floor, 2,600-square-foot spread features a 360-degree view spanning the East River to New Jersey, a $6,800 cast iron tub, a $2,895 "Papa Bear" chair, snapshots of his British model girlfriend taken with a $2,300 portrait camera, and "a piano and other instruments on hand for guests to tinker with." As Marvel Comics: The Untold Story author Sean Howe so succinctly put it on Facebook: "Somebody should give this guy money." (Read More)

We love our European backers! We have added Berlin, Paris and Rome advance screenings of "Wish I Was Here!"  You can pledge for one ticket, two tickets, or a meet and greet to have a drink and spend some extra time with Zach before we watch the... (Read More)

The "Garden State" director talks "Veronica Mars," anxiety over hitting the crowd-funding goal and answering all his critics. Zach Braff has heard the arguments about why he shouldn't be using Kickstarter to fund his new film. But he doesn't buy his detractors' logic. (Read More)

Our mailbox is filled with people savvy to the world of Kickstarter asking about a new stretch goal. So here goes: What is a stretch goal? It sounds like a yoga pose. A stretch goal means that since we've achieved our goal so quickly, thanks to the... (Read More)

Actor Zach Braff has joined the crowd-funding website Kickstarter for his next "personal" film. Braff's show "Scrubs" is currently in syndication and raking in loads of cash. Do celebrities overshadow artists that really need the money? (Read More)

Zach Braff has made a name for himself in Hollywood by playing the beloved role of JD in Scrubs and penning and directing the indie-hit Garden State. But for his latest project, he’s gone directly to the people. Hoping to keep final cut on Wish I Was Here, a film he co-wrote with his brother, Braff started a Kickstarter appeal to raise funds for the movie. While the project hit the $2 million goal in four days, some critics have angrily pointed out that well-known names like Braff shouldn’t be going to the crowds to get money for their projects. We talked to him about the film, and the backlash. (Read More)

Zach Braff knows a thing or two about crowdfunding now—and he's got Veronica Mars to thank for it. The ex-Scrubs star dishes to E! News exclusively about his mega-successful Kickstarter campaign, which in a matter of three days hit its goal and raised over $2 million to help finance Wish I Was Here, the follow-up film to 2004's hit Garden State that he plans once again to direct and star in. (Read More)

NEW YORK -- Since directing "Garden State," Zach Braff has continually prepared music in an iTunes playlist titled, "For Next Movie." Nine years and hundreds of saved songs later, Braff hopes he's finally making his follow-up to "Garden State" — if his fans can help. On Wednesday, in the wake of the enormously successful "Veronica Mars" Kickstarter campaign, the "Scrubs" star launched a crowd-funding campaign to make his next movie. For the next 30 days, he'll try to raise $2 million on Kickstarter for "Wish I Was Here," a film he co-wrote with his brother Adam. (Read More)

Dear Club Members, You asked, and we delivered. It took a few days of insane logistics, but your team figured it out. Limited Edition Vinyl of the soundtrack to "Wish I Was Here" now available on the page.  P.S. Sunday I asked you all who you were... (Read More)

Actor and director Zach Braff has hit back against suggestions he ought to have used his own money to fund his next film, rather than turning to the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform. (Read More)

Last week actor/director Zach Braff launched a Kickstarter for a new film and raised more than $2 million in just a few days. Naturally, some questioned why a celeb needed cash from average folk. But his presence is likely a good thing. (Read More)

Kickstarter is amazing. As is the case with all amazing things, however, there comes abuse. And Kickstarter abuse has become increasingly bothersome and offensive. By my definition, a Kickstarter abuser is a well-known person who has the financial means and/or professional connections to fully fund their project without asking their fans for money but asks anyway. (Read More)

As for those who don't approve of Braff's use of Kickstarter? They don't have to be involved! "People who don't like what I'm doing, that's fine," he says. "That's the great thing about crowd-sourcing—it's very pragmatic. You're into it or you're not. There are obviously a lot of people who like the idea and will support it. I feel like we've all joined this little club and we're going to make a movie together." (Read More)

Zach Braff recently started a Kickstarter for his new film 'Wish I Was Here' and he has already managed to raise close to $2 million so far. 'Wish I Was Here' is a follow-up to Braff's directorial debut 'Garden State', which has become a cult hit since its release in 2004. However, several bloggers and journalists have been criticizing Zach's use of Kickstarter, saying that someone of his stature shouldn't be asking the public to give him money when he could be using his own. A blogger for the Guardian wrote, "Is it OK for someone with Braff's financial clout to ask the public for their money? What irks is that the man on the street will not be an investor in the project, merely a donor. So if the movie becomes a sleeper hit like The Blair Witch Project, which was made for $60,000 but grossed $250m worldwide, no donor will see any kind of return. The producers get to build another kidney-shaped swimming pool, but you'll be left with your pdf of the screenplay ($10), frameable art prints ($60) or a fleeting moment as an extra ($2,500)." (Read More)

We're teaming up with the Alamo Drafthouse for an advance screening and Q&A in Austin!  We love the people at Alamo Drafthouse theaters because they are movie buffs just like us. They've been called "America's Coolest Theater" and if you haven't... (Read More)

Twenty dollars. That's how much the first successful Kickstarter campaign wanted to raise. L.J. Ruell, a Kickstarter user from Long Island City, launched a campaign in April 2009 to raise a small amount of money to make some drawings. "I like drawing pictures. and then i color them too," Ruell wrote in the proposal for his Kickstarter project, which was simply titled Drawing for Dollars. "So i thought i would suggest something for me to draw and then if someone wants me to draw it then they can put in some pennies and then ill draw it. and color it." (Read More)

Haters, hate away. Despite facing criticism in the media and online for allegedly milking cash from fans, actor and director Zach Braff’s Kickstarter campaign to fund his latest film “Wish I Was Here” reached its $2-million fundraising goal over the weekend. It only took three days. (Read More)

Well, this should not come as much of a surprise, but Zach Braff’s Kickstarter project has been a resounding success thus far. The actor managed to meet his goal on Saturday, raising over $2 million for his film “Wish I Was Here” with over 30,000 backers listed on the website. When the project was first announced last week, it seemed everyone in the social media universe had something to say about it. Ironically, the divisive reaction towards Braff’s Kickstarter project probably helped raise funds much faster than normal. (Read More)

Zach Braff, of Scrubs/Garden State fame, recently launched a Kickstarter to fund his new film. Yup, just like Veronica Mars. He's set the goal at $2 million, and, given his net worth is probably around $23 million, a lot of people are pretty mad. (Read More)

Within four days of launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund his new movie, Zack Braff has surpassed his goal of $2 million. As of Sunday morning, the actor and director had raised $2,135,039 from 30,066 backers to support Wish I Was Here, the follow-up to his directorial debut, Garden State. (Read More)

Part of Braff's campaign is bribing fans with t-shirts, advanced screenings and even cameo opportunities; and he met his $2 million goal in just days. (Read More)

Zach Braff is the latest celebrity to successfully fund a film through Kickstarter. The Scrubs actor raised $2 million in three days to fund a follow-up to his 2004 film, Garden State, according to the Associated Press. Currently, more than 30,000 backers pledged over $2.1 million to Braff's Wish I Was Here, with 25 days left in the campaign. (Read More)

It didn't catch fire quite as fast as the Veronica Mars movie, but Zach Braff's Kickstarter to create a follow-up to Garden State reached its $2 million goal in short order. (Read More)

In the wake of the "Veronica Mars" Kickstarter campaign, which raised over $5 million from fans to finally get a movie made, actor/writer/director Zach Braff saw an opportunity to make a follow-up to his directorial debut, "Garden State. "Wish I Was Here" was written by Zach and his brother, Adam Braff, and tells the story of a "struggling actor, father and husband." The character decides to home school the two young children of his sick father, doing away with the assigned curriculum for one of his own. (Read More)

Zach Braff has snubbed the Hollywood studio system and launched a remarkably successful Kickstarter initiative to finance his new film. In the resulting commotion and commentary, some important factors have been neglected. (Read More)

Zach Braff has met his goal on Kickstarter, raising $2 million in three days to fund his follow-up to Garden State. (Read More)

Zach Braff is funding his newest indie film through Kickstarter, but this has raised some hackles on the Web. Here's what we think about it. (Read More)

Production draws backing from over 28,000 (Read More)

“Wish I Was Here” has more than 29,000 backers on Kickstarter and with 26 days to go before the opportunity to fund Braff’s project ends, the movie could pull in hundreds of thousands, if not millions, more. With the minimum contribution set at a $1, the price of funding Braff’s movie is extremely affordable. (Read More)

The very rich Zach Braff's Kickstarter-funded Garden State sequel will see the light of a movie projector. His project reached its fundraising goal Saturday afternoon and has another 24 days to rack up as much money as possible.  (Read More)

Toronto and San Francisco, we heard you...we'll see you there for an advance screening! We also added more opportunities to be in the movie - as a featured extra or an extra for two! We are hearing all of you, thank you so much for your suggestions... (Read More)

Crowdfunding has helped countless creative projects get off the ground, but if we continue to allow it to be hijacked by the rich and famous there will be no chance left for the little guy (Read More)

It's little wonder that Zach Braff's Kickstarter campaign is so polarizing. On the one hand, it makes sense: With Garden State, the actor and director built himself somewhat of a cult following, and that following would no doubt love to see another film in a similar vein – so why not ask them to make it happen? On the other hand, this is the guy who made Garden State: what business does he have soliciting ordinary folks like you and me for cash? He’s a celebrity. (Read More)

Yesterday, filmmaker and actor Zach Braff launched a Kickstarter funding campaign for his new movie, “Wish I Was Here.” Predictably, it raised two things: the hackles of critics, and a lot of cash in a short amount of time. (Read More)

The paradigm has indeed started to shift as the old studio/financing structure is starting to give way to crowd funding and other independent avenues. (Read More)

Perry Chen is in serious danger of losing his “creative class” street credibility if he continues to allow Hollywood celebrities (who’ve had years of studio/network PR departments building up their fanbase) to come on his site and clean house. It comes across as a little disingenuous to pitch yourself as a champion for the creative class while at the same time profit off of celebrities like Braff and Bell. (Read More)

Zach Braff raised over $1.5 million on Kickstarter in one day to fund his new movie, Wish I Was Here. As of this afternoon, the film has over 21,700 backers and is less than $500,000 away from reaching its $2 million goal; it will serve as the follow-up to his 2004 directorial debut, Garden State. (Read More)

Actor Zach Braff's online fundraising campaign to finance his new film, a follow-up to 2004 comedy-drama Garden State, has already surpassed $US1 million ($A978,520). Braff launched the $US2 million bid for his new film after seeing the success of the Veronica Mars Kickstarter.com campaign. (Read More)

Zach Braff is the latest star to use the Kickstarter project to great effect, the actor managing to raise a whopping $1.4 million with 29 days of pledging action still to go. (Read More)

Wish I Was Here, followup to Braff's 2004 indie drama Garden State, is latest hit on crowdfunding site (Read More)

Hating on Garden State has long been hipster currency, and Braff's Kickstarter seemed to threaten to topple the goodwill around the crowd funding site just a month after Veronica Mars sharply raised its profile. But, as has happened so very many times, the loudest voices on the Internet were not actually the ones that mattered (Read More)

On the social aggregating website Reddit, users wondered why the star of the syndicated TV show “Scrubs” didn’t pony up the $2 million himself. Braff dismissed the criticism and says the reports of his net worth are nonsense. “People seem to think I have Oprah Winfrey money. I’ve done well in my career, but I am not sitting on $22 million," he said in an interview. (Read More)

Kickstarter may have another Hollywood hit on its hands as actor-director Zach Braff has decided to use the site to fund his next project. (Read More)

Less than 24 hours after launching his Kickstarter campaign to produce new movie “Wish I Was Here,” former “Scrubs” star Zach Braff is well on his way of meeting his $2 million fundraising goal. The star got over $1 million in donations in the first 12 hours and had topped the $1.5 million mark at the time of publication. (Read More)

Should successful Hollywood filmmakers solicit funds on Kickstarter? That's the question that is at the forefront of the indie filmmaking community now that actor/writer/director Zack Braff is asking for $2 million funds from fans to make the follow-up to his indie success "Garden State." (Read More)

You guys are amazing. I've been so overwhelmed by your outpouring of support I didn't get a chance to post here that I added a NY premiere and after party!!!! There are still a few spots left in my row :)  We also are adding more screenings in LA,... (Read More)

Wow. I'm so humbled by you all. NY advance screening is sold out. And London is so close! So, we're getting a bigger theater! You can choose to join me solo at $100 reward level or bring a date at the $200 reward level. Can't wait to see you there!... (Read More)

Since directing “Garden State,” Zach Braff has continually prepared music in an iTunes playlist titled, “For Next Movie.” Nine years and hundreds of saved songs later, Braff hopes he’s finally making his follow-up to “Garden State” — if his fans can help. (Read More)

Zach Braff has launched a Kickstarter for his follow-up to “Garden State,” and in less than a day it’s already over a quarter of the way to its $2 million goal. (Read More)

There are a lot of Garden State fans out there. Actor/director and Scrubs star Zach Braff has turned to Kickstarter to fund his idea for an indie English: Zach Braff at Tribeca Film Festival 2010 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) film called Wish I Was Here. In one day, he has nearly reached $1 million of his $2 [...] (Read More)

Hard to believe, but after the success of 2004's indie hit Garden State, Zach Braff still has to make sacrifices in order to make the movies he wants. Which is why, following the path recently trodden by Kristen Bell and the makers of Veronica Mars, who crowdfunded a big-screen version of their defunct TV show to the tune of nearly $6 million, the former Scrubs star is launching a Kickstarter campaign asking fans to fork over $2 million to finance his next directorial effort, Wish I Was Here. (Read More)

Zach Braff is intent on making a follow-up to his 2004 indie smash "Garden State." And he wants you to help pay for it. Inspired by a Kickstarter campaign that raised $5.7 million dollars from fans to make a "Veronica Mars" movie, the former "Scrubs" star launched his own crowd-funding effort. (Read More)

A fan of the movie "Garden State"? Want more? South Orange-born Zach Braff, the movie's director, is turning to the online fundraising platform Kickstarter to make it happen. The early indication is that it's working. (Read More)

Courteney Cox, Jessica Simpson and Aaron Paul are just a few of the famous who have joined fans in supporting Zach Braff. The 38-year-old actor/filmmaker is following in the footsteps of Rob Thomas, who set a record when he Kickstarted a "Veronica Mars" movie in March, with his own Kickstarter co... (Read More)

Whether or not you approve of the millions raised by the Kickstarter campaign for "Veronica Mars," it's really all a matter of perspective. Some folks are just fine giving Warner Bros. what is essentially a free movie, while others are a bit more hesitant to fund a picture whose budget is mere pocket change for the studio. The lines of ethics and charitable contribution are gray and shifting and certainly this latest celebrity endeavor will continue the conversation. (Read More)

Call it The Veronica Mars Effect. Inspired by the former TV series' Kickstarter success, this morning Zach Braff launched his own Kickstarter project for a film he hopes to star in and direct. "After I saw the incredible way Veronica Mars fans rallied around Kristen Bell and her show's creator Rob Thomas, I couldn't help but think maybe there is a new way to finance smaller, personal films that didn't involve signing away all your artistic control," Braff says. (Read More)

Braff tells THR that he turned to Kickstarter over financiers because, "When you’re trying to make these smaller personal art films, the idea of giving final cut away to someone else, it doesn’t make any sense for me." (Read More)

Zach Braff’s first film, Garden State, has passionate fans, and they’ve all been wondering what’s kept Braff from doing another film. The one-word answer is “Financing.” Movies are expensive to make, but after the success of the Veronica Mars Kickstarter campaign, Braff decided to turn to the crowdfunding site to pay for his next film Wish I Was Here with a little help from his friends. (Read More)

It's been nearly ten years since "Scrubs" star Zach Braff made his directorial debut with Garden State, a film that I still love unconditionally, even if other critics believe it hasn't aged well. Many have been waiting for Braff to get back behind the camera, and now it sounds like that's finally going to happen, but only with help from his adoring fans. Following in the footsteps of the recent Veronica Mars success, Braff has taken to Kickstarter to collect funding for his sophomore directing effort, a comedic drama titled Wish I Was Here, which will again feature Braff in the lead, working from a script he wrote with brother Adam Braff. (Read More)

Following the recent success of the "Veronica Mars" Kickstarter campaign, Zach Braff has launched a Kickstarter campaign of his own for his follow-up to 2004's "Garden State," "Wish I Was Here." The film centers on Adrian Bloom (played by guess who...), "a struggling actor, father, and husband," who spends his days fantasizing about being his childhood hero Space-Knight. Bloom's father gets sick and can no longer to pay for the private schooling of Bloom's two kids, and with the public school on its last legs, Bloom decides to home-school his children. Awkward, bumbling encounters seem to be what comes of this set-up. Braff wrote the script with his brother Adam. (Read More)

Nine years after making his directorial debut in “Garden State,” actor Zach Braff is looking to direct a follow-up he's written, entitled “Wish I Was Here,” about a struggling actor’s existential crisis. One would think, given "Garden State’s" critical success and its $35.8-million worldwide box office take on an estimated budget of $2.5 million, Braff would have no trouble securing the financing and creative freedom he needs to make the film happen. Not so, says Braff. (Read More)

Zach Braff is halfway to his Kickstarter goal. OUR EDITOR RECOMMENDS The Dangers of the 'Veronica Mars' Kickstarter Victory (Guest Column) Has 'Veronica Mars' Ushered in a New Era of Movie Development? Following in the footsteps of Veronica Mars series creator Rob Thomas (whose project raised $2 million in fundraising in its first day), the Scrubs star's campaign to finance an original film has hit $1 million in pledged funds. (Read More)

Zach Braff just became the second most high-profile film project on Kickstarter — and he wasn’t quite expecting all the attention. “I feel like one of those people who you hear the stories about, actors get woken up early because they won some award,” Braff told us this morning on the heels of the announcement of his next directorial project, Wish I Was Here, for which he’s hoping to raise $2 million through Kickstarter. (Read More)

Zach Braff hasn't written or directed a movie since the polarizing 2004 indie "Garden State," but on Wednesday the former television star announced he had a new feature in the works: "Wish I Was Here," an original film Braff co-wrote with his brother Adam about a struggling actor in his 30s. Braff, who will also direct the film, launched a Kickstarter campaign for the project in an effort to get independent funding. (Read More)

On Wednesday, the actor-director announced a crowd-funding campaign to finance Wish I Was Here, a kind of follow-up to his indie hit Garden State. (Read More)