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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