'Veronica Mars' fans come through in a big way

This morning, I woke up, checked Twitter and saw "Veronica Mars" trending wildly. My first thought was that maybe, just maybe, a movie based on this awesome TV show was finally going to happen. As I excitedly slurped down a second cup of coffee, I soon learned that yes, plans were indeed in the works for the long-anticipated Veronica Mars film. But that's not all: Fans were being asked to help bankroll the project. Wait, what?!

In what has to be one of the more interesting situations involving film in quite a while, Veronica Mars' creator, Rob Thomas, and the show's star, Kristen Bell, decided to ask us directly for help. How? In the form of a campaign on the crowd sourcing website Kickstarter. A great video featuring several notable VM cast members was posted on the campaign's official Kickstarter page, along with pleas from Thomas and Bell. Immediately, I became Crazy Fan Girl, and I donated. Not much, mind you, but I gave what I could. I've hoped for a Veronica Mars movie for six years - the least I could do was help it get off the ground.

Rob Thomas explains that when he and Kristen Bell approached Warner Bros. about the Kickstarter idea, "Their reaction was, if you can show there’s enough fan interest to warrant a movie, we’re on board." I'd say Thomas and Bell proved their point: It took less than 10 hours for "The Veronica Mars Movie Project" to raise more than $2 million (the original goal). With weeks left to go, there's absolutely no telling how much more money this particular Kickstarter campaign will raise. Depending on how much you donate, you can get a special PDF of the Veronica Mars movie script, a T-shirt or a walk-on speaking part in the film.

This changes the game, people. Totally. I've backed some outstanding Kickstarter campaigns this past year, but all of them were independent films and/or projects. A Veronica Mars film has the backing of a major studio, one with deep pockets. According to a report, Warner Bros. told Rob Thomas that "...it would help with legal work and digital distribution via VOD and other platforms, as well as with a very limited theatrical run."

So, I'm helping to fund a movie that the film company could easily afford to finance? Is this a good thing, or a bad thing?

Some argue that perhaps this isn't such a great thing at all. I don't doubt that cult TV shows with huge fan bases (like Veronica Mars) might suddenly get Kickstarter campaigns to get the projects green lighted. I immediately thought of Alias, Arrested Development and even Dawson's Creek (imagine the salaries for that one, good grief). Crowd sourcing raises the initial millions needed for the films, and voila: pre-production begins.

Is this bad for the industry? Because if we're raising the cash ourselves, what would possibly motivate the greedy movie studios to invest in more development? I mean come on, the "crowds" are doing it for them, right? And also: Will this squeeze out the great indie film projects on Kickstarter that desperately need our cash to succeed?

How successful is this Veronica Mars Kickstarter campaign? Let me put it to you this way: When I started writing this piece, I wrote down the stats on the VM Kickstarter page, including money donated and the number of backers. Since I wrote this, the VM campaign has raised an additional $20,812 and gained 333 new backers. Mind. Sufficiently. Blown.

I have to ask: If you could help to fund a movie version of a TV show, which show would you choose?

Photo courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter