With a bit of crowd sourcing magic, the Veronica Mars movie reached its $2 million goal in less than 11 hours after posting a fundraising appeal on the Kickstarter website. In fact, the project reached the $1 million mark in 4 hours, 24 minutes, the fastest ever in Kickstarter history, and it’s also the most funded film or video project to date. As of March 15, fans have pledged about $3.3 million to fund the movie’s production, and the page will continue collecting funds until April 12. Producers have set up incentives for those who donate, including t-shirts, posters, premiere tickets, and chances to appear in the film.
Created by Rob Thomas and starring Kristen Bell as the eponymous heroine, Veronica Mars premiered in 2004 on UPN and later moved to UPN’s successor, the CW. The series about a teenage private investigator was a critical success, but it only lasted three seasons due to lackluster ratings. However, the series soon turned into a cult favorite, and fans never gave up on seeing more of their favorite gang from Neptune. There had always been talk of doing a follow-up movie, and it finally came to fruition this week thanks to the work of Thomas and the show’s stars including Bell, Enrico Colantoni, Jason Dohring, and Ryan Hansen.
Although hiccups could still derail the project, the movie is set to shoot over the summer for a release date in early 2014. Warner Bros. Digital Distribution has agreed to put the movie into production and pick up the tab for marketing, promotion, and distribution. For those who have never seen an episode of Veronica Mars, The WB is streaming the first two seasons on its website.
