VERONICA. MARS. MOVIE.
At approximately 10:37 a.m. yesterday, Rob Thomas posted a Kickstarter campaign to fund an honest-to-God Veronica Mars movie. As of 8:55 p.m., not even twelve hours later, they hit their $2 million goal. This morning they've taken in over $2.5 million.
It's gonna happen.
I am beside myself over here, y'all. Veronica and Logan are my OTP*, and the thought that Rob & co. are getting the chance to wrap up their story -- not to mention giving the Neptune folks a slightly less bleak ending than they got in the series finale -- is enough to make me squeal like my 12-year-old niece at a Taylor Swift show.
| I mean, right? |
I will happily admit that I kicked in some money immediately upon discovering that they were looking to crowd-source the movie's funding. I've seen some pushback, though, particularly on Twitter, where some people are wondering what kind of precedent this sets for fans who essentially will end up paying to see the movie twice -- once via Kickstarter, and once more at the box office. But you know what? I honestly don't mind. I know I'm lucky to be able to afford to essentially drop $50 on a movie ticket, but I do believe Rob and friends are doing this for the love of the characters and the Veronica Mars universe, not as any sort of profit grab, and I am happy to pay more to help create a movie (any content, really) featuring a world that I love as much as I love Veronica Mars.
I suppose there is some risk that studios will read this as an indication that they don't need to take as many risks with off-center programming, given that fans will just pick up the slack for any projects they don't want to gamble on, but I don't necessarily think that's so. In the first place, this is a discrete project to give an ending to a cult favorite, not a brand-new project trying to launch. For that purpose, I think it's pretty genius -- essentially, rather than shelling out to send peanuts to the CBS offices, fans are spending that money to pay for the very projects we care the most about. (See what I did there?) In fact, Shawn Ryan tweeted that, if this works, he may consider it as a way to give the adored but hardly-watched Terriers a proper movie-length sendoff.
Besides, with companies like Netflix gambling more on shows like House of Cards, I am starting to climb on the bandwagon that the big studio/major network model is just about irreparably broken. If I have to chip in to fund programming that I love, that takes risks and is smart and engaging, then I'm more than willing to do it -- whether it's by paying for Netflix or contributing to a one-off Kickstarter campaign like this one.
I mean, if Joss Whedon had passed around the hat to fund Much Ado About Nothing, rather than paying for it on his own dime (and by "dime" I mean "Scrooge McDuck vault of cash from The Avengers"), wouldn't you have dropped a couple bucks in? I'd much rather pay (twice, even) for that kind of project to get off the ground than to sit around for years bitching on Twitter about how it's never going to happen.
Regardless, you should all visit the Veronica Mars Movie Project Kickstarter page. Give till it hurts, people. It's the only way Logan will ever live to smolder again! And while you're at it, make sure you watch their Kickstarter video. Priceless.
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| Never forget. |
*Yes, six years after the show went off the air. I ain't ashamed.
3 comments:
EXACTLY, Caroline, exactly. This is just the next progression of the old "letter writing" campaign. And if people aren't willing to "pay twice" to see something...then don't pay. There's obviously interest since they hit the mark so fast, but if you don't want to do it, don't do it.
Yay, Veronica and Logan! (contended sigh)
Totally agreed. (Well, about the main point. I remain one of the only people on earth who think Veronica and Logan are better when they hate each other.)
What I'm most interested to see is how does this contribute to the de-centralization of the studio model? There are so many shows that are now given second life through places like Netflix or Kickstarter that it makes me wonder to what extent the studios will realize that they're at the edge of a different paradigm. Will they go the way of businesses that evolve into new methods (similar to how some clothing lines reinvent themselves every generation) or will they start acting like the RIAA and choking off their own talent in order to stay in power?
Also, I DEMAND THAT VERONICA INTERACT WITH A SLOTH! The internet is going to go nuts if they had that happen, face it. In fact, I'm convinced they could get more money by offering naming rights to the sloth character.
I don't see it as "paying twice" - this time I paid for a T-shirt and a digital copy of the movie, and next time I'll pay to spend two hours in line/in a theater, geeking out with my fellow "marshmallows." NOTHING CAN GO WRONG WITH THIS PLAN.
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