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Disclaimer: Some part of this post is conjecture, though based on facts and experiences.
So the Veronica Mars movie Kickstarter hit its goal in 12 hours. That is amazing, considering the comparably small fanbase during the show’s peak. VM was always the story about the underdog, and the show’s resurrection via Kickstarter is a nice parallel to our favorite scrappy private eye.
Why does the Kickstarter matter? Why can’t Kristen Bell give her When in Rome Fuck You Money to the project and fund it herself?
The short answer is: Warner Bros. wouldn’t allow them to have the rights. When a TV show is sold to a studio, all characters are essentially property of that company. Look at Community, where they ousted the creator and did whatever they wanted. In my opinion, the Kickstarter wasn’t just about the financing of the film, it was to show the execs at WB that yes, after six years, people still care!
It’s not enough to have a very intense fanbase. Serenity did not make back its budget at all, and when you factor in prints and advertising costs, then it really came nowhere close. You can understand WB’s unease with a project like this.
In working as a distributor, WB is likely to spend at least an additional $2 million on distributing the film (includes advertising, spending the money to send the film to all the theaters, DVD/Blu-Ray releases, etc.) so they want to make sure their money can be recouped— that there is interest in a film like this being made. Considering the outpouring of support the Kickstarter got today, it’s pretty obvious that there is.
I doubt Rob Thomas got paid to write the feature script, and I would assume that the entire cast and crew will be working on day rates (guild minimums). Most of the film’s budget will go towards craft services, insurance, locations, and other things along those lines. I really do think everyone will be doing this movie out of love for the characters.
Also, for those people that are saying a movie can’t be done for $2 million and look good, check out Celeste and Jesse Forever. That was done for $840k. Smashed is another good example. Its budget was $500k and it looks really great.
TL;DR: The Kickstarter campaign not just raised funds for the film, but it proves that there is interest in a project like this, and that’s why it matters.
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