Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Celebrity Crowdfunding Trend Story


Kickstarter & The Contentious Trend of Celebrity Crowdfunding

By: Andrew Noerr, Feature Writing Student (3/19/14)

            When Kickstarter was founded in 2009, it seemed that independent filmmakers and other creators had finally gained accessibility to funds that are necessary for creating works of art. However, a recent trend that has gained momentum in the past year has independent filmmakers and many other community members in an uproar over who specifically should be allowed to attempt to raise funds on crowdsourcing platforms. This trend is celebrity crowdfunding, and its most controversial examples are all tied to filmmaking endeavors pioneered by well-known icons in the film industry.

            According to Juliet Lapidos of the New York Times, there have specifically been many Kickstarter campaigns started by idolized figures that have illuminated the trend of celebrity crowdfunding. First, in March 2013, Rob Thomas and Veronica Bell of the TV series “Veronica Mars” started a Kickstarter campaign to fund a “Veronica Mars” movie, and the final tally of funds at the end of the campaign resulted in a gain of $5.7 million when the goal had been set for $2 million. After that, Zach Braff of the former highly acclaimed medical-comedy show “Scrubs” began a Kickstarter campaign to fund a film called “Wish I Was Here” that turned out to be a sequel to his 2004 film titled “Garden State.” His campaign was also successful, and there are even more examples of polarizing Kickstarter campaigns by celebrities. Even Spike Lee has gone down the crowdsourcing route, as he attempted to use Kickstarter to raise enough money to create a movie called “The Newest Hottest Spike Lee Joint.” Lee sought $1.25 million, and he eventually ended up with north of $1.4 million. Those are just the most contentious examples of celebrity crowdfunding that has been successful on Kickstarter in the past. (More examples of celebrity crowdfunding can be found here and here.)

            With all this in mind, there has been some serious debating occurring on the Internet concerning if celebrities should really be using crowdsourcing platforms to fund their own projects. Lots of community members and indie artists have argued against celebrity crowdfunding. Lapidos noted in her article for the New York Times that there are two primary arguments made against celebrities using Kickstarter. First, it doesn’t seem fair that wealthy figures in the film industry can ask for money from the public when they most likely have numerous other means of acquiring funds for any future projects. In fact, highly-acclaimed director Kevin Smith said on his Reddit page in reaction to celebrities using Kickstarter that he’d never “suck any loot out of the crowdfunding marketplace that might otherwise go to a first-timer who can really use it.” The second main argument against it is that if celebrities gain lots of attention from using Kickstarter, then independent and first-time filmmakers are not going to feel that it is the best platform for them to gain the financial and promotional support they need to get a “kick start” for their careers.

However, there have been many people affiliated with independent filmmaking who actually think that celebrity crowdfunding may not be a bad trend. It certainly has its critics and doubters. However, some have argued that at the end of the day, this all may just be an example of people asking for money in an unobtrusive manner.

“I don’t think it’s a negative trend necessarily,” says Daniel Plotnick, Director of Film Studies at USF. “At times I do feel inundated by Kickstarter requests, but… I like supporting the arts… so I’m not put off by being asked. Plus, I can say no.”

In addition to the innocence that celebrities have while using Kickstarter, some have also mentioned how crowdsourcing and self-financing could lead to well-known figures producing films that could be out of the ordinary.

“I do know that even well-accomplished independent filmmakers have trouble raising funds for their films, and some of those folks have used Kickstarter… if that allows a creatively courageous filmmaker to make something that is an alternative to the standard Hollywood worldview, I’m not going to be too dismissive of that person using Kickstarter as a fundraising tool,” Plotnick states.

Kickstarter and other well-known figures have also attempted to justify celebrity crowdfunding. First, Zach Braff addressed this by admitting that he had other means of funding his own project, as he simply could have asked for money from big production companies in which he is affiliated. However, Braff argued that by asking for money from a big production company, he would risk losing creative control over his film, as he would only receive money from a production company if the film satisfies how the company wants it to be made. As a result, Braff went to Kickstarter to fund his movie. In addition to this, Spike Lee addressed the criticism thrown at celebrity crowdfunding by stating that his and other celebrity campaigns have brought further exposure to Kickstarter. Therefore, Kickstarter has an even bigger audience as a result of celebrities attempting to fund their projects with it.

Kickstarter itself has addressed the backlash towards celebrities using it other crowdsourcing platforms to gain funds for their projects. Kickstarter runs its own blog, and some of the writers for it reinforced Lee’s sentiments. Writers Perry Chan, Yancey Strickler, and Charles Adler noted that thousands of the financial supporters for the Veronica Mars and Zach Braff films went on to support other projects as well. Adding on to that, the writers for the Kickstarter blog noted that lots of that money went to other film projects specifically. Considering the info given on the blog, one can safely assume that celebrity crowdfunding has proven to be beneficial to some degree.

All in all, the debate over celebrity crowdfunding features strong arguments from advocates and critics. Up-and-coming filmmakers and other independent artists may be repelled by the rising amount of celebrity crowdfunding campaigns that can be found on Kickstarter and other similar sites. Still, indie creators may want to consider the arguments proposed by the supporters of well-known figures using Kickstarter, as the unintended side effect of increased exposure could actually lead to increased funds for projects pioneered by truly independent artists. This is certainly not the newest trend out there, but this is still a phenomenon that exists today and will continue to linger in the minds of new independent artists as they mull whether to utilize Kickstarter for financial and promotional support or not.                       

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