Rich Person Zach Braff Wants the Internet to Pay for His Next Movie
Haute panhandling hub Kickstarter has maybe found a nadir: Zach Braff, certifiable Guy With Lots of Money, is asking for handouts to finance a sorta-sequel to Garden State. Brother, can you spare $2 million?
Rather than going through the usual process of convincing people with money that your film idea deserves a multi-million dollar budget (or using his own money!), Braff hopes a heap of smaller donations will make Wish I Was Here a reality. How can you, non-Hollywood producer, turn down this pitch?
The story of Aidan Bloom (played by me), a struggling actor, father and husband, who at 35 is still trying to find his identity; a purpose for his life. He and his wife are barely getting by financially and Aidan passes his time by fantasizing about being the great futuristic Space-Knight he'd always dreamed he'd be as a little kid.
I'm no mogul, but this doesn't exactly sound like a home run, even with this cool concept art attached to the Kickstarter page.
But Braff devotees can still make it happen. A $10 donation will earn you a "production diary":
This will include a video memo from me (with cameos from the cast and crew) detailing the process of making the movie. You'll also get casting and production news first, before the Hollywood trades. And, I'll email you a PDF of the "WISH I WAS HERE" screenplay right before the movie premieres.
Or for just ten grand, you can buy a role in the movie itself, working as an unpaid actor. "You will provide your own travel and accommodation," Braff notes.
Kickstarter has the potential to make some very neat stuff happen for people of modest means who need a little boost for a good idea. But for every lazy, exploitative, Give-This-Successful-Person-Cash-Just-Cause campaign, the startup loses credibility and gains a legion of rolled eyes.
“rich people soliciting donations to make entertainment to sell back to donors & then get even richer” is like late capitalism in a nutshell
— Matt Langer (@mattlanger) April 24, 2013