Actor Zach Braff's Movie Kickstarter Raises $1.4M in One Day

Last month, a team of producers and actors behind the now defunct television show Veronica Mars took to Kickstarter to raise money for a movie version of the production. To the surprise of many unfamiliar with the show, the campaign quickly smashed Kickstarter records, and ultimately earned more than $5.7 million.

Those results sent shockwaves through Hollywood, and many wondered if crowd-sourcing might be the next big thing for movie fundraising. One person who hoped lightning would strike twice was actor Zach Braff, who launched a Kickstarter campaign for his next film yesterday, which has already raised more than $1.4 million.

Braff's first film, Garden State, was a cult hit and is widely acknowledged as a solid effort by the director, best known for his acting work on the TV show Scrubs. But, according to Braff, getting a new film funded meant agreeing to serious compromises in terms of creative direction, so he turned to Kickstarter to raise money for his new film, Wish I Was Here.

In a video (below), Braff mentions the success of the Veronica Mars campaign as the inspiration for his own entrance into the crowd-sourced funding arena.

The movie is the story of Aidan Bloom (Braff), who is a 35-year-old struggling actor still trying to figure it all out. To escape from the stress of daily life, Bloom "passes his time by fantasizing about being the great futuristic Space-Knight he'd always dreamed he'd be as a little kid," Braff wrote. The film was penned by Braff and his brother, Adam.

So far, it looks like Braff is on the right track. Since announcing his project yesterday, his campaign has already raised $1,456,754 of its $2 million goal. In fact, as of this writing, everytime we refresh the page the funding number is larger. The Wish I Was Here campaign offers supporters perks such as promotional gear, set visits, personalized audio and video greetings from Braff, a filmmaking symposium, the right to name a character, and even the ability to work on the film as an extra or full cast member.

The early support of Braff's Kickstarter project is particularly significant because, while Veronica Mars was a long established series on a major television network, Braff's film is a totally unknown property in terms of look and feel, so the backers are offering support based solely on his reputation.

For more, check out Why 2013 Is the Best Time To Be a Fangirl and Kickstarter Co-Founder Talks Up Veronica Mars, Crowd-Funding Zeitgeist.