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Here'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 mone

Here'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 13y ago
yeah, 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 13y ago
you 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 13y 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.
- cwb71 13y ago
  And also those same fans are now less motivated to go see the film in theaters because their DVD is already pre-ordered, potentially hurting box office revenue. It is actually brilliant, now he can go to the distributors and say "these thousands of people were so excited about this project that they paid to make it... so of course they will pay us to see it!"
  - DanBC 13y ago
    Maybe. Or maybe many of those people have paid to have the film made, and now will think nothing of pirating it.
    - threeseed 13y ago
      But then the point could be made that those thousands of people on Kickstarter would be advocates or "net promoters" for the movie.
- shakesbeard 13y ago
  Why not make the download or BluRay available when they get released anyways? I wouldn't care. And I would have paid $30 to get this plus the playlists/script.
  - shardling 13y ago
    Because that's not how distributors work, I'd assume. They'll want exclusive rights in their territory.
    - wmf 13y ago
      He could buy the DVDs from the distributor at wholesale and send them out to his backers. This would flip the negotiation around since he'd be guaranteeing a certain number of sales.
- JoeAltmaier 13y ago
driverdan 13y ago
The $30 streaming screening a is pretty clever alternative. It gets around distributer restrictions and allows fans to interact with with the team.
smackfu 13y ago
The question is whether that would actually make more money. If they fund it this way, they would kind of be chumps to have given the product away to all those backers.
drzaiusapelord 13y ago
Hold on, the original Garden State cost only 3.5 million to produce. You're telling me Braff doesn't have 3.5 million to finance this thing or get a loan from a traditional outlet/rich friends/George Harrison's Estate? It sounds like this is his pet project, with him starring, and him getting most of the profits, but he wants his fans to take all the risk? Seems off to me. Granted, he may not want to personally take on the risk, which is understandable, but its a personal vanity project no one is demanding. Just bankroll it, Zach. Kickstarter being used by well funded celebrities who just want to minimize their risk to zero seems wrong to me. It should be for startups and good ideas that can't get funding elsewhere.
- jwallaceparker 13y ago
  > Kickstarter being used by well funded celebrities who just want to minimize their risk to zero seems wrong to me. It should be for startups and good ideas that can't get funding elsewhere. Shouldn't the users of Kickstarter determine whether a project is worthy? You have personal reasons for not funding this project but seem to suggest that other people shouldn't be allowed to fund it either. If Kickstarter users think they're getting value for their money, let them fund the project.
- lttlrck 13y ago
  I had similar thoughts when David Braben was raising money for Elite: Dangerous. Perhaps these are just side-projects and they (and their rich buddies) have better things to risk a few million on. In other words they aren't that wealthy.
- muellerwolfram 13y ago
  how do you know he isn't putting any of his own money in as well?
  - mbreese 13y ago
    Very true... when this thing goes over budget for the digital effects, I don't think you're going to see him hit up Kickstarter again. Personally, I'm willing to put up some cash to see another one of his movies made.
blazingfrog2 13y ago
He is supplying products (various physical rewards and the emotional reward of being a backer) at prices that, he thinks, are adequate to the demand that is out there. Isn't that capitalism 101? Plus, the early numbers are showing he got it right...

jimzvz 13y ago

yeah, 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 13y ago

you 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 13y 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.

cwb71 13y ago
And also those same fans are now less motivated to go see the film in theaters because their DVD is already pre-ordered, potentially hurting box office revenue. It is actually brilliant, now he can go to the distributors and say "these thousands of people were so excited about this project that they paid to make it... so of course they will pay us to see it!"
- DanBC 13y ago
  Maybe. Or maybe many of those people have paid to have the film made, and now will think nothing of pirating it.
  - threeseed 13y ago
    But then the point could be made that those thousands of people on Kickstarter would be advocates or "net promoters" for the movie.
shakesbeard 13y ago
Why not make the download or BluRay available when they get released anyways? I wouldn't care. And I would have paid $30 to get this plus the playlists/script.
- shardling 13y ago
  Because that's not how distributors work, I'd assume. They'll want exclusive rights in their territory.
  - wmf 13y ago
    He could buy the DVDs from the distributor at wholesale and send them out to his backers. This would flip the negotiation around since he'd be guaranteeing a certain number of sales.
JoeAltmaier 13y ago

driverdan 13y ago

The $30 streaming screening a is pretty clever alternative. It gets around distributer restrictions and allows fans to interact with with the team.

smackfu 13y ago

The question is whether that would actually make more money. If they fund it this way, they would kind of be chumps to have given the product away to all those backers.

drzaiusapelord 13y ago

Hold on, the original Garden State cost only 3.5 million to produce. You're telling me Braff doesn't have 3.5 million to finance this thing or get a loan from a traditional outlet/rich friends/George Harrison's Estate? It sounds like this is his pet project, with him starring, and him getting most of the profits, but he wants his fans to take all the risk? Seems off to me. Granted, he may not want to personally take on the risk, which is understandable, but its a personal vanity project no one is demanding. Just bankroll it, Zach. Kickstarter being used by well funded celebrities who just want to minimize their risk to zero seems wrong to me. It should be for startups and good ideas that can't get funding elsewhere.

jwallaceparker 13y ago
> Kickstarter being used by well funded celebrities who just want to minimize their risk to zero seems wrong to me. It should be for startups and good ideas that can't get funding elsewhere. Shouldn't the users of Kickstarter determine whether a project is worthy? You have personal reasons for not funding this project but seem to suggest that other people shouldn't be allowed to fund it either. If Kickstarter users think they're getting value for their money, let them fund the project.
lttlrck 13y ago
I had similar thoughts when David Braben was raising money for Elite: Dangerous. Perhaps these are just side-projects and they (and their rich buddies) have better things to risk a few million on. In other words they aren't that wealthy.
muellerwolfram 13y ago
how do you know he isn't putting any of his own money in as well?
- mbreese 13y ago
  Very true... when this thing goes over budget for the digital effects, I don't think you're going to see him hit up Kickstarter again. Personally, I'm willing to put up some cash to see another one of his movies made.

blazingfrog2 13y ago

He is supplying products (various physical rewards and the emotional reward of being a backer) at prices that, he thinks, are adequate to the demand that is out there. Isn't that capitalism 101? Plus, the early numbers are showing he got it right...