There are 91,585 people who will be very excited to see the first trailer for the new Veronica Mars movie, which has officially landed online. That’s how many people pledged their own, hard-earned cash when the creator of the TV series took to Kickstarter in Spring 2013 with his movie masterplan.
Veronica Mars fans have been campaigning for the resurrection of their beloved Private Detective ever since the show was cancelled after three seasons in 2007. Creator Rob Thomas had often hinted at a movie idea, but was unable to generate the necessary studio support. As fans became more vocal, studio executives set Thomas a challenge: demonstrate that there is enough fan interest to warrant a movie and studio distribution will follow. That’s where Kickstarter came in.
Taking to the online platform that crowdfunds artistic endeavours, Rob Thomas and actress Kristen Bell made their proposal to fans – put your money where your mouth is and we’ll give you your movie. They offered incentives too, including signed mechandise, voicemail messages, background extra roles, and even a speaking part for the top donator.
Unsurprisingly, the Veronica Mars movie became the fastest project on the site to reach $2 million and, by the end of its campaign, it had become the project with the most backers in Kickstarter history. At a final total of $5,702,153 in pledges, it also became the third highest funded project ever to use the site.
That’s a lot of fan-pressure on a director making his feature film debut. Additionally, with their project essentially beta-testing a new business model, the cautious eyes of studio executives are on this one too. This was always going to be a highly scrutinised trailer but thankfully, things are looking good. Writers Rob Thomas and Diane Ruggiero seem to have stayed faithful to the tone of the show, with snappy dialogue from our favorite characters and plenty of action, drama, humour and romance to reassure studio suits.
Will Veronica Mars translate well to the big the screen? Will this film prove that crowdfunded cinema is the way of the future, putting audiences back in the driver’s seat? All will be revealed on March 14 2014.
