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Smith defends the Fan Funded Film - Not Begging Fans for Money
In a wild chain of events the blogsphere is a litter with stories that Kevin Smith is begging his fans for money in order to get his proposed Red State film off the ground.
In a back and forth on Twitter, Smith says there is no money to make the movie as of yet, a fan suggests a paypal donation campaign, Smith brings up the wild idea of a fan funded film and suddenly bloggers are jumping to conclusions that he is already knee deep in his panhandling for films campaign.
On Kevin Smith’s own Blog he explains:
This fan-financed-film (aka, “begging”) hasn’t happened yet, nor might it ever happen. While it all sounds perfectly Amish, it’s fraught with crazy pitfalls and tax problems that have required hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars in legal fees to investigate even the possibility of the fan-financed idea’s merit. I’m in a round table, I briefly talk about this idea we’re looking into, some guy writes it up a bit, and suddenly, all the Rush Limbaughs of the movie blogosphere start getting insanely Republican about the whole affair; y’know - the one that doesn’t involve them in the first place? *sigh*If (and I mean IF with a huge fucking i & f) this fan-financed idea were to move forward? I’m not making a dime. If I were, as suggested, to turn to the fan-base to fund the movie, do you honestly think I’d even take a salary? I was just tickled and touched a bunch of people wanted to see it so badly, they were like “Here’s my twenty, if it’ll help.” All without having read a script. I wouldn’t want or take one dime from something as pure as that gesture. I’m not a money-guy; if I was I’d charge for SModcast (at 300k-plus dl’s per ep at .99cents apiece, even if only half started paying, that’d be a cool $150k per week - and I leave that on the table weekly). This isn’t about making money, you negative pricks: it’s about making movies. And what’s sickening about it? Motherfuckers screaming foul WRITE FOR MOVIE WEBSITES. You’d imagine they’d support the making of a movie.
I always applaud the refreshing honesty that Smith offers. Sometimes he says things you don’t want to hear, but he always lays it out fresh and bluntly, pulling no punches.
And just like his Silent Bob character, when he needs to spill, it comes out like a canon and blasts you with some honesty, which he delivers in spades.
He goes into a longer explaination about the logistical nightmare that a fan funded film would create, suggesting it might just be easier to beg a studio for the cash.
Will Red State get made? Time will tell. Will Smith ever attempt a fan funded film? Maybe. He isn’t totally against it, but there are more IF’s than answers right now.
But in no way has he been “begging for money” from his fans.
makes sense
I’m going to ask a really dull question. You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to. It’s that dull.
“MF’s screaming foul WRITE FOR MOVIE WEBSITES. You’d imagine they’d support the making of a movie.”
My dullsville question:
Was there anyone who writes for a movie website that hasn’t screamed bloody murder and took Smith to task?
Next Dullsville question:
Can you think of at least one?
Really, the third dullsville question:
Does Kevin Smith read the wrong movie related websites?
****
Inquiry minded folk such as myself need to ask dull inquiries, you understand.
He reads this one. So I am told.
Just sayin.
You said “Will Smith.”
And it wasn’t a name. Just an unintentional play on words.
Well, anyone who follows Kevin’s twitter feed would know the real story, but he does tweet A LOT and can be rather graphic/crass. lol
Especially his repeated posts about oral activities and his wifes buttocks.
Just saying.
“This isn’t about making money, you negative pricks: it’s about making movies.”
That’s the kind of guy I want in my Hollywood.
Writing about the ‘legal fees’ aspect is rather silly. All studios spend hundreds of thousands in legal fees for their movies… a “fan-funded movie” would be no different than buying stocks in a movie. How do people think movies and shows are funded? Investors. Yeah, going to fans to get that private funding would be somewhat original — though I’m not sure it would be “unique” in the strictest sense of the word (I doubt it would be the first time) — but it’s a little silly to say a fan-funded film would necessarily be a bad thing, and while there may be a few more legal hurdles, it’s certainly doable.
Yeah but the creation of such a public enterprise could end up eating all the funds, and then people who gave their hard earned cash would feel that their money had been misspent.
Take charity organizations as an example: Let’s make one up: Save the Cute Little Critters or SCLC.
SCLC has just been embroiled in a scandal. Some lawyers or administrators have been caught giving themselves huge salaries and are taking expensive trips to Las Vegas where they “supposedly” are going to charity meetings, but in all reality they are doing coke and banging strippers.
No but all kidding aside, I love this idea, a public trust fund for films.
Truly an independent film studio
Films for the people, by the people.
Honestly I believe anyone who would complain and whine against Kevin Smith making a fan-funded film is just jealous that a nobody film-student couldn’t get all their facebook friends to pitch 5 bucks each for the production of their own indie flick let alone a giant fan base inwhich Kevin has. If you truely love the film industry and respect the creative directors involved, you shouldn’t care where the money comes from. In the end it has nothing to do with you, you’re an audience member and as an audience member you have the choice of watching a movie or not. you have no part in the making of the film so why pretend you’re a ref and pull the red card on a director whose just weighing all the options possible for making the film he wants to make? But maybe i’m wrong maybe all people want these days are sell out directors that just make the movies production houses want to make to make a quick buck and waste our time and money watching it.
Where do I send the check?
Just give me a cameo (ha)
at Randal’s video store.