Veronica Mars, Crowd Funding, and the easiest decision Warner Brothers ever made.

Earlier today it was announced that the cult TV show Veronica Mars would be coming back as a movie, assuming they could crowd fund the production costs through Kickstarter. Some people have taken this opportunity to publicly wonder if Warner Brothers, who owns Veronica Mars, has gone completely insane, or if this is the beginning of the end for the studio system. If Veronica Mars can get crowd funded to the tune of 2 million dollars, in the span of less than 24 hours, do we even need studios anymore?

The answer, ultimately, is yes, we still need studios and no, they probably won't be going anywhere anytime soon. For all of their complaining about how poorly the box office seems to perpetually be doing (even though, in recent years, profits have shown a sharp rise), these folks are ridiculously shrewd, and have so many back door deals going on, they have an almost endless supply of cash coming in. Even in hard times, they will be able to pay the bills.

But what about Warner Brothers? Are they really so insane, or so strapped for cash, that they would simply let Rob Thomas, creator of Veronica Mars, crowd source a big screen version of the show? I'm not an insider (obviously), so I have no idea what WB's fortunes look like, but, ultimately, this is one of the most shrewd, and potentially profitable, decisions they could make.

Think about it - A studio allows a show runner to take the idea that the studio owns the rights to, and crowd source funds to create a movie out of it. This person is able to raise the funds for the production and (I assume post production), and the studio takes over on distribution. Warner Brothers has, essentially, just gained an extra film for their 2014 schedule, and didn't have to put out a single up front penny. They don't have to squeeze out a single, up front dime until the movie is finished. And then, all they have to do is distribute it, which is easy, because they already have all of their necessary channels and deals set up. Getting the word out is a cinch - They simply continue to take advantage of the army of folks that helped them raise that staggering sum of 2 million dollars.

Put simply, Warner Brothers wins. They put out nothing up front, they give away some BS prizes for the different Kickstarter levels, they get content (of which, THEY still own the rights to), and they collect the profits.

Don't get me wrong, Veronica Mars fans win, too, but only because WB wins. Don't think, not even for a second, that WB would allow this to happen if they didn't see dollar signs. There is a reason Veronica Mars was cancelled, and there is a reason it has never been made into a movie before now. Warner Brothers sees a sure thing, and Veronica Mars fans are willing to do whatever it takes to get their little piece. The awful truth? 2 million is a drop in the bucket for someone like Warner Brothers. They could EASILY have floated that at any time, if they truly believed in this project, but they don't.

DVD - PuttyHill

I remember Putty Hill from a few years back, because it was one of the first films I remember that was doing the online crowd sourcing thing. I had been looking forward to seeing it for a long time, to see what someone could do with the kind of money raised by sites like Kickstarter and Indie-Go-Go. Well, now it seems like almost everyone is doing that, and Putty Hill has lost a lot of its luster as being one of those early adopter films, but its still worth watching on the merit of Matthew Porterfield's vision alone.

I can't really tell you what it's about, because it's a sprawling story about a large group of people, and, to try and distill that into a basic plot summary, would just tell the whole story. Better to just see it for yourself. But I can say this - The film is about a community of people who deal with the suicide of a mutual acquaintance. Writer/Director Porterfied weaves "reality" and fiction into something that you can't really call documentary, and you feel strange about calling fiction, as some of it seems, genuinely, real. It's a very experience oriented film, and you feel like your witnessing everything that's happening, first hand, almost as though you're really there.

PHX Blog - The Importance of Great People

We've been shooting, now, for six days. I have learned a lot of things, but the most important of these is how truly important it is to have amazing people to support you. My friend, Amethyst, has been the back bone of this project, taking on everything from local casting, location scouting, and scheduling, to helping to plan out menu's, and getting people and things to the places they need to be. Jeremy Adams has been the glue that has kept the project together cinematically. He is always there to talk about the shots, the quality of the performances, or whatever else may be necessary to discuss a long the way. Josh Nix is my go to guy and is always available for anything I may need him to do. Matt Christy, last but certainly not least, has been running sound, and making sure all of the things we can't hear are heard by someone. These people are a team, and they are all here to make this project happen.

This is what it feels like to not only feel like you are living your destiny, but also be supported by the amazing people who surround you.

PHX Update - The Power of the Postcard

PHX Update - The power of a postcard from Stewart Schuster on Vimeo.

PHX Blog - Kickstarter is officially launched!

The Kickstarter is officially going for PHX. You can see the page here. Please consider checking it out, and if you believe in independent film, please donate to the project. This film is as independent as it gets. No studios, no producers, no middle men. Just a script, some actors, and a very small but dedicated crew who believes in what we're doing.

Also, if you're on any social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), please consider spreading the word about this project to the people that follow you, are friends with you, etc. You never know when someone might see a project they are interested in, and decide to donate.

Thanks in advance for your support.

PHX update, 040810

It's totally crazy right now. I have written 50 pages on the script in about a week and a half. My first feature script took me eight months to finish. I'm still not done, but I'm on track to finish by the end of this weekend. Amethyst is working on locations. I talked to my friend, Matt Christy, and he may be joining us from Nashville. I ordered my postcards yesterday, and they should be in April 19th, which means my Kickstarter will be starting shortly after. Jeremy is excited, which makes me even more excited. Some things are falling into place, but there is still a long hard road ahead.

If your reading this, please consider coming back and checking these updates, and donating to my Kickstarter campaign when it begins. I would greatly appreciate it!