'Veronica Mars' creator launches fan-funded movie project
Posted Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 11:22 AM Central
Last updated Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 12:05 PM Central
by Tim Briscoe
I'm ashamed to say it but there's very little that gets me excited about new movie projects these days. I spend most of my working hours learning about upcoming films. All the sequels and reboots are getting rather mundane.
On the other hand, today's launch of a fan-contributed Veronica Mars movie has me all geeked up. I'm beyond excited at the real prospect of the vastly underrated TV series that ran on The WB from 2004 until its cancellation in 2007.
The mystery starred Kristen Bell in the title role, an amateur sleuth following in the footsteps of her private investigator father played by Enrico Colantoni. It may seem like Encyclopedia Brown or Nancy Drew territory to the outsider but the show was filled with such snarky comedy and suspense that it became a cult favorite.
Rob Thomas, the show's creator, launched the project on the Kickstarter website. Kickstarter is the platform for creative projects that are funded by ordinary people. You can be a patron to some great film, game, music, art and technology projects -- and get some cool rewards to show for it.
Thomas set the all-or-nothing goal of $2 million for this long-anticipated movie version of the TV show. Like all Kickstarter projects, a video introduction is included. Even if you weren't a fan of the show, it's worth checking out. It also gives you an idea of the humor and tone that Veronica Mars fans know well.
Yeah that's Bell and Colantoni featured in the video along with Jason Dohring and Ryan Hansen. Dohring played Veronica's troubled boyfriend Logan while Hansen was his buddy and all-around clown Dick Casablancas.
I was a huge VM fan back in the day. The show's pilot is darn near perfect. The entire run was great but season two stands out as especially awesome.
Of course I'm going to back this project. The only question is how much. Contributing $100 gives me the script, poster, t-shirt and DVD/Blu-ray for the film. There was a $10,000 reward for a speaking role in the movie but it's already been snagged by a contributor. Not that I could afford it anyhow.
I've been a fan of the Kickstarter model for some time now. I've backed 13 projects to date. I'm very proud I've been able to help bring someone's creative vision to reality.
There are some downsides to Kickstarter. You are getting in at a project's infancy so there's a long, excruciating wait before you get anything (besides satisfaction) in return. The estimated delivery time for the VM project is May 2014.
The extra wrinkle with this project is Warner Bros. As Thomas mentions on the page, they still own the rights to VM. They have allowed Thomas to do this Kickstarter project, presumably to gauge fan interest, but will they allow it through to fruition? Warner could search through their proverbial couch cushions and find more than $2 million. If Warner does get involved, will they allow Thomas to pursue his vision? There are a lot of unanswered questions out there.
When I first heard of this project and checked out the site, Thomas and crew had gathered $20,000. As of this writing -- a mere hour later -- they're already over $250,000. There's no doubt this will this will go unfunded. They have a month to reach the goal amount. This largest-ever Kickstarter for a movie could be wrapped up in less than a day. So, if you want to see a Veronica Mars movie and would like a reward for contributing, don't delay.
We've create a page on our site for this seemingly real film. Even if you don't fund the project, you can sign up to be notified of the film's release.