A long time ago, we used to be friends

There was once a TV series called Veronica Mars. It was dark and witty and oh so addictive. Kind of a cult series, it lasted 3 seasons before being taken off the air.

Until today, when it was announced that they were seeking fan funding to produce a movie. Using Kickstarter, creator Rob Thomas wanted to raise US$2 million. As I write this, US$2.2 million has been raised and counting. It took just 4 and a half hours to raise the goal amount.

I'm super excited for this, for 2 reasons:

1. It's Veronica Mars, one of my favourite TV series of all time. The source of my girl-crush on Kristen Bell.
2. This could potentially open up ways for other fan-favourite IPs to be revived.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that the studio system is dead. Far from it. In fact, I could see the studios themselves jumping in on Kickstarter to raise money, while at the same time minimising risk (free advertising!) and gauging fan interest. Boo hiss.

But I also think that the Veronica Mars Movie Project has the potential to shift things around in the distribution chain. Just like Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog opened the floodgates for internet video (both for amateurs and Hollywood).

A way for film makers and TV creators to tell the stories they want to tell with complete creative freedom, funded by the audience themselves, and delivered directly to them. Cut out the middle-man.

I for one, eagerly await Season 2 of Firefly in my inbox*.

*sigh. I wish.