Attention celebrities (and wannabes) with vanity projects waiting in the wings: Kickstarter might not work for you.
The Kickstarter project for a "Veronica Mars" movie busted through all sorts of crowdfunding records by raising $5.7 million—$3.7 million more than they originally asked for. Celebrities with their own pet projects or hoping to make a comeback saw Kickstarter as an ATM. We're sure for some celebrities it will work: Zach Braff asked the public for help financing his follow-up project to "Garden State," and he successfully raised $2.6 million.
But we're sure there will be plenty of cautionary tales, too. Melissa Joan Hart, best known for her titular roles in "Clarissa Explains It All" and "Sabrina The Teenage Witch," gave Kickstarter a shot and failed pretty spectacularly. Hart's romcom comeback project called "Darci's Walk Of Shame" was canceled due to a lack of interested. So far it only attracted 315 backers who raised $51,605, faaaar short of the $2 million goal.
Neither Hart nor her rep are commenting, according to E!. But Mashable has some thoughts about why the project failed:
...Darci's Walk of Shame doesn't appear to be a passion project. Melissa Joan Hart was more fervent about once again having top billing than she was about the film itself. This fact is made more apparent by the pitch video in which the actress's mother explains to her why she should attach herself to the film.
This varies starkly from Zach Braff, who explains in great detail in his pitch video for his now-successfully funded film that he choose to go with Kickstarter over traditional financing because it afforded absolute creative control. Braff wants to dictate every aspect of Wish I Were Here because it's his. Hart would have been the star of Darci, not an auteur.
So don't worry
Kevin Smith, it does take more than middling celebrity and 90s nostalgia to excite the public and encourage us to open our wallets.
Related:
Zach Braff Launches Kickstarter For New 'Garden State'-esque Flick
'Veronica Mars' Kickstarter Closes Today, Smashes Crowdfunding Records
Kevin Smith Says No To Kickstarter: "Not Fair To Real Indie Filmmakers"
Amanda Palmer Tells Us About Becoming A "Kickstarter Millionaire"
