Only four days await until the ultimate accomplishment of fans arrives on the big screen. Unless you have been under the hood of a car or baking under the blazing sun in Neptune, California, you are probably aware of the Veronica Mars movie that premieres this Friday. What makes this movie such an accomplishment of the fans, is just that, the fans.
Upon news that Warner Bros. was unwilling to sponsor the film due to “lack of interest,” creator Rob Thomas and protagonist of the series, Kristen Bell, looked to Kickstarter to launch their fundraising campaign. Their initial goal was to raise $2 million; they surpassed that amount, to say the least. At the end of their campaign, which included donations for guest starring roles in the film, personalized video messages and even a voicemail from Veronica Mars herself, the crew had reached nearly $6 million, all thanks to 91,585 backers on the site.
The whole production of Veronica Mars—lasting only 24 days—has stayed true to its source. Throughout the last year, multiple video messages from the cast and consistent updating of social media, like Twitter and YouTube, has further fueled the interest in the series and its film. As a fan of Veronica Mars myself, I have sincerely reveled in seeing the familiar faces of the cast members. It truly feels like this whole process has been solely for the love shared among all the supporters of Veronica Mars.
Indeed, Veronica Mars has set the record of being the largest film fundraising campaign on Kickstarter. But this matter is beyond the monetary values, this accomplishment is founded on the love of the fans. Veronica Mars has dignified that fans have a voice in Hollywood and sometimes, the “big” corporations are ignorant of that voice. This Kickstarter campaign validates that the devotion of fans triumphs any obstacles, which is what resources like Kickstarter ultimately stand for. Veronica Mars was created by the fans for the fans. I guess we are all just a bunch of marshmallows after all.