19 ms·
Wish I was here by Zach Braff
- niggler 14y agoLooking back on the veronica mars kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-m...) I'm surprised to see that most of the largest pledges were hit (1/1 at $10K, 3/3 at $8K, 3/3 at $6.5K, 4/5 at $5K, 10/10 at $3.5K, 30/30 at $3K, 20/20 at $2500, 300/300 at $1000)
- danvideo 14y agoTrue, but the smaller ones look like they generated a crap-ton of money: Pledge $35 x 22997 backers - digital download Pledge $50 x 23227 backers - dvd Braff's project isn't offering these pledge rewards, a decision he seems to be OK with for distribution but would probably generate TONS of backers.
- niggler 14y agoIn this project, the tee is $40. In VM the tee is $25. But I think the soundtrack was seen by Braff as a Big Deal, which is probably why it shows up at a lower price point ($20) than the tee.
- InclinedPlane 14y agoI glanced through the reward levels and I think he's done a smart job of pricing them. A lot of people make the mistake of setting the reward levels at store pricing levels rather than rewards. Printed t-shirts are fairly expensive, especially when you add in shipping, so it's easy to end up with very little margin on a reward level that includes a t-shirt, especially if it's near the $15 dollar level (which is pretty much cost). It's smarter to use intangible rewards (like digital goods) that have near zero incremental cost or to make sure that you have at least 100% margin on anything else. Assuming that you're running your kickstarter for financing and not as a pre-order store.
- niggler 14y agoespecially if it's near the $15 dollar level (which is pretty much cost). I remember ordering once (this was 7 years ago) at $5-$7 a tee and USPS charged around 2.75 at the time, for a grand total closer to $10
- akiselev 14y agoYes but if the T-shirt award level had tens of thousands of backers, they can hire a large company like threadless to print and distribute the T-shirts (Even complicated Threadless t-shirts are mostly $20 with a nice profit margin, with free shipping on orders over $50). At these scales $25 is quite profitable.
- niggler 14y agoYou misread my statement. The claim the parent made was that $15 was near cost, and I was stating my experience that the soup-to-nuts cost is closer to $10 (and could be lower)
- sophacles 14y agoIt was kind of a Big Deal. I've been part of or party to this conversation many times (details vary, this is the gist of it tho): "blah blah blah Zach Braff blah blah" "Who's Zach Braff?" "The guy from Scrubs, he also did some movies." "Oh yeah, Garden State right? That had a great sound track."
- smackfu 14y agoYeah, and VM was $35 for the tee plus movie. Which personally seems to value the movie itself rather low.
- mbreese 14y agoIt is a big deal... the Garden State soundtrack is still in my regular rotation now almost 10 years later. Braff's projects have always had good soundtracks.
- smackfu 14y agoI think it's just that these are real legitimate properties, and there are some people out there who both have money and are big fans.
- bluetidepro 14y agoI wonder how much this will help Kickstarter, to gain some big attention like this. It would be interesting to see more celebrity types doing their own projects. > "You will provide your own travel and accommodation." I found it sort of funny that if you pledge the $10,000+ you still have to provide your own travel. Kind of cheap, don't you think, Zach? Haha EDIT: Yes, I understand the logistics of people making their own travel plans, I just thought it was funny (in general).
- dzlobin 14y agoWell, presumably people who dish out $10k+ for a kickstarter campaign can provide better travel arrangements than the producers can without using half of their donation.
- threeseed 14y agoReturn business class flights in Australia to Los Angeles can be at least $15K.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- citricsquid 14y ago$10k from someone that lives down the road = $10k for the campaign $10k from someone the other side of the world = $6k for the campaign you see the problem here with deducting travel costs from the backing cost, right?
- rplnt 14y agoDon't forget $500 for kickstarter and about $200 for amazon.
- doppel 14y agoWell, without it becomes a giant wildcard. Imagine flying someone in from the other side of the planet and providing accomodations - suddenly it ends up being less of a helping hand to make the movie and basically a very expensive premiere ticket and accomodation. All kickstarter rewards basically have to give you somwething back, but still make the project money, and usually the higher-tier rewards give you less monetary rewards and more feel good / influential rewards.
- crikli 14y agoOff-topic: what if Kickstarter had been around in 2006 for Arrested Development? Perhaps we wouldn't just now be getting a season 4.
- intended 14y agoI suspect the same could be said of other shows, and in particular firefly.
- ganarajpr 14y agoI soooo wish there was a firefly kickstarter!!!
- kleiba 14y agoLet it go, Indy. Firefly lay down for good to rest in serenity.
- eric_the_read 14y agoWhedon had said he doesn't have time for at least 3 more years: http://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/joss-whedon-on-kickstarter-and-firefly?s=mobile http://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/joss-whedon-on-kickstarter...
- bobsy 14y agoPersonally I would love to see Jericho picked up again!
- DanBC 14y agoI wonder what would happen to a show like Firefly[1] or Jericho[2] Caprica[3]if they were suspended after the first season, and the studio put up a kickstarter saying "We'll cancel unless we get $2m from fans of the show". At least those shows do stand a chance with fan-backing. Something like 'Rubicon' would, I think, totally fail at kickstarter even though it was good. [1] A great show. I'm not sure how well it would have lasted with the traditional US "spin out a series for as long as possible" format. But, with careful plotting, it would have been an amazing 3 season (12 episodes per season) show. EDIT: Fox hates the Firefly fanbase. (http://io9.com/fox-bans-the-sale-of-unlicensed-jayne-hats-from-firefly-471820413 http://io9.com/fox-bans-the-sale-of-unlicensed-jayne-hats-fr...) Really, this is just open contempt for people who are willingly promoting your content. [2] I really wanted to like this. I did like the first series. I really wanted an OQO (the tiny handheld computer that one of the characters has). But the second series was daft. This could have been a pretty good show and it's a shame it's gone. [3] Caprica was good, I thought. Had some interesting concepts.
- lenazegher 14y agoShouldn't it be 'Wish I were here'?
- davidw 14y agoYes, but I suppose it's that way on purpose. Bugs me too, though.
- cmicali 14y agoI thought that every time the title was mentioned in the body copy.
- darkxanthos 14y agoWith the way he kept on saying "Adam and me" I'm not sure if he's trying to be relatable or if he just speaks that way.
- GrantS 14y agoUnless I'm missing something, "Adam and me" looks correct everywhere he uses it.
- darkxanthos 14y agoShould it not be Adam and I?
- law 14y agoIt depends on the context. When combined with other subjective pronouns to form the subject of a verb, "I" is correct (as in "You and I are commenting on this topic"). However, when combined with other objective pronouns to form the object of a verb/preposition, you should use "me" (as in "Others are commenting on this topic along with you and me").[1] [1] http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/i-or-me http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/i-or-me
- darkxanthos 14y ago
- workbench 14y agoFind it hard to believe he would have trouble financing that elsewhere or out of his own pocket.
- threeseed 14y agoAs was said on the Kickstarter page, he could. But then again he would potentially lose final cut, character choice, location choice etc.
- esrauch 14y agoI think workbenches point is that he could have just financed the movie directly himself, not just that he could convince someone else to finance it.
- DanBC 14y agoOther people giving him $2m means he has some idea that people will at least watch it. It also means he has some of his own money available as a safety net if he needs it. None of the reward tiers mention "being allowed to watch the movie" - I wonder how much piracy there will be of this? If I'd paid $20 I'd feel okay about downloading it.
- citricsquid 14y agoHe replied about the personal financing here: http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/1d02a2/help_zach_braff_make_his_new_movie/c9ln8lt http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/1d02a2/help_zach_bra...
- InclinedPlane 14y agoYou're assuming that he's not and that $2 million is the total budget for the project rather than the additional money he would need to make the project a reality.
- replicatorblog 14y agoIt's interesting to see how celebrity doesn't necessarily lead to huge wins on KS. Veronica Mars raised almost $3MM on day 1. Melissa Joan Hart launched a Kickstarter over a week ago and was met with a very weak response, $$30K over two weeks. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/318676760/darcis-walk-of-shame http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/318676760/darcis-walk-of... Zach Braff has more indie cred, but lacks the cult following Veronica Mars had. If Braff stalls at around $1MM and MJH's maxes out at $50K, I wonder if that will be the last we see of celebrities for a while? It must be a pretty huge blow to the ego seeing that your celebrity isn't quite as bankable as you hoped.
- jonathanjaeger 14y agoIt's not just celebrity. Melissa Joan Hart's project just doesn't seem like it has much thought to it. "Oh they can do it for Veronica Mars, so let me do it too." The project video wasn't great. Plus the premise isn't known at all -- not saying a movie about "Clarissa Explains It All" would be successful, but it would have been more successful. Someone at my work jumped out of her seat when I mentioned the Veronica Mars project to her. Zach Braff might not have the cult following, but at least he has the Reddit community and Scrubs/Garden State fans to at least get him to reach his goal. Many of the perks for the Veronica Mars project were filled quickly, which slowed down the funding after the big spike, so we'll see what happens with Zach Braff's movie.
- danvideo 14y agoAgree that it's not just celebrity - it's also campaign on Kickstarter. He's not offering as many obvious reward tiers (download, DVD) which are more tempting for backers which Veronica Mars did have.
- jonathanjaeger 14y agoTrue, good point.
- InclinedPlane 14y agoCelebrity is more or less orthogonal, I think. Obviously being well-known is important, but it's about reputation more than anything. Zach has a reputation for have a strong creative hand in film and tv projects which have had a very strong connection with fans, as his work on Garden State has demonstrated. The same goes with the Veronica Mars team. Had Rob Thomas or Kristen Bell tried to use Kickstarter for some non-Veronica Mars related project they may not have received as much enthusiasm, because Veronica Mars as a project and as an entity on its own definitely has fans and definitely engenders a significant amount of trust that they'll deliver a product that is worth the investment. Also, I don't think you have any concept of Zach Braff's reputation or following, and I suspect this project will probably exceed its goal faster than the Veronica Mars project did.
- VLM 14y agoHis "Garden State" movie and the plan for the new one don't look very formulaic. I stopped going to movies when I didn't need to find a place to make out with my girlfriend anymore and I stopped watching fiction movies when I got bored of seeing the same old stuff over and over. He should list this in his discussion of risks, in that he never quite explains why its bad to put the financiers in editorial control of his movie, although they clearly do a good job of narrowcasting typical formulaic movies (to the small fraction of the population who likes that kinda stuff and therefore might not like his stuff). Also as per the narrowcasting comment his movies now sound interesting to me although I got bored with movies and stopped watching a long time ago (like most people, looking at percentages). So his risks section also needs a better plan to reach outside the usual movie going public than a kickstarter and maybe the Sundance festival. He may get more money from the general public if he writes to a general public audience who has no idea who he is, rather than what appears to be indie movie fans. I'm not asking for a major editorial content change, just add another 10% length explaining why would the average dude off the street who doesn't do the movie thing since he was a kid, care, much less send him some dough? Note that I've personally sent/kickstarted Jason Scott the nonfiction documentary producer enough to buy a plane ticket or two over the years, this isn't a new idea. Now this is assuming what I got out of imdb and kickstarter has any relation to reality. Maybe Garden State is just another boring romantic comedy or teen fart joke formula movie. Can anyone who's actually seen his movies, comment?
- jmduke 14y agoGarden State is one of my favorite movies, and even I'll admit it's a pretty formulaic bildungsroman, very much in the vein of Cameron Crowe. The strengths of the movie are less in the overarching plot and with the details, such as the soundtrack, cinematography, and excellent script. At first blush, this new script looks remarkably original. That being said, everything's relative: there's the old cliche that every possible story has already been told, and I think the trick is less to put forward something new and more to put forward something great. In terms of the strategy behind the campaign: it seems very much in the vein of the Veronica Mars kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-m...), in the sense that its appealing more to the fans of the original work (I'd imagine the cult of Veronica Mars fans and the cult of Garden State fans has some significant overlap.)
- alenart 14y agoIs he not getting any more of those sweet residuals checks from 'Scrubs'?
- bryanlarsen 14y agoIt's very strange that one of the rewards isn't a copy of the film. It probably impacts his ability to sell distribution rights to the film, so it's understandable. It does limit the appeal of the kickstarter to casual fans, though.
- dantheman 14y agoI really don't like that they don't do a $10 - $15 digital download. You can provide the download after the film is in theaters, it can be thought of as a preorder of the dvd only cheaper for them.
- jmduke 14y agoI agree, but that's likely infeasible because it interferes with theatres' distribution rights.
- dantheman 14y agoYeah, but as I addressed above you can release the download after it's been in the theater and out on dvd.
- InclinedPlane 14y agoI think it's a good idea actually. Kickstarter is about funding projects, not necessarily about getting stuff.
- smackfu 14y agoHeh, the good old "Kickstarter is not a store, it's just a website where you give money and get stuff in the mail later."
- ctdonath 14y agoArticle includes: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein An irritating quote. I keep doing the same thing over and over again because I keep getting different results - at least where people are involved.
- jmduke 14y agoWhen it comes to people, doing the same thing is rarely doing the same thing.
- pdwetz 14y agoGreat one, although that sounds like Yogi Berra.
- loupeabody 14y agoI tend to hear this quote brought up by people who are either really eager to name drop Einstein or excuse themselves for being insane. The quote makes much more sense within the context of scientific experimentation. Applying it to a typical, mundane set of experiences, to me, is pretty crass.
- mseebach 14y agoIf "different result each time" (i.e. non-determinism) is the expected result, then you're not expecting a different result.
- ctdonath 14y ago[head explodes]
- darshan 14y agoIrritating in part because Einstein never said it. http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein
- andydrizen 14y agoDoesn't want to take money because it alters his vision of the movie. $10K - have a line in the film. $7K - name a character.
- autarch 14y agoOne line (that he writes) versus choice of casting, location, and final cut. You really can't see the difference?
- ryusage 14y agoThose are minute details. If he accepted money from a studio, there would be people telling him he needed to add whole scenes, even if they made no sense with what he was trying to do.
- InclinedPlane 14y agoSo, let's review. On the one hand we have: change the casting of the major characters, rewrite the script until it completely changes the tone or meaning of the film. On the other hand we have: effectively become an extra in some random part of the film with a single line written by Zach, pick a name for a character that will be spoken at least once, at some point in the film. Let's play "which of these completely changes the movie and which is an inconsequential and minor modification".
- smackfu 14y agoPretty clever choices of rewards. There's nothing physical as a reward until the $40 t-shirt level. And the digital stuff is generally ephemeral, like a stream of the soundtrack vs a download of it, or a stream of the movie vs a download of it. A lot of movide / documentary Kickstarters make the mistake of having a lot of physical rewards, on different timetables that need to be shipped separately, and end up not getting much money for the movie.
- agotterer 14y agoWill the passing of the Jobs Act allow everyday people to make an actual investment with upside potential in something like a film? Is the corporate structure similar to that of a startup?
- InclinedPlane 14y agoIf the SEC ever manages to implement it, yes.
- rmrfrmrf 14y agoI don't like seeing Kickstarter as a celebrity offering plate . I also find the "rewards" to be incredibly self-aggrandizing: "For just $250, I will take 15 full seconds out of my day to acknowledge you as a human being and utter a phrase of your choosing into a microphone. Or, for $10K, I'll give you the incredible privilege of working for me." Gee, thanks. Not to mention that Garden State was basically an hour and a half of me rolling my eyes from how obsessively hard Braff tries to be 'original'. I'll pass.
- jmduke 14y agoIn my opinion, the beauty of Kickstarter is that it's a democratic platform. If you don't think the rewards or the project itself are worth backing, then don't back it. If you do, back it. It's not as if Kickstarter is this magical service to give celebrities more money: for example, Melissa Joan Hart's Kickstarter is doing pretty poorly (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/318676760/darcis-walk-of-shame http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/318676760/darcis-walk-of...).
- Osmium 14y agoI think that's a little cynical. Kickstarter is basically a way for the audience to act as patrons of the Arts: the rewards in this case are just a bonus. I think many people would support a project like this with no reward at all other than seeing the final product.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- jimzvz 14y agoI think, once you see Melissa Joan Hart's kickstarter[1], you will see how sincere Zach's rewards are in comparison. [1] - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/318676760/darcis-walk-of-shame http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/318676760/darcis-walk-of...
- aaronbrethorst 14y agoI still want Carl Kasell's voice on my 'home answering machine'. If NPR offered that as a reward for a $250 pledge, I just might do it. (http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/features/messages.html http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/features/messages.html)
- coherentpony 14y agoDisclaimer: I haven't read the page. Why on Earth was this upvoted? The quality of articles on the front page has been truly disappointing recently. This is not tech news.
- why-el 14y agoIt is using a technology platform. Any artist who goes out of their way to capitalize on what we developers build will be a star on HN,especially if they cut the middle man and show a commitment to platforms we associate with openness or coolness. At least that's how I view it. Louis C.K. is a great example.
- driverdan 14y agoWhile this specific movie may not be tech news per se the concept is very relevant. We're seeing a shift away from traditional funding models towards web tech allowing individuals and small teams to self fund. This fits the hacker ethos.
- podperson 14y agoHere's what I think is missing from this kickstarter (and was a huge part of the Veronica Mars kickstarter success) -- you can't pay a reasonable amount of money and get the final product. I realize he probably can't sell advance tickets (beyond special cases like opening night) but how about, say, the DVD/Bluray/iTunes/Amazon version when it becomes available. I'm not a huge Zach Braff fan, but I liked Scrubs a lot, and I enjoyed Garden State. I would totally pay $20 to get the production diary + digital version when it becomes available. Personally, I think the "pay me to make this movie/tv series and if I get the money I will deliver it to you" model is the future for a lot of entertainment (especially for known quantities like -- say -- the people who produced Stargate SG-1). The inefficiency of paying a network to speculatively create and back TV shows based on guesstimated potential advertising revenue and a tiny chance of a massive payoff if the show is a hit is horrendous.
- jimzvz 14y agoyeah, I agree that it is missing a $20/$25 digital download available after the theatre run. I would like to see their reasoning, for this exclusion, beyond the distribution rights argument.
- bconway 14y agoyou can't pay a reasonable amount of money and get the final product. Isn't that the intent, that it's a funding platform and not a retail purchase system? I remember Kickstarter making a very big deal about this a while ago.
- magikbum 14y ago"Why aren’t you offering a Digital Download or DVD reward? I wish I could give you all everything you want. Unfortunately, giving away the movie could scare off the good distributors for movies like this, because the theater chains insist on having the “first run” of movies before they are available on DVD or digitally. I want all my fans to be able to see this movie in their hometown theaters on the big screen if they want to. I hope you like the rewards I am offering, and if there’s something you don’t see on the page, please comment and let me know." It is pretty simple--why would someone buy the rights to his DVD to only find out that the top 20k fans of his who would be buying that DVD/Download already have it.
- Deutscher 14y agoMaybe I do not understand this particular Kickstarter (and the economics/dynamics of movie-making, among other things), but I did not find 'revenue', 'profit sharing' or other related words/phrases anywhere on the page, or in this HN discussion. I've seen the rewards column, and though I'd like to add 'indie movie producer' to my resume, I don't see any prospective returns for what is essentially a risky investment (term used loosely). Zach Braff is a very successful TV/movie star, does he seriously not have $2m of his own to make this movie just the way he likes it? Like others, is this crowd-funding exercise also mostly for 'social proof'? Thanks to all who reply.
- edanm 14y agoI'm not sure you understand the concept of Kickstarter. You are not an investor when you back a Kickstarter project. You're only paying in the hopes that this will help the project succeed, and for getting various prizes. For most Kickstarter project, you also get a first edition of the product or something similar if you pledge enough. Quite simply, there is no profit-sharing or anything like that for Kickstarters. You pay money, get your reward (maybe - like you said, it's a risky investment). And that's the end of the transaction.
- Deutscher 14y agoThanks; I also found this reddit link[1] lower down on this discussion page which answers my questions. [1] http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/1d02a2/help_zach_braff_make_his_new_movie/c9ln8lt http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/1d02a2/help_zach_bra...)
- cmsmith 14y agoI understand that this is how kickstarter works, but don't really understand why everyone is OK with it. Kickstarter is like a bake sale, where you pay more than the fair market value for things as a form of charity to support some activity. But projects like this remind me more of a bake sale to support your local major league baseball team (e.g. profits are used for the enrichment of a corporation/person(s)). I would be much more likely to contribute to this project if, in the situation where the movie makes money, $2M (less the true cost of the rewards) were donated to something other than the bottom line of the real investors.
- kreek 14y agoThe negative feedback on here is astounding, really the worst side of HN. I thought the promo was very funny and poignant, very inspiring. The brief is detailed and the rewards make sense giving the restrictions of producing and distributing a film.
- _delirium 14y ago> I was about to sign a typical financing deal [...] It would have involved making a lot of sacrifices I think would have ultimately hurt the film. It'd be super interesting to have some more specifics on what kinds of compromises these would be, just to get a better idea of what kinds of strings such deals come with.
- vinceguidry 14y agoHe describes them, mainly not getting final cut and not getting his first choices on casting. You can't get more specific than that because the casting choices haven't been made and the movie hasn't been made yet, so there's nothing yet to say.
- grecy 14y agoI've wanted to see some big names kickstart their own movies for a long time. I sincerely hope this is the start of a very positive trend. (For what it's worth, I'd drop $500 right now for Cameron/Schwarzenegger to make Terminator 5&6)
- lacker 14y agoI'm hoping for a Futurama project on Kickstarter.
- androtheos 14y agoAnyone else have an issue with funding someone else's dream when their net worth is say $20M and yours is maybe $100K or less?
- criswell 14y agoPersonally, I do. It's not my money, though, so it's none of my business.
- kolodny 14y agoThe kickstarter amount climbed 80k while I was watching the promo. I don't think he'll have any trouble raising the desired amount.
- cadr 14y agoWho are the people who scoop up the 10K "be a cast member" thing immediately? Same thing happened on the Veronica Mars one. It was announced, and bam someone drops a ton of change to get to be in it.
- cadr 14y agoDoes anyone have any examples of any films actually getting made from crowd sourcing? I would guess this and Veronica Mars stand a good chance since the people involved have made movies before and have built-in fan bases, but I am not aware of any actually working out so far. I donated to one years ago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Swarm_of_Angels http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Swarm_of_Angels) and that went nowhere...
- jonsherrard 14y agoElectric Children
- night815 14y agoBlue Like Jazz http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2128223578/save-blue-like-jazz-the-movie-0 http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2128223578/save-blue-lik... This is a far cry from 2 mil but they did get it made. I do believe they had one backer, before kickstarter, that was in for 500k and match whatever Kickstarter brought in. I donated 100 bucks after kickstart, so they got more funding not shown on kickstarter, and got a t-shirt and my name in the credits (along with several thousand others). The movie wasn't great but the book that it is extremely loosely based on is good. Donald Miller wrote A Million Miles in a Thousand Years while writing the movie version of Blue Like Jazz. That book is even better.
- smackfu 14y agoQuite a few documentaries. Although those are often a special case, where the footage has already been shot as a labor-of-love, and the Kickstarter is to pay to edit and release it.
- briholt 14y agoThe remarkable thing here is how elaborate his Kickstarter page is. He's a famous actor/director, he could have just phoned it in, but instead he put the time and effort into making a great page. It shows the type of person that spends the effort to make great movies spends the effort to make all their projects great - including making a kickstarter page.
- scott_s 14y agoEventually, Joss Whedon will do this, and he will break records.
- cwb71 14y agoJust noticed this response from Braff’s AMA: “You can’t really raise enough money on Kickstarter yet. There are some new sites starting that will eventually allow anyone and everyone to own a piece of a movie; invest in it like a stock. But you can imagine the amount of legal issues this raises. So look for it sometime around 3012.” http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/19uwm9/i_am_zach_braff_ask_me_anything/c8rjdg9 http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/19uwm9/i_am_zach_braff... What a difference a month (and a $5.7 million Veronica Mars Kickstarter) makes!
- Samuel_Michon 14y agoLittle has changed, on Kickstarter you still can’t buy a piece of a movie, invest in it like a stock. Braff clarifies in this Buzzfeed article[1]: “I would love, more than anything, to have it be you get an equity stake. You have 10 bucks, you make your 10 bucks back with the percentage of profit, like a stock. But that's not legal yet. I think it's an exciting idea, that you can go, "Oh, I like x, y, and z, I want to buy a piece of that potential film project." I think that that's coming. But we're not there yet legally. So what do you do in the meantime? You offer them any and every incentive you can think of. But at the very least, if you pay 10 bucks, you're joining what I like to think of as this club. You see how active I am on social media. I drive my family, friends, and girlfriend crazy. I get a lot of joy out of it. So turning that into an online behind-the-scenes filmmaking magazine, where there will be videos and content and people who are interested in the behind-the-scenes of the making of a movie will go on this ride alongside me — I think that's cool for 10 bucks.” Buzzfeed: You're right — last year Congress passed the JOBS Act, which does allow for equity-based crowdfunding, but it can't happen until the SEC issues rules on how to do it. Which they haven't done yet. [1] http://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/zach-braff-on-why-kickstarter-is-the-next-best-thing-to-actu http://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/zach-braff-on-why-kickstar...
- ebbv 14y agoBy the success of the campaigns I must clearly be in the minority here, but I find the use of Kickstarter by millionaires to be offensive. I perfectly understand his unwillingness to give up creative control. That's respectable. But Zach Braff has GOT to have 2 million dollars. He could totally fund this himself.
- bitops 14y ago> Zach Braff has GOT to have 2 million dollars. He could totally fund this himself. How do you know this?
- ebbv 14y agoFrom 2 seconds of Google I found: http://www.hollywoodgrind.com/zach-braff-gets-big-pay-raise-on-scrubs/ http://www.hollywoodgrind.com/zach-braff-gets-big-pay-raise-... > The actor has cut a one-year deal with "Scrubs" producer ABC TV Studio that will pay him about $350,000 per episode for the 2007-08 season of "Scrubs," sources said. Each season consists of about two dozen episodes. Not to mention residuals from syndication. Come on, man.
- amorphid 14y agoI think the hole idea of raising money for free via Kickstarter and similar sites is very odd. It feels like high class panhandling to me. Maybe I'm just too proud to ask for money and don't understand why it's so popular. Still, I spend money on some stupid stuff. If the cast of Stargate wanted to make another movie or TV type show, I'd back it. I guess the world is changing and I haven't caught up yet.
- ebbv 14y agoIt makes sense if you're an average person with a great idea and you lack the funding to get your idea off the ground. The original purpose was inventors and stuff. Then indie game developers got on board and now celebrities are abusing it. The celebrity thing has gotta be like crack cocaine to Kickstarter. It gets them so much attention and so much money, but ultimately I think it is eroding their brand and building resentment.
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- methodin 14y agoAnything that bucks the status quo in the entertainment industry is a good thing. Expect to see more and more of this and expect the traditional middle men to get more aggressive to prevent it from happening.
- dakrisht 14y agoAgree with this 100%. This and Veronica Mars are totally changing the dynamic of how indies are funded. Studios are fuming right now.
- dakrisht 14y agoI think it's brilliant. For a variety of reasons: First, you lose the legacy financing model to make an independent (sub-$10M) movie. So you not only get to make your feature, but you get to keep all worldwide distribution rights. You're already winning. Second, you make the status quo a part of the movie-making process. Something that has always been very "private" for filmmakers and "exclusive." Or at least that's what Hollywood has had the world believing for the past century. Even today when you visit a set (from experience in developing software for these guys) the entire on-set dynamic is a very closed system. People just don't want outsiders there. So Braff is changing this by allowing people to visit set, interact with the picture, be extras, get credits, even offering a role in the movie. Three, this and Veronica Mars are changing shifting the paradigm for getting a movie funded. Sure - there's a lot of risk. These guys might not even make it, but if they plan right, budget accordingly, and have professionals involved (which I will assume they do) - they will make the movie. So I foresee a lof of indies going this route. I agree with others that NOT having a digital copy / DVD for an $X dollar donation is a bad thing. But it makes sense why he doesn't want to do it. (He can, he's just not doing it because he wants to make more money on domestic and international traditional distribution deals). BUT eventually, this model will shit away from the traditional way films are sold/distributed. If an owner of a project can raise MORE money to individual buyers (funders) vs. a 5-year distribution deal - than he/she will give up the rights and traditional distributors will be put out of business (no more movies for them, all online). So again, I think this is the start of many more indies funding this way. It's pretty brilliant, they are already at $1.25M and will exceed the target 100%.
- warmwaffles 14y agoI think you meant to say "BUT eventually, this model will shift away", but yes you are correct
- dakrisht 14y agoExcuse the typo(s)!
- lorenzfx 14y agoSince I believe Zach is going to make a great movie, I would love to help really crowd fund this (as opposed to crowd gifting as it is at the moment) and than get a share of the money the movie makes. But I guess this ain't possible on kickstarter just yet.