This is incredible -- a huge demonstration of what Kickstarter can do, and an eye-opener about how movies are made or not made.
Imagine, the writer, cast, and crew all ready and eager to make the movie, missing only a $2-10 million check. Meanwhile, there are fans collectively willing to pay that much just to see it made instead of not made (plus some fan goodies).
In a brilliant stroke of efficiency (in the market sense), Kickstarter provides a way for people to make something happen that wouldn't otherwise happen for lack of $N, by providing $N. I don't believe people are in it for the perks in a case like this; I think they will pay purely to influence the decision of whether the thing ever exists. And sometimes, a movie is just missing a check. Saying it's "now or never" probably helps people feel they are contributing to the decision node of whether the movie gets to exist.
Of course, many ingredients of this particular case are important, including the low technical risk -- given that the original writer, cast, and crew are on board -- and low market risk, certainly from the point of view of a fan (vs. Warner Bros. apparently), compared to, say, some random movie that's not tied to a successful TV show.
All in all, I'm very excited about the future of funding content creation with crowds as patrons. (Disclaimer: I'm not an expert; feel free to tell me if I'm hopelessly naive.)
Imagine, the writer, cast, and crew all ready and eager to make the movie, missing only a $2-10 million check. Meanwhile, there are fans collectively willing to pay that much just to see it made instead of not made (plus some fan goodies).
In a brilliant stroke of efficiency (in the market sense), Kickstarter provides a way for people to make something happen that wouldn't otherwise happen for lack of $N, by providing $N. I don't believe people are in it for the perks in a case like this; I think they will pay purely to influence the decision of whether the thing ever exists. And sometimes, a movie is just missing a check. Saying it's "now or never" probably helps people feel they are contributing to the decision node of whether the movie gets to exist.
Of course, many ingredients of this particular case are important, including the low technical risk -- given that the original writer, cast, and crew are on board -- and low market risk, certainly from the point of view of a fan (vs. Warner Bros. apparently), compared to, say, some random movie that's not tied to a successful TV show.
All in all, I'm very excited about the future of funding content creation with crowds as patrons. (Disclaimer: I'm not an expert; feel free to tell me if I'm hopelessly naive.)