Kickstarter- Cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems

The impact of Kickstarter continues to grow. Now Kickstarter has been used to revive noted geek show canceled before it’s time Veronica Mars.  And they achieved $2mil in funding in just 10hrs. They currently sit at $3.3mil with 28 days to go. That’s ridiculous.

My wife and I discovered the show via recommendations well after it had been canceled. But we thoroughly enjoyed it. The first season was one of those shows we blazed through in a unspeakably short period. Though seasons 2 and 3 weren’t nearly as good, they were still fun and enjoyable.

How it will fair as a movie is open for debate but its very good to hear that the show will get a finale. The way it ended at the close of season 3 definitely left the show incomplete. It is one of many shows killed before their story was complete. But is this the sign of things to come?

There’s been some rumblings on the internet that this is a giant scam and a terrible idea. Have ordinary people fund the development of a movie they’ll have to pay to go see, allowing the movie studios to keep mega profits. That is certainly one way to look at it. And while I’m sure some studio executives have that idea rolling around in their head, I don’t see it applying to this case.

The project was instigated by the shows creator Rob Thomas and lead actress Kristen Bell.  Warner Brothers gave them the green light, something they as the IP holder were under no obligation to do. In this case, its props to them for allowing this chance to be taken.

But for future projects? I’m sure it could go bad. Network execs threaten shows be canceled unless funds are raised by fans to keep them on the air. “Save Show X” kickstarter campaigns abound.

While that’s possibly, it also shows something else to the studios. People are willing to pay for quality content. And pay well. Kickstarter is out there for popular directors/producers to use, like Joss Whedon for example, completely bypassing the studios. While Whedon doesn’t own Firefly, and has made clear he has no near term plans to try a similar stunt with Fox’s blessing due to his schedule, the door has been opened.

Arrested Development was picked up and brought back by Netflix. Veronica Mars via Kickstarter. Plenty of webseries exist, ala the Guild. How long before a completely new show, funded entirely by fans and launched by some big name person comes to fruitition? I’m talking something that gets this kind of response, is noted by the main stream media and results in a show/movie that is well loved but is never touched by the big studios?