What could be better than Zach Braff launching a campaign to get his new film funded on Kickstarter? How about Zach Braff launching a campaign to get his new film funded on Kickstarter and it's an incredibly geeky project, filled with references to Comic-Con, cosplay and Space Knights?
Braff's campaign finally answers all the fans who've been bugging him about following up on Garden State, his critically acclaimed indie hit from 2004. In the Kickstarter video above, Braff explains that he's written a sort-of sequel script -- featuring semi-autobiographical characters in their 30s, rather than semi-autobiographical characters in their 20s.
But that script, Wish I Was Here, has been held up for years by financing woes. ("Stay tuned" was all Braff would say about it when I interviewed him at a press event for Oz the Great and Powerful.) So, inspired by the success of last month's Veronica Mars Kickstarter, which gained $1 million in a record four hours, the Scrubs star decided to turn to the Internet for support.
Braff is seeking a cool $2 million by this time next month. Shortly after the Kickstarter launched Wednesday, he already had more than $100,000 from nearly 1,500 backers. (Check out the latest tally in the widget below.)
Movies may have become way more geek-friendly in recent years, but Wish I Was Here punts that ball way down the field. Its quirky lead character is a 35-year-old who fantasizes about being a Space Knight, complete with flying droid; his brother is a Comic-Con veteran who enjoys dressing up in a space suit.
Gifts for backers include access to advance screenings and production diaries; pledge $10,000 and you get to speak a line in the movie itself, with your name in the credits.
Would you back it? And is Kickstarter the wave of the future where movie financing is concerned? Give us your take in the comments.