Twelve hours after it was announced the Veronica Mars movie campaign reached its fundraising goal of $2M, breaking all sorts of Kickstarter records in the process. Now, they’re up to $3.6M with three full weeks left in the campaign. Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell have always said in order to make a Veronica movie a reality, the fans needed to show support. Warner Brothers asked producers to show their wallets, and despite setbacks, everything came together to make the Veronica Mars movie a reality. And these are my top five reasons why everyone should be excited, and why seeing Veronica on the big screen will be amazing.
- Second Chances – It’s no secret how much I still mourn the epic snarkiness that is Rob Thomas’ Veronica Mars. The show is just one of many that was canceled too early, struck down before the world recognized its greatness. The movie gives Rob Thomas a second chance to give Neptune the send off it deserves, not just unsolved cliffhangers and Veronica walking off alone into the rain. The movie might be Veronica’s swan song, but the publicity and attention could bring a whole new squadron of potential fans.
- A Fan for a Fan – After the Kickstarter campaign’s rocket to success, a lot of backlash ensued (it’s the internet; were we shocked?). After all – why should fans raise $2 million among themselves when that amount is pocket change to Warner Bros.? If we’re paying for the movie tickets, shouldn’t they be forking over costs? Answer: The VM Kickstarter donation structure rewards fans with a digital download of the movie the week of release for as little as $35, plus a limited edition T-shirt and a PDF of the shooting script, which is actually a pretty good deal. You’re basically just pre-paying for the movie at that price point. Warner Brothers is footing the bill for everything –distribution, marketing, and delivery of all those awesome rewards for Kickstarter donators – except the production budget. And they still own the rights to Veronica, so their cooperation is imperative.
3. Colorful Cast of (Guest) Characters – Call me greedy but just the main stars of Veronica Mars aren’t enough for me. Sure, Logan, Wallace, Weevil, Dick, Mac and Keith are great, and I love them to pieces, but I miss Chris Lowell’s Piz and Julie Gonzalo’s Parker, plus the ridiculousness of Cliff McCormack, lawyer to the downtrodden, and Vinnie Van Lowe, PI with the most questionable of morals. And what about Duncan Kane and Kendall Casablancas? Or one of my absolute favorites, Max Greenfield’s Leo D’Amato? Could we maybe pull Ryan Devlin’s Mercer Hayes from whatever Supermax he’s stored in, or Michael Muhney’s Sheriff Don Lamb from beyond the grave? While I realize not all of my dream returns will come true, I’d love to see as many of Veronica’s supporting players as possible.
2. LoVe – No, I didn’t miscapitalize. LoVe is the fan-designated portmanteau for Logan Echolls and Veronica Mars, the show’s biggest unsolved mystery. These two crazy kids have been through a lot – misunderstandings, rough patches, that time when Logan’s dad tried to murder Veronica and hers – but they came through to the other side relatively unscathed, and they deserve their happy ending, too.
1. Let’s face it – this was the only possible way a Veronica Mars movie would actually get made. It’s not going to be a huge draw at the box office, and it’s not going to bring in the billions like Harry Potter and The Dark Knight.
Link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project
