Veronica Mars

Featuring the thoughts of Reem Shaddad, Digital Associate and Emily Reubush, Social Media Officer

Emily Reubush
Ever the connected, your humble @DohaFilm New Media Team couldn’t help but notice a lot of talk (or tweets) over the weekend revolving around one thing: the Kickstarting of a Veronica Mars feature film.

Reem Shaddad
In case you didn’t know, Veronica Mars was a television show that ran for three seasons, featuring Kristen Bell and a cocktail of do-good teens, solving mysteries and seizing the day.

ER
When a Kickstarter campaign (posted by creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell) hit the interwebs last week, it broke all Kickstarting records, being the fastest to reach $1 million in donations, then $2m, all in less than 12 hours. But is this a good thing? Should people with big bucks at their disposal use this traditionally indie tool for their own purposes? It was our first discussion in the office this morning.

RS
What I don’t totally appreciate is, although the campaign basically took over the internet for those two days, cleverly acting as a free (actually, the fans paid for it, well done) marketing campaign for the film, Rob Thomas (no, not of Matchbox 20) is not in need of this financial support. With a host of successful tween series and films in his pocket, including Adrien Grenier flick, She Drives Me Crazy and the re-launch of 90s cult hit Beverly Hills 90210 (now just known as 90210), surely it couldn’t have been that taxing to make the movie on studio cash?

ER
Probably not— although not as not-taxing as putting up a Kickstarter and watching the dollars— and the hype— roll in. If they were looking to gauge interest, there’s certainly now no doubt! In these days when the Next Great Thing changes weekly, this was Über-successful in jumping out of the Sea of Neverending Stuff and grabbing our attention. And the fans weren’t in any way coerced, they gave because they wanted to. Is it really that bad?

RS
I don’t think it’s an argument of bad vs. good, but I do feel it’s like Prince John dipping into Robin Hood’s pocket. Crowd funding platforms don’t legally or technically limit who utilizes their services or why, however, ethically it feels like Hollywood is tip-toeing on the naughty side of financing, especially where a $35 pledge for a VM film may have launched a truly grass roots project over its fundraising target.

ER
No doubt, to us lovers of indie filmmaking, that $2m could’ve been way better spent, but I’m willing to guess the vaaast majority of those contributing to VM wouldn’t have otherwise given to some no-name project. And I sort of like the idea of a more democratic process for films. Maybe if a project has to raise a certain amount before going into production we wouldn’t be accosted with quite so much fluff at the box office (I’m looking at you, Battleship). Cinema socialism!

RS
Sounds like a great idea …. had it been launched before Hollywood types decided to peruse a more ‘democratic’ fundraising system. Rob Thomas also boasts a number of career flops, i.e. no-name projects. Had he not scored the aforementioned successes, would he, as part of this new system have raised – not $2 million Em – $3.3 million?! I think not. Hollywood using crowd funding is Cinema Socialist Elitism. The rich taking from the poor.

ER
Alright, time to turn it over to our e-peeps! What do you think? Is this dirty dealing from Hollywood, or the start of a new era of audiences having a say in the process? We want to know!