tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post9183321315381679190..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: I won't give Zach Braff one dimeBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger261125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-28277989191364189772014-01-27T08:58:51.832-08:002014-01-27T08:58:51.832-08:00Ironically this entire rant comes from the develop...Ironically this entire rant comes from the developer of BioShock.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07226418326293587683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22114254512001085672013-07-05T05:22:19.044-07:002013-07-05T05:22:19.044-07:00A while back, Kickstarter bounced the shark (or nu...A while back, Kickstarter bounced the shark (or nuked the cooler or whatever the most cutting edge form of that is). It's now standard. You're just set to see a greater amount of these sorts of things at Kickstarter, not less. To utilize your similarity about film celebrations -don't grieve Sundance, attempt to discover the present incredible independent celebrations rather. The thought shouldn't be to disregard the Braff sorts of ventures to make Kickstarter be something else; assuming that you feel the way you do about how crowdsourced financing might as well work, discover the following Kickstarter. <br /><br />Btw, the new radio fellow for the M's is working out extraordinary, however it'd still be dazzling to catch you do several recreations this time of year. Hopefully somebody needs a vacation day for benevolent explanations and you have sufficient energy and interest. raise money for filmhttp://www.wofunding.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-40628978296480135892013-05-18T08:42:35.945-07:002013-05-18T08:42:35.945-07:00Small addendum: I wrote my comment before I pledge...Small addendum: I wrote my comment before I pledged money on Kickstarter for the Braff movie, before I read a comment, before I read any other website and before I heard the interview on KCRW's "The Business". Heck I didn't even know that there was a VM movie funded on Kickstarter before I read your post even though I was a huge VM fan back in the day and hate every second of Kristen Bell on House of Cards because it makes her look slutty and that's specifically what V never was.<br /><br />It's really funny that I hit the nail on the head from my experience with funding iPhone and iPad accessoires on Kickstarter the last two years.<br /><br />This whole discussion is so 2012. We've had it with so many businesses already and that idea of Kickstarter being "ruined" with people from "The business" when it's so clear that Kickstarter is going to disrupt EVERYTHING and might be the doom of the Hollywood machine as it is now...<br /><br />I'm in my fourth decade on this planet and it's so extremely funny to see people who grew up with something come up with the silliest arguments to express that something is "ruining" something else.<br /><br />The people commenting that Sundance was ruined by the industry is such a hoot. I can't stop laughing.<br /><br />Kickstarter, Indiegogo and the like will get RID of that industry as long as net neutrality is guaranteed. As long as information is free, something Aaron Schwartz fought for, all these gatekeepers will finally be gone.<br /><br />No more "Episodes". No more "Indie".<br /><br />A couple thousand people will be able to come together and just be able to make sh*t. Deal with it.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01936042470523695383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87879313348818740212013-05-18T03:01:31.708-07:002013-05-18T03:01:31.708-07:00Sorry Ken but you couldn't be more wrong.
In ...Sorry Ken but you couldn't be more wrong.<br /><br />In a time where Nielsen can't gauge what is really watched, where Steven Soderbergh stops making movies because he has to deal with Hollywood executives who never even watch the movies their own studio makes, in a world where "Episodes" is a correct portrayal of the industry, where Louis CK has to basically make his show on an indie budget and gets his money back from Robin Williams because he saw that the crew has no money, where "Veronica Mars" gets cancelled even thought he show has a die hard audience, Kickstarter is the thing that's needed to let Braff make a movie where he does not have to relinquish creative control, where he can film HIS vision and best of all, he can do it with people who really like him.<br /><br />Your angle should've been different. Braff isn't taking money away from the little guy but the problem is that Braff might make a movie that isn't liked by his fans who then get buyer's remorse and won't fund anything on Kickstarter again. Kickstarter is hip right now and the problem might be that people who fund something don't actually know what they buy. I have that buyer's remorse because 3 out of 5 things I funded on Kickstarter turned out to be crap.<br /><br />But again - Braff has a track record. We know what to expect from him. Why on earth shouldn't we help him fund something that today's Hollywood with its endless sequels and no risk-taking wouldn't allow him to make?<br /><br />Take a look at the numbers on Kickstarter - just look at it. How many people fund a project on Kickstarter? The projects that got the most funds have a couple of tens of thousands of supporters. How much is that in movie tickets? I mean seriously, look it up. You won't find a project hat has the number of backers in the millions. You can basically fund a Hollywood movie with the number of people that a "flop" nowadays gets.<br /><br />And besides, how on earth are we supposed to believe you that buying a movie ticket is voting with your wallet? First of all the stuff I want to vote for isn't even on the ballot - I'm in Germany and all I get on my ballot are movies that are dubbed - no original audio. So I stay at home and don't watch TV because, guess what - ALSO no original sound. So I have to get pay TV - guess what happens there? Yes, again, shitty offerings, half of the subscribers only want the Sports package, the other half the movies and of those maybe 5% want the original voices and sound.<br /><br />Kickstarter offers THE WHOLE WORLD to fund ANYONE, including Zach Braff. It doesn't take anything away from anyone. There's so much money out there, lying on the street. You saying that the 10 bucks Braff gets from me isn't going to some indie guy is like saying paying 10 bucks for the latest Star Trek Movie is taking money away from indie guys.<br /><br />That's, quite frankly, idiotic.<br /><br />I have money for both. And so has everybody else. And on top of that Braff makes people sign up on Kickstarter who will then maybe browse around and discover all those indie guys that they would never ever have discovered if Braff hadn't turned them on to Kickstarter.<br /><br />It's a WIN/WIN for all, and your comment sounds quite a bit detached from reality. You apply an old Hollywood model of finite amount of funding on a world that has no boundries and literally infinite amount of money available there for the taking. There was a time when the guys who run Kickstarter thought 50,000 bucks was a hugely successful project.<br /><br />I am pretty sure soon Hollywood executives will become obsolete and to be honest I thank Braff for taking the plunge. The sooner we get rid of people who make directors like Steven Soderbergh stop making movies the better.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01936042470523695383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49482517903114479872013-05-15T17:28:13.363-07:002013-05-15T17:28:13.363-07:00Ken,
Thank you for the incredible article. Like m...Ken,<br /><br />Thank you for the incredible article. Like most people here are saying; you wrote it better than any of us could.<br /><br />We actually launched our Kickstarter the same day (ends the same day, too) and I feel like we'v been living in the shadow of Braff's project since we launched. My boyfriend and I moved to LA with our last dime a year ago to find whatever we could in the industry and our road has lead us to our own project, "Wish It Inc." (I know, our title couldn't escape his campaign, either).<br /><br />If anybody wants to help out a couple of young, working men bring to life a unique web series, please check us out on Kickstarter: <br /><br />http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/syntheticph/wish-it-inc-a-comedy-fantasy-web-series<br /><br />Cheers,<br />Ryan + NickRyan Martinhttp://syntheticph.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17692425866834782342013-05-14T15:47:25.245-07:002013-05-14T15:47:25.245-07:00Check out Dinner For One's feelings on kicksta...Check out Dinner For One's feelings on kickstarter and Zach Braff on Funny Or Die: <br /><br />http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/befbdc2f25/fundraising-sucksAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10209036481915310641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85037270282019311242013-05-13T22:18:04.960-07:002013-05-13T22:18:04.960-07:00Ken's blog spoke volumes to us. As a team in t...Ken's blog spoke volumes to us. As a team in the midst of a kickstarter campaign, not sure if anyone read Entertainment Weekly this week 5/9/13 but they wrote about this Zach Braff situation and without my knowledge mentioned three projects that were actively campaigning (I Am Alone) ours being one them as an example of other projects few would ever hear of. We're exactly halfway though and just under 50% of our 25k budget to make a very ambitious low budget zombie film but Zach raises 1 mil in one day. It so difficult to raise money for any endeavor but film is one of the toughest and just when you think you have a platform, thy invaded and distract people from what is truly original out there. Great... More people may find kickstarter but they're looking for the wrong projects. This is actually our second time trying to campaign and if we have to do it a third time we will if thats what it takes. We dont have 8 seasons of scrubs money to fall back on.I hope you find us or any project on kickstarter that you'd want to support. You dont know how much your support means to all of us who have been or are currently involved in a kickstarter campaign- Robert I am alone.Robert Palmerhttp://iamalonethemovie.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22962979774351014912013-05-13T12:47:36.507-07:002013-05-13T12:47:36.507-07:00Braff could absolutely get his movie made without ...Braff could absolutely get his movie made without kickstarter. By using kickstarter he gets his movie with no interference, and since the people who fund it do not get any of the profit like a traditional investor, he gets more money too. Even if it doesn't reach his goal, he loses nothing. Pretty much free money for him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62367458842698039072013-05-11T21:21:26.176-07:002013-05-11T21:21:26.176-07:00" NO access to Hollywood and NO access to ser..." NO access to Hollywood and NO access to serious investors " Thanks for telling Kickstarter what their purpose is. Just because someone work in Hollywood doesn't mean that actually have access to money. There are many films Hollywood doesn't make.<br />Why people like you can't seem to realize the hollywood is a business, not some magical fairy dust company that just hands out money all the time.Geekoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02776860053353538300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-36174033176272686862013-05-11T11:08:55.140-07:002013-05-11T11:08:55.140-07:00After I read this article, I donated $50 to Braff....After I read this article, I donated $50 to Braff.<br /><br />Hope you're happy, hipster.Uhmhttp://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/056/4/e/call_the_cops_idgaf__llama_by_stitch_bolt-d4qy5ta.jpgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61766245746941862332013-05-10T20:40:05.993-07:002013-05-10T20:40:05.993-07:00wow there's a lot of vinegar in this thread. T...wow there's a lot of vinegar in this thread. The guy is seeking an alternate source of funding, and quite honestly, whether or not it's extra $, more creative control, or both who cares? His rep is on the line regardless and anyone paying has the choice.<br /><br />It may amaze you cool indie-movie-folks but really rich dudes in tech, sometimes even those who have made 9-10 figures of wealth, still go out and take VC funding for their next project. And it is 100% analogous to your KS rant, because even more importantly than the $ taken away in a VC fund, so is the VC's time/attention taken from some needy garage startup. But them's the breaks.<br /><br />The bottom line is this: Zach worked his ass off like a lot of you, got a few lucky breaks, made $$ on a hit show. Through some tremendous hard work and avoiding bad temptations he retained success and more importantly, fans. And he treats those fans really well. He is very active on Twitter, Reddit and FB. Has been for years. So when it came time to do something like this, it was an honor for many of his fans to participate and contribute to someone they respect. All of you counting his money, assuming his motives or resenting his success are just petty.<br /><br />Kevin Smith, btw has gone from everyman favorite to reclusive douche.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250688927482001453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-7224658391869831122013-05-10T20:36:42.861-07:002013-05-10T20:36:42.861-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250688927482001453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68521587183614377672013-05-10T19:39:12.389-07:002013-05-10T19:39:12.389-07:00As a "liker" of Zach Braff's Faceboo...As a "liker" of Zach Braff's Facebook page, I've been able to follow all his posts about his KS campaign. In one of his original posts, he wondered why people were complaining, and then went on to list 3 reasons why they shouldn't. Many of his fans commented that people like me (small independent filmmakers) were "haters".<br /><br />So, I decided to comment on his post, and I took great care in detailing why we aren't complaining... or hating... but merely concerned. It triggered several responses and an extended conversation with some of the fans.<br /><br />Then he continued to make posts, riling up his fan base. More people calling us "haters". But it made financial sense for him. More controversy, more publicity, more donations. When he decided to post the recent KS statement, he added the comment that the article should have been titled "Troll Silencer". That has since been removed.<br /><br />I could handle the fans on FB. But here's where it got ugly. I was private messaged on Facebook by one of his "fans". On the same day, my movie on imdb.com was hit with a rating of "1". Now, our film was screened three times in 2012 and had a KS campaign for DVDs in December 2012. We haven't released the film to the general public, we haven't been advertising recently, we have had NO activity on our website for 6 months, and I know exactly who has seen this film. Our reviews have been wonderful. We previously had a mean ranking of 9.0 and a weighted average of 8 from 10 ratings.<br /><br />Our imdb rating crashed to a 3.0 weighted average. Just from this single "1" rating. Which means the "1" was weighted heavily, i.e. someone who has status/ranking with imdb. We've had 20+ additional rankings come in recently after putting out a request for help from people who had seen the movie, and our mean is now 9.2 but our weighted average only went up to 4.3. That "1" holds a lot of weight.<br /><br />It's B.S. that someone connected with this whole Zach Braff extravaganza had the ability and the nerve to destroy someone else's movie... simply for speaking out.Sara P.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-43160683498522706612013-05-10T10:20:51.072-07:002013-05-10T10:20:51.072-07:00This is has even been picked up by Salon. Congratu...This is has even been picked up by Salon. Congratulations on going viral!Donnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04627914722447616191noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60455576825624695042013-05-09T11:27:21.606-07:002013-05-09T11:27:21.606-07:00I've seldom been moved to comment on a post bu...I've seldom been moved to comment on a post but this one.... I couldn't agree more with you, save Kickstarter for those who really need it. And your remarks about your former co-worker saving the starting times for the working man, really touched me. I was on a TV series once, and got a call from my agent for an audition for a mini-series. It wasn't a role that would do anything for me except make me a few bucks that weren't make or break for me. I told my agent this and suggested that there was an actor out there for whom that job could mean the rent or qualifying for health insurance. I'm small potatoes but I sure wish some of the more successful actors would do the same particularly in commercials and voice overs. There are actors who need to qualify for health coverage or retirement.<br />Stephen Mendel www.stephenmendel.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-6801626931165722492013-05-09T11:06:55.124-07:002013-05-09T11:06:55.124-07:00Important: we are trying to crowdfund a movie abou...Important: we are trying to crowdfund a movie about ZACH BRAFF and his Kickstarter !<br />our movie is called:<br /><br />"BAD BRAFF"<br /><br />if you want to stick it to Zach Braff, we are trying to raise funds for this movie through another crowdfunding site called indiegogo. we only need $1,000 to make the movie. <br /><br />check out our pitch video!<br /><br /><br />check out our indiegogo page. http://igg.me/at/badbraff/x/107981<br />DougGerberhttp://igg.me/at/badbraff/x/107981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63531252884711991922013-05-09T04:41:56.204-07:002013-05-09T04:41:56.204-07:00Hi, I totally agree with this. I'm a productio...Hi, I totally agree with this. I'm a production student at Middle Tennessee State University and try to raise money for my films and it wouldn't be fair to pick between me and some Hollywood Star. So I'm going to take this opportunity to spread the word about my current campaign Movie Room Magic! Check out the link below for a great student project!<br /><br />http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/movie-room-magic/x/3159132Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-5798635106643827592013-05-08T16:50:52.013-07:002013-05-08T16:50:52.013-07:00Adam Carolla briefly talked about this and had som...Adam Carolla briefly talked about this and had some similar and good views. This was at the end of the Mar 17 episode of his podcast w/ guest Ari Shaffer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-72481467162143454452013-05-08T13:18:04.182-07:002013-05-08T13:18:04.182-07:00Did you read, "Kickstarter Can Fund Your Drea...Did you read, "Kickstarter Can Fund Your Dreams" in "Fast Company" magazine last month (April 2013)? The article explores co-founder and CEO Perry Chen's big-business-baffling manifesto, an esoteric "ecosystem" which he proclaims has a "moral obligation" to [small, unknown] independent artists. This campaign came seems to fly in the face of everything that "breaking the silence exposé" conveyed.Christina Eliasonhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/christinaeliasonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87327867531972317192013-05-08T13:05:46.946-07:002013-05-08T13:05:46.946-07:00If anything, it's attracting more people to Ki...If anything, it's attracting more people to KickStarter than ever before, so that other filmmakers will have greater opportunities in the future to be funded. <br /><br />It's OK that you're not funding the project though, fans of his art are happy to do so. <br /><br />Just because someone has "made it" doesn't make anything they do less of an art than what you do or anyone else does. Everyone deserves to be supported. <br /><br />It's absurd that people think he should cough up a few million bucks "just because he can". When your boss sends you to a conference and pays for your hotel and plane, do you demand to pay all your own expenses? It's still work, and this movie will be a LOT of work. Do YOU work for free?<br /><br /> I think it's rad that I get to be a "part" of this movie. When else do you get the chance to feel a part of something big, by someone you admire?<br /><br />Haters gonna hate, i guess.Amandahttp://www.twitter.com/amaaandanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-54533767553396122532013-05-08T12:25:14.108-07:002013-05-08T12:25:14.108-07:00Zach Braff has said himself that his Kickstarter i...Zach Braff has said himself that his Kickstarter isn't about making the money. It's about getting the fans involved. And thanks to the attention it's getting his fans (a lot of whom had never heard of Kickstarter before) then went on to finance dozens of smaller projects.<br />I also think it's completely within his right to turn down funding from investors who wanted creative control - if you know Garden State then you know that his projects are very personal to him, and given the success of Garden State you'd think that investors would trust him enough to make his own film.<br />I have huge amount of respect for Zach Braff, not just for his work, but for the way he engages with his fans. Since the Kickstarter launched he has been asking them for feedback and adding perks based on what they want. <br />You don't want to give him your money, and that is absolutely your right. But I gave him some of mine. I get a behind the scenes look at how his film is being made. I get to go to a private screening. And I'm really excited.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-36282898582878195912013-05-08T11:54:43.088-07:002013-05-08T11:54:43.088-07:00Great read and absolutely right! It may get me to ...Great read and absolutely right! It may get me to start writing again!Marchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023664069798804930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12985946370679969642013-05-08T11:52:35.172-07:002013-05-08T11:52:35.172-07:00Boo hoo. Read a little more about the bullsheep st...Boo hoo. Read a little more about the bullsheep studio politics that "named" artists have to put up with and you'll see why Kickstarter is a great alternative for them.<br /><br />It's easy for you to whine about celebrities getting money from crowd sourcing, but if you worked in the industry for many years and got sick of studio intervention stifling your creativity, you too would turn to kickstarter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8699494943465355042013-05-08T10:45:10.928-07:002013-05-08T10:45:10.928-07:00Perhaps there should be restrictions in film festi...Perhaps there should be restrictions in film festivals - including Sundance - regarding entering a film, e.g. - anyone who has already had a film financed by a major studio would be ineligible.VincentSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74643362970989804632013-05-08T09:09:21.895-07:002013-05-08T09:09:21.895-07:00I tried unsuccessfully to argue this very point th...I tried unsuccessfully to argue this very point the other day, thanks for crystalizing it for me. And you are absolutely correct.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com