Kickstartering dormant properties: name your price!

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Gaith, Mar 15, 2013.

  1. Gaith

    Gaith Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 11, 2008
    Location:
    Oregon
    (Figured this was an interesting enough topic for its own thread; we can leave the VM stuff to theirs...)


    As cool of a developing story as the VM movie is, I personally don't think I'm enough of a fan of anything to pay $35 for a digital download to a movie that doesn't yet exist, except perhaps a Carnivale movie or (maybe) a Vorenus and Pullo Rome spin-off flick. Of course, both of those, however stripped-down, would entail far more production costs than a contemporary, low-key story like VM, but now that Kick-reviving dormant properties is a thing, studios may be more open to chipping in production costs as part of the deal, whereas the VM project was undertaken with the understanding that if only the bare minimum of $2m was met, that - minus the costs of the rewards - would be the only production budget they'd get.


    Which got me to thinking: how much would I and all of you contribute to various stuff, and for what rewards?

    - I'd pay $20 or so for a paperback Carnivale novel written by Dan Knauf... maybe $30 for a hardback. No more than $15 for an ebook, probably.

    - I'd pony up $10 for a digital download of the filmed-but-cut ending to the The Golden Compass movie, the effects for which were apparently mostly if not completely done, provided said effects were finished to at least dvd quality. Maybe $20 for a download of that same footage re-edited into the movie, so long as the last-minute Bolvangar/Svalbard switch, done after said ending was cut, was also reverted.

    - LEGO could probably get me to pre-pay $75 for a TNG bridge set with crew. I'd want to see CG mockups first, of course.

    - $50 each for dvd sets of Early Edition seasons three and four. $25 each for downloads of same.

    - $5 for a digital download of The Mummy, without the FX painting over of Weisz's soaked nightgown. Sure, she's bared all several times elsewhere, but not in one of my all-time favorite movies. :devil:


    ... Let the offerings begin! :p
     
  2. jayceee

    jayceee Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2012
    Digitized copies of the original raw unmixed instrument/vocal tracks (from the 24-track studio tape) of classic albums like:

    Metallica - Ride The Lightning
    Metallica - Master of Puppets
    Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast


    (Mainly to do my own remixes).

    I would be willing to pay $20-$50 per album for something like this as a kickstarter.
     
  3. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    Movie, schmovie. Anything that would interest me, would have to be a TV series.

    But I don't want anything revived, except maybe Star Trek as a series but do we need to kickstart something that obvious? I'd rather be surprised by something new and different.

    Bonus points for space opera or historical drama.
     
  4. Taylirious

    Taylirious Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2009
    Location:
    Wonderland
    I'd pay to see an Astro City movie...which has been in development for years now! :rommie:
     
  5. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2001
    Location:
    Mr. Adventure
    I'd actually pay a $100 for each blu-ray of the unspecial editions of the original Star Wars trilogy. (maybe not kickstart but if they were guaranteed somehow)
     
  6. Timelord Victorious

    Timelord Victorious Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 27, 2006
    Location:
    Germany, Earth, the Solar System
    What generally happens to donated money if the minimum goal is not met?
    how does that work?
     
  7. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    Juding from the responses so far, what people really want is a way to get existing content, but in a format of their choosing.
     
  8. lurok

    lurok Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2011
    Location:
    Lost in the EU expanse with a nice cup of tea
    $100 for Sanctuary tv movie or mini-series. Or continuation of Dune mini-series (God Emperor).
     
  9. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2001
    Location:
    Derry, Maine
    Don't go giving Lucas any ideas! :mad:
     
  10. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2001
    Location:
    Derry, Maine
    http://www.kickstarter.com/help/faq/kickstarter basics?ref=nav

     
  11. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2001
    Location:
    Mr. Adventure
    I'm following the lead of the first post which is what I think it's asking. EDIT: never mind, yeah, I'm not expanding on an existing property...


    It'd be the mouse now, wouldn't it?
     
  12. FreezeC77

    FreezeC77 Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 26, 2002
    I really don't like the whole kickstarter thing. To me when it involves pre-existing Hollywood type projects it comes across like fans ponying up their own money to give to an NFL team so they can sign a FA... Sure it's a team you like, but why should you be giving money to someone or some corporation which already has made and will make millions?

    As far as I understand kickstarter the money that is funded is basically a donation. You do not get that money back. If the project funded makes 10/20/30 times the intitial investment through kickstarter that kickstarter money still is not returned. The only one who makes a profit is kickstarter itself(taking 5% of the funded money) and the owner of the project for whatever they make once the project is created.

    Something about all that just seems wrong to me.
     
  13. mos6507

    mos6507 Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2010
    That's why the projects on kickstarter that feel the most fair are indie films in which the only return likely to the filmmakers is in the form of the kickstarter money itself--hence it's like a preorder.
     
  14. Dream

    Dream Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2001
    Location:
    Derry, Maine
    Let people do what they want with their own money.
     
  15. jayceee

    jayceee Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2012
    Sooner or later, the kickstarter "bubble" will burst.

    All it will take, is some high profile botched up project or non-delivery.
     
  16. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Oct 30, 1999
    Location:
    Tatoinne
    That's not what kickstarter is supposed to be. It was never intended as a place for Hollywood insiders to do anything.

    This Veronica Mars thing seems aimed at two ideas: 1) convincing Warners that there's a market for it and 2) PR boost for the movie when it finally appears, whether actually in theaters (has anyone checked with the theater owners whether they would even agree to show a niche movie on anything but a token basis?) or just digital version sold/streamed online.

    Both 1 and 2 are things studios already do, on their own dime. If there's a market for something, the studio should do the research to find that out. And they are definitely responsible for marketing their wares.

    I anticipate this will inspire astroturf kickstarter campaigns (I'm assuming VM is not that). It would be very easy for a studio to already have a greenlit project, but do a phony kickstarter campaign to get fans to do a lot of their PR work for them.
     
  17. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2001
    Location:
    Mr. Adventure
    Obviously not as good but I've seen a video on youtube where a guy took all the material available and put together a video of what the oriiginal ending would have been like. Might be worth checking out if you haven't seen it?


    I don't mind when they have a tier like $20-25 with a DVD as a reward so it's like you are basically pre-paying for a movie you are interested in.
     
  18. Haggis and tatties

    Haggis and tatties Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Location:
    Glasgow
    Can i pay in quatloos?
     
  19. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2001
    Location:
    Mr. Adventure
    ^^ only for Star Trek projects
     
  20. Venardhi

    Venardhi Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2002
    Location:
    The Great Wide Somewhere
    As far as resurrecting a dead property: I think Firefly, Deadwood or Carnivale miniseries could probably get $50 from me, maybe $100. Movies are far less interesting to me however, when I mostly just want to spend more time with the characters.

    I would pay similarly for adaptations of some favorite books.