‘Wish I Was Here’: A Kickstarter Success Story
People who know me are very aware that I’m pop culture obsessed. I love movies and TV — the more original the content, the better. And the past five years have been a real turning point in the quality of content getting produced. As more and more TV production companies begin distributing their content via subscription channels or online, the quality keeps getting better and better. Look at HBO’s Game of Thrones, VEEP, and Silicon Valley. Netflix is killing it with House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. AMC’s The Walking Dead and Mad Men continue to wow critics and audiences alike. For people that crave original content without network censorship (me!) it’s like a kid in a candy store. So much to watch, so little time!
Filmmaking, usually a much more expensive endeavor, doesn’t have the same flexibility. Studios tend to be the last word in what gets made–and how it gets made. Sure, there’ve always been great independent filmmakers and their movies are usually 100 percent better than the bubblegum blockbusters the studios release, but the audience reach is a fraction of studio films.
Zach Braff turned the industry on its head last year when he unveiled his Kickstarter program for his second feature film, Wish I Was Here. Yes, movies had been previously funded on Kickstarter, but none with this scope or without a prequel (Veronica Mars.) Braff had a movie idea and didn’t want to bow to studio demands so he took it to his fans and left it up to them. It was funded within days and this past weekend, his film released across the country. It was excellent.
I’m sure you’ve guessed by now that I was one of the 46,000 people who backed the project. To read about my experience, check out my piece on Medium here: The $30 I Gave Zach Braff Was the Best $30 I’ve Spent This Year.
The movie was fantastic. If you’re a fan of character driven films with sensational soundtracks, Wish I Was Here shouldn’t be missed. And keep an eye on Kickstarter. My guess is, after Braff’s success with this film, more and more filmmakers are going to use the platform to make the films they want to make vs. what the studios want.