But that's not all it's good for.
A fantasy project has popped on the site, one hoping to become a reality. Veronica Mars was a show about a high school aged detective (Kristen Bell) that lasted three seasons, but that still puts it in the "killed too soon" category for many fans. They've wanted to see it return, and a movie has been rumored to be in the works for years now.
Well, thanks to Kickstarter, it might actually happen. Show creator Rob Thomas talked it over with Warner Bros. and started up a Kickstarter to "gauge fan interest." The goal is two million dollars, and in the first four hours, Veronica Mars fans shattered records by raising a million bucks. As of now, the total is $1,180,000, and the number jumps at least a thousand with every page refresh.
Though the goal is two million, if they can maintain this sort of momentum, that yields a better film according to Thomas:
"My goal is to include as many of your favorite characters as possible. It is, after all, time for Veronica’s 10-year high school reunion. Keep in mind that the more money we raise, the cooler movie we can make. A two million dollar fundraising total probably means cross words are exchanged at the class reunion. Three million? We can afford a full-on brawl. Ten million? Who knows... For some reason the Neptune High class reunion takes place on a nuclear submarine! A Hobbit shows up! There’s a Bollywood end-credit dance number! I’ve always wanted to direct Bill Murray. We’ll figure out something cool. Hey, if that total goes high enough, I’ll bet the good folks at Warner Bros. will agree a sequel is a good idea."
Now, I'm assuming that Warner Bros. would provide some sort of matching funds here, as they can't possibly expect a movie like this to be completely crowd funded, right? That would essentially means fans raised the money, then proceeded to pay for tickets in order to see it on top of that. Warner Bros. would be responsible for what? The marketing? The exact divvying up of financial responsibility is unclear, though I suppose the bigger the initial money pile, the more potential the film has to do whatever it wants, wherever it wants. Veronica Mars takes place in a world that doesn't exactly need much (if any) CGI, so a low budget doesn't seem like the worst affliction.
I didn't realize the show still had a fanbase this devoted, and donation rewards are already being snapped up by the thousands from a copy of the script ($10) all the way up to a speaking role ($10,000). This may end up being the most impressive Kickstarter yet, if it can maintain this sort of enthusiasm from its fans.
I'm curious to see what happens if this succeeds. What will be the next show/movie attempting to rally its fanbase to donate millions for it to live on?
A Firefly miniseries, anyone? You want to see some records broken, get Joss Whedon up there whipping up Browncoats into a fundraising frenzy.
UPDATE: As of 9pM EST (nine, ten hours total?), the fundraiser has already met its goal of $2M. Wow, just wow.
UPDATE #2: Read my follow-up to this article, "How Exactly Did Veronica Mars Fund a Movie in Ten Hours?"
Follow me on Twitter here and subscribe to my Forbes blog here.
Also on Forbes:
