Why Veronica Mars and the Kickstarter Campaign Kinda Rock

Okay, guys. I have to do this quick because I'm running out the door. I just wanted to say this before tomorrow. As you know, we Veronica Mars fans have been hoping for a movie for years. It's been promised and hinted at a number of times since the show was canceled in 2007. Sure, I had hopes like the rest of you, but I didn't think it was any more likely than Firefly returning to the airwaves.

Look how happy you've made Veronica!
Then this morning, creator Rob Thomas started a Kickstarter campaign, (and you can still donate for the next 30 days) hoping to raise $2 million in 30 days to make this bit of loveliness happen. I think it's best that none of you saw my happy dance. Mildly embarrassing. Anyway, while there was no doubt in my mind that the campaign would be fully funded, I certainly didn't expect it to happen in a mere 10 hours!

I've been updating my story on Fanhattan Voice since I ran it at 9 am PST. You can check it out here. (And please do. I'm really proud of the new site and I'd love it if you guys would pay a visit and "like" us.) I'd also like to thank you all for getting it up to the $2 million mark right before I was off for the day so I could do my final update while I was still on the clock. I'm nothing if not selfish. :)

Anyway, one of the things I've been noticing on Twitter, besides the general excitement is a bunch of my friends and fellow journalists making acid comments about how the studios just found a way to make us pay twice for a film. Many of them are saying that this is going to start a terrible trend or that Kickstarter was made for indie projects and that this soils everything in some way. (To be fair, not all of the comments were acid. Many were merely speculating or asking the question. Those aren't the reason for this article.)

I just want to say this: There aren't many shows that could raise this sort of money in a few hours. I can think of only a handful. I also think that studios aren't going to have the good grace of fans if they try this too often. This film wasn't getting green lit any other way, from the little I know about it. Look, I really want to see Ghostbusters 3, but I don't think I'd be willing to pay for it when I know the studio is at least looking at it. That said, if there is a film I really want to see, I'm happy to be a tiny part of it by donating. No one is putting a gun to my head. No one is telling me I have to.

I'm curious about your opinions here. Are you happy about the news? How do you feel about Kickstarter being used this way? Let me know in the comments or tweet me @jennabusch. I, for one, am thrilled about the news. Long live Veronica!