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Television
by Alison Willmore
March 13, 2013 12:20 PM
9 Comments
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Will 'Veronica Mars' Fans Be Able to Kickstart a $2,000,000 Movie?

Fans of canceled or completed shows have long held out hope for the cast and creators to reunite for movies. "Star Trek," "X-Files," "Firefly" -- plenty of series have come to an end on the small screen only to live again on the big one. And, of course, plenty of others haven't. While Netflix's resurrection of "Arrested Development" years after the Fox ended the TV series may have altered expectations for how likely it is that a show can come back in some form, it's still a difficult thing to make happen.

"Veronica Mars," the smart Kristen Bell-led teen noir that ran from 2004-2007, is one of the many shows to have a fanbase clamoring for a movie. But creator Rob Thomas isn't just talking about a film adaptation anymore -- he's trying something new. Thomas and Bell today launched a -- ready for it? -- $2,000,000 Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a "Veronica Mars" movie. 

On the Kickstarter page, Thomas writes that he and Bell have always wanted to do a "Veronica Mars" movie, and have even been close to getting one in the works before, but that "Warner Bros. wasn’t convinced there was enough interest to warrant a major studio-sized movie about Veronica and the project never got off the ground." What started off as a joke about using Kickstarter to raise the money instead soon had Thomas doing the math and setting the highest goal Kickstarter has ever had for a project:

Of course, Warner Bros. still owns Veronica Mars and we would need their blessing and cooperation to pull this off. Kristen and I met with the Warner Bros. brass, and they agreed to allow us to take this shot. They were extremely cool about it, as a matter of fact. Their reaction was, if you can show there’s enough fan interest to warrant a movie, we’re on board. So this is it. This is our shot. I believe it's the only one we've got.

Goodies for backers include everything from a PDF of the shooting script and a digital version of the movie within a few days of its theatrical debut to a speaking role in the film. This isn't a remotely indie project, which is what makes its presence on Kickstarter a completely fascinating one -- it's a commercial venture, but one that hasn't been approved as commercial enough in the framework in which it was originally made. This is going to be a major test of the power of fandom and whether everyone who vowed they throw in money to make a longed for continuation of a beloved show happen will actually do it. They've got 30 days, and at the time of this post, the campaign's at $178,442.

Check out the Kickstarter video below:


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TAGS: Television, TV News, Kickstarter, Veronica Mars
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9 Comments

  • Bryan K. | March 13, 2013 8:58 PMReply

    As of 8:57pm e.s.t., the answer to the title question is "yes".

  • Kat | March 13, 2013 8:05 PMReply

    $1,833,766
    pledged of $2,000,000 goal
    As of 7:05 cst!!!

  • macktheknife | March 13, 2013 6:19 PMReply

    Kickstarter jumps the Shark.

  • bohemian princess | March 13, 2013 5:54 PMReply

    I am a huge VM fan and I am looking forward to the film but I believe this has greater implications in that studio execs looking to cut costs will now turn to crowd funding sites like Kick Starter to fund their projects. I'm not talking their block buster films (i.e. Avengers, Transformers,etc) but their higher end independent films. Don't be surprised if you see an Arrested Development, Firefly, etc campaign in the near future. Independent content creators will feel the consequences.

  • George P. | March 13, 2013 4:01 PMReply

    Just backed them w/a $35 pledge. I really hope this happens!

    Also, their current total (even w/30 days to spare) is $1,189,653!!!

  • EdmarieRosado | March 13, 2013 2:52 PMReply

    I love Veronica Mars! && I love KB. But an easy way to write in Amanda Seyfried is for Veronica to come across new evidence as an FBI agrnt and find a clue as to who really killed her. She could have been wrong all along and that's how they would write in Amanda, boom. Lol. I hope this really happens.

  • Peter | March 13, 2013 2:21 PMReply

    The project has been up for less than a day and its already received $850,000. That's insane.

  • Klaatu | March 13, 2013 12:38 PMReply

    Yeah Kickstarter was definitely started to fund projects for Warner Bros.

  • Jordan | March 13, 2013 1:52 PM

    Klaatu, I agree with your cynicism in theory but just such a experiment may open the door to studios taking more risks on smaller projects and/or replacing the independent wing of studios that have by-and-large failed over the last decade. Interesting article Ms. Willmore, thank you!

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