Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Formulaic Movies

(By Richard Goodman, 25 June 2013)

When people knock summer movies as being too formulaic, they are making a blanket statement that implies a standard level of crappiness amongst them all.  Just because something is formulaic does not necessarily mean it is bad.  A lot of the time, enjoyment of a movie is based on how well it executes the formula.  For instance, how many times has “Romeo And Juliet” been reused as a movie plot?  Every star-crossed movie couple owes a huge debt to William Shakespeare’s 400 year old play.  “Clueless” was a great movie but it simply updated Jane Austen’s book “Emma” from 200 years ago.  There have been a dozen Batman movies but no one got it quite right until Christopher Nolan’s second one, The Dark Knight, came out five years ago. 

Looking at this argument from a broader perspective, it makes even less sense.  Coca Cola is made all over the world using the same basic formula, but it still tastes delicious every time you drink one, and especially if it is a Cherry Coke Zero.  French toast is made from slight variations in the way bread is fried after it has been dipped in a mix of eggs, milk and cinnamon (or possibly with vanilla, brown sugar, apples and other spices and flavorings.)  Despite using the same staple ingredients, some people make French Toast that tastes way better than other people’s.  Using a formula is not a bad thing.  What matters is what ingredients are used and how they are put together.  Grandma’s formula, her recipe, for apple pie tastes better than what you get when you buy a $6 apple pie that Safeway made in their bakery using their recipe. 

So formulaic is not bad.  What matters are the ingredients that you add or subtract from your concoction and how you prepare it.  If you make a cake that uses salt instead of sugar and you bake it for seven minutes at 200 degrees, nobody will go back for seconds because they’ll be too busy running to the bathroom to spit up their first mouthful.  Below is a list of movies I’ve seen recently, including numerous summer blockbusters.  Just about all of them follow some formula so I spelled out exactly how the movie was concocted, what ingredients were added and subtracted and then gave it a rating.  It’s a short hand way of describing what I thought about the movie without having to write a lengthy review, plus it will give you a sense of how tasty you will find the movie.  For example, if you don’t like onions, like The Walking Dead, you won’t like a nuanced, tangy, drama like World War Z.  So take a look at where some recent movies came from and tell me if you agree.    


5   Death Race 2 = Death Race – Jason Statham

5   Good Day To Die Hard = Die Hard With A Vengeance + Goldfinger – humor, plausibility and hair

6    Juan Of The Dead = Shaun Of The Dead + Nacho Libre - Zombieland

6   Bachelorette = Bridesmaids + Crazy/Beautiful - American Pie

6   Fast & Furious 6 = Fast 5 – Ocean’s 11

6   The Internship = Office Space + Old School - Wedding Crashers

6   Now You See Me = The Illusionist + Robin Hood – House Of Games

6   Oz The Great And Powerful = The Wizard Of Oz + Spiderman – Time Bandits

7   Before Midnight = Before Sunset + Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Wolf – Before Sunrise

7   Friends With Benefits = No Strings Attached + N’Sync & That 70’s Show – Garden State

7   Fun Size = Adventures In Babysitting + I Love You Beth Cooper - Suburgatory

7   Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters = Van Helsing – Monster Squad + Underworld

7   Iron Man 3 = Iron Man 2 + Quantum Of Solace + Transformers

7   Man Of Steel = Superman 2 + The X-Men – The Avengers

7   Moonrise Kingdom = GrownUps + Life Aquatic

7   Oblivion = Total Recall + Wall E – Minority Report – Independence Day

7   Olympus Has Fallen = Murder At 1600 + 300 – The Rock

7   Warm Bodies = The Walking Dead + Romeo And Juliet - Heathers

7   World War Z = The Walking Dead + Outbreak - Aliens

8   Dredd  = Judge Dredd- Tango & Cash + The Punisher (The good one)

8   The East = Erin Brockovich + She’s All That + Inception

8   Les Miserables = Great Expectations + Borat + Chicago - Mamma Mia

8   Star Trek: Into Darkness = Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan + Sherlock Holmes: Game Of Shadows

8   This Is The End = Left Behind + Pineapple Express  - South Park The Movie: Bigger, Longer & Uncut + Superbad


 

Monday, June 24, 2013

Veronica Mars Movie Project


The Veronica Mars Movie Project
(By Rob Thomas, Kickstarter.com, 13 March 2013)

Here it is. Our one shot to see a Veronica Mars movie happen. Kristen is in. I'm in. Let's do it!

Almost since Veronica Mars went off the air, there's been talk of making a movie. In that span, I've taken different tactics in dealing with the question of whether it might happen. To be clear, I've always wanted to make a Veronica Mars movie. I love writing these characters and working with these actors. Kristen Bell has always wanted to make the movie.
There was a moment, a few years ago, when we thought we had a real shot at making it happen. I developed a pitch that revolved around graduation day at Hearst college -- Wallace and Mac were graduating at least, Veronica had been sidetracked by freeing Keith from prison. Plus, there was a murder in Neptune that was affecting the beach city's spring break business in much the same way a great white shark affected the beach community of Amity. I probably stoked fan fervor in my optimistic comments about the prospects. Warner Bros. wasn’t convinced there was enough interest to warrant a major studio-sized movie about Veronica and the project never got off the ground.

After that, I tried to tamp down expectations. I didn't want to be guilty — at least not twice — of building up hope when the odds seemed so long. Still, without fail, in every interview I do or every place I speak, I get the "will there be a Veronica Mars movie?" question. Even after a couple of years of downplaying the chances, I'd still run across blog postings headlined, "will Rob Thomas shut up about the Veronica Mars movie, already!" I was trying to. I promise.
I first found out about Kickstarter a couple of years ago from an Austin musician friend of mine — Robert Harrison, lead singer of Cotton Mather, the band that gave us "Lily Dreams On," our closing song of season 1. He financed a rerelease of the band's fantastic Kontiki album. Later, I was marveling about Kickstarter with another buddy of mine who said off-handedly, "You should use Kickstarter to raise the money to make the Veronica Mars movie." I chuckled. That seemed like a silly idea in the moment. We'd need millions. But for the next few weeks, the notion was never far from my mind. I started doing the proverbial back-of-a-cocktail-napkin math. The average pledge on Kickstarter is $71. Hell, if we could get 30,000 people to give the average donation, we could finance the movie, particularly if the cast and I were willing to work cheap. The most common donation amount on Kickstarter is $25. Surely, 80,000 of our three million viewers would find that price-point viable!
Of course, Warner Bros. still owns Veronica Mars and we would need their blessing and cooperation to pull this off. Kristen and I met with the Warner Bros. brass, and they agreed to allow us to take this shot. They were extremely cool about it, as a matter of fact. Their reaction was, if you can show there’s enough fan interest to warrant a movie, we’re on board. So this is it. This is our shot. I believe it's the only one we've got. It's nerve-wracking. I suppose we could fail in spectacular fashion, but there's also the chance that we completely revolutionize how projects like ours can get made. No Kickstarter project ever has set a goal this high. It's up to you, the fans, now. If the project is successful, our plan is to go into production this summer and the movie will be released in early 2014.
Life has taken Veronica away from Neptune. In the years since spoiling Keith's chances to be reelected sheriff, Veronica hasn't taken a case. But something big is about to bring her back home and back to her calling. My goal is to include as many of your favorite characters as possible. It is, after all, time for Veronica’s 10-year high school reunion. Keep in mind that the more money we raise, the cooler movie we can make. A two million dollar fundraising total probably means cross words are exchanged at the class reunion. Three million? We can afford a full-on brawl. Ten million? Who knows... For some reason the Neptune High class reunion takes place on a nuclear submarine! A Hobbit shows up! There’s a Bollywood end-credit dance number! I’ve always wanted to direct Bill Murray. We’ll figure out something cool. Hey, if that total goes high enough, I’ll bet the good folks at Warner Bros. will agree a sequel is a good idea.
Thanks to everyone who hasn't lost faith.
Rob
 
A Message from Kristen:
dearest marshmallows...
I am currently the happiest blonde in a hamster ball the world has ever seen. We have been waiting so long to make this movie dream a movie reality, and it’s because of YOUR commitment, YOUR persistence, that we finally have a chance. We just have one more step to go.
You have banded together like the sassy little honey badgers you are and made this possibility happen. i promise if we hit our goal, we will make the sleuthiest, snarkiest, it’s-all-fun-and-games-‘til-one-of-you-gets-my-foot-up-your-ass movie we possibly can.
I promise to give it my all. i promise to work my hardest to give everyone a little bit more Veronica, and i will be oh so honored to do so.
I only ask for one thing in return.  If I ever die, do me a favor. Go on Oprah and tell the world that I loved kittens.
LoVe to you ALL,
kristen bell
Find us at Facebook.com/VeronicaMars and youtube.com/veronicamarsmovie. Follow us on Twitter @RobThomas and @IMKristenBell and keep checking this page for more updates.
The Veronica Mars movie project faces the usual risks of film and TV production — what if Kristen Bell joins a cult bent on the destruction of visual media? What if gangland enforcers break Rob’s typing fingers? Never fear: we are offsetting those risks with production insurance, contingency plans, and a production team with decades of experience.

One of our biggest challenges is coordinating schedules. We only have a few weeks to shoot and most of our cast members have additional obligations. We’re going to do our best to coordinate everyone’s availability, and we think we’ve figured out timing that works for most of the cast. We’re going to do our best to include as many of your favorite characters as possible (we know that’s important!) but it’s possible that some actors won’t be available during our shooting window.  Distribution is always a challenge with low-budget films, but Warner Bros. is going to help us distribute the movie, and try to get it out there as widely as possible.
With respect to rewards fulfillment, we will be working with a professional fulfillment partner to get all your DVDs, digital downloads, and other goodies delivered safely and on schedule.  I’ll be sending regular updates about our progress to all backers, so you’ll be the first to know about what’s going on.
Important Information About Rewards
· Kickstarter campaign and rewards fulfillment limited to U.S.
· Travel, lodging and transportation to events and set visits not included in any reward bundle
· Must be over 18 or accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to attend events (premiere, set visit)
· Some rewards may require additional paperwork (to protect us and you)
· Distribution schedule not finalized, but Kickstarter backers at $35 and above will receive a digital version of the film within a few days of the theatrical premiere. Digital version available through Flixster. We may add other popular digital retailers and we’ll keep you posted.


FAQ
Q: When will the movie be made?
A: We’ll begin pre-production as soon as the Kickstarter campaign ends (if we reach our goal). In fact, The movie will be shot over the summer and post-production will happen in the fall.
Q: When will the movie be released?
A: Our goal is to release the movie in early 2014. We intend to release the film theatrically in as many cities and theaters as possible. We’ll also try to prioritize cities where our Kickstarter support is coming from. And all Kickstarter backers above $35 will get their digital copies within a few days of the film’s theatrical release.
Q: How will I get my digital download?
A: You’ll be able to get your digital version through Flixster (and possibly other popular digital retailers—we’ll keep you posted)). We will send you an email with a code and redemption instructions for your choice when the digital version is ready.
Q: When will the various items be shipped and/or available?

A: As you can tell, we’ve tried to come up with a variety of cool rewards. Because there are so many different items, and because we don’t know how many backers we’ll end up with, we don’t know exactly when each item will ship. But we do have a ballpark idea for each item:

Updates will begin during the Kickstarter campaign. They’ll continue until the film is released.

T-shirts will ship shortly after the Kickstarter campaign ends. We need to get your size information and print the T-shirts, so it will take a little time. But we hope to get them sent out in May.

First three seasons of Veronica Mars DVDs will be sent out around the same time as the T-shirts.

Set visits will occur during our filming window of June-July 2013.

Video greetings and voicemails will be recorded on-set and will be delivered to you in the fall. We may be able to get some of them done sooner, but no promises.

Posters (signed and unsigned) will be ready sometime between shooting and the film’s release. So you’ll probably receive your poster in late 2013.

The premiere and after-party will occur shortly before the film’s theatrical release. That’s a long time away, and we’ve got a lot of schedules to coordinate, so we can’t say for sure when these will get scheduled. But our best guess is January 2014. We’ll keep you posted, of course.

The pdf of the shooting script will be emailed to you the day the film is released.

Digital versions of the film will be available within a few days of the film’s release. We’ll know more about the exact timing as the release date approaches and we’ll keep you posted.

DVDs and Blu-Ray combo packs will be shipped a month or two after the theatrical release.
Q: How do set visits work?
A: Once we’ve confirmed our filming schedule and location -- LA? San Diego? Baton Rouge? Vancouver? -- we will send you a list of dates to choose from. Please note that travel is not included, so you’ll be responsible to get to the set. Once you arrive, we’ll show you a good time. You’ll get to spend the day, see some filming, be in a scene or two as an extra, and meet some of the cast. Every day is different on set, so we can’t tell you exactly what to expect. But you’ll get to see the nitty gritty of the making of a movie—and you’ll be a part of it!
Q: What about the Premiere and the After-Party?
A: We won’t finalize plans for the premiere and the after-party until we’re well into post-production. We can tell you that the premiere will be in Los Angeles and we can also tell you the Rob, Kristen and the rest of the cast and crew know how to throw down. Again, travel is not included, so you’ll be responsible for travel and lodging arrangements.
Q: Where is my money going?
A: All funds will go into a Veronica Mars Movie Project production account which has been set up by Warner Bros. on our behalf.
Q: How do screenings work?
A: If you purchase a screening, we will make arrangements to show the film at a theater near your hometown when the film is ready. We’ll work with you to coordinate dates and locations and make our best effort to find a theater nearby and a time that works. We’re going to try to do these screenings before the film’s release so you get to see it early, but we can’t promise that will work out in every case. But we’ll make sure you at least get your screening in the first week of the theatrical run.
Q: What if the movie doesn't end in the way I've believed it should end for the past six years.
A: Eek.
Q: Veronica better end up with Logan, Rob. She just better.
A: That's not a question.
Q: We're just saying...
A: I hear you. Remember it's noir. There aren't a lot of happy endings.
Q: Noir, my ass. We've waited a long time for this.
A: (Busily reworking super-grim ending.)
 
'Veronica Mars' Movie: Kristen Bell Says It's Finally Happening... If You Help
(By Jeff Jensen, Entertainment Weekly, 13 March 2013)

 
UPDATE: The “Veronica Mars—the Movie” Kickstarter campaign has now reached its fundraising goal of $2 million.
A long time ago, we used to be friends, but I haven’t thought of you lately at all…
For some, that’s the opening line to a tune by The Dandy Warhols. For others, that’s the beginning to the theme song of a cult classic TV show that has never left their thoughts: Veronica Mars, the sophisticated teen drama/mystery serial starring Kristen Bell (Showtime’s House of Lies) as a strong and spirited new-model Nancy Drew whose adventures explored and exposed the rotten, complex injustice in her seaside town of Neptune, Calif. Ever since The CW canceled the series in 2007 after three seasons (the first two on UPN), can’t-let-go fans have pined for a movie. So have Bell and Mars creator Rob Thomas. “I have never fallen so deeply in love with a character,” Bell tells Entertainment Weekly. “ We all became so close, and the cancellation of the show left a huge hole in my heart. I would have put on Veronica Mars: The Circus to bring it back.”
Now, in a way, she is. In the spring of next year, the Veronica Mars faithful could be watching their beloved heroine (plus her pals Wallace and Mac, bad-boy ex Logan, proud P.I. pops Keith, and more) on the big screen — as long as they kick in a few bucks right now to get things started. Today, Thomas and Bell are launching a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for a low-budget Mars movie that would be shot this summer. The goal: $2 million in 30 days. If they reach it, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution has agreed to put the movie into production and pick up the tab for marketing, promotion, and distribution. (The film would be released in the first quarter of 2014 for a limited-time theatrical run, before moving to VOD, iTunes, and other digital platforms.) If they don’t reach the goal: No movie.
Thomas tells Entertainment Weekly in an exclusive joint interview this week with Bell that the Kickstarter strategy represents the only way a Veronica Mars movie was ever going to get made: Warner Bros. had previously determined that a film with a bigger budget and a conventional marketing plan was too expensive and not viable for the studio. Thomas and Bell are confident that fans of the show will rally to the cause — especially since they’re offering an array of rewards packages for pledges as low as $10 (updates during production and a copy of the script on the day of release) and as high as $10,000 (a part in the movie).
Thomas says he has such high hopes for how much they can raise, “I’m afraid to say it out loud.”
“I’ll say it,” says Bell. “$100 million!” (She’s joking.) (Maybe.)
Thomas and Bell have even more to say about their Veronica Mars dreams and schemes in a video they shot for the campaign’s Kickstarter page. The witty short features donuts, a puppet show, several familiar faces (brace yourself for the return of a certain broody someone’s smoldering gaze), and… well, you don’t need any more description, because you can watch it right now, right here:
Another Fun Fact? That video was actually shot in February of last year. Yep: The plan to revive Veronica Mars has been in the works for quite awhile, and you can get all the details from Bell and Thomas about how their plan came together in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on newsstands and tablets this Thursday. You’ll also get some scoop on the plot of the movie, which involves mystery, murder, and yes, a high school reunion.
  

'Veronica Mars' Movie Is A Go! 'My Mind Is Blown' Says Rob Thomas
(By Erin Strecker, Entertainment Weekly, 13 March 2013)
 
Less than 11 hours after Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell announced a Kickstarter campaign, fans have raised the $2 million necessary to fund a Veronica Mars movie. It’s officially on!  “My mind is blown. I’ve been fantasizing about this taking big and had to tell myself, ‘Stop it, Rob, you’re being silly. You’re setting yourself up for disappointment,’” the Mars creator.tells EW. “And now today has exceeded the wildest pipe dream I let myself entertain. Holy cow. We better make a good movie. These amazing fans have stepped up.We better deliver.”  “I knew Veronica Mars fans were cool, but I had no idea they could rally with such power. They are unstoppable — just like Veronica. I will have a permanent blush on my face, feeling so lucky to be associated with this entire thing,” says Bell.
The goal was to raise $2 million in 30 days. Warner Bros. Digital Distribution has agreed to put the movie into production and pick up the tab for marketing, promotion, and distribution. But exhibiting a passion that broke Kickstarter records in just six hours, fans have been flocking to the site since the page went up at 7:30 a.m. PT. And even though the goal has been reached, pledges can keep coming in.
In a previous interview with EW, Thomas spilled details about the upcoming movie’s plot, which will include — no surprise — murder, mystery and a high-school reunion. It will film this summer and be released in early 2014.  Don’t know what all the fuss is about? Now is the perfect time to catch up: The entire three-season run is streaming in full over on TheWB.com (the show originally aired from 2004-2007).


Project Update #1: Wow And Thank You
(Posted by Rob Thomas, Kickstarter, March 14, 2013)

Holy cow, what a day. As of 4 a.m. CT, we're just over $2.5M dollars. We couldn't be happier. We really couldn't. My wife says I'm insufferable, but she said that four days ago in anticipation of a day like today.

A couple important announcements. First, please know we are trying to make international donations a possibility. We are running into a couple thorny issues, but we want it to happen. It might take a week or two before we have an answer, but keep checking back. Know that we hear you, and we're trying our best.  We can't believe we've topped out on so many of our bigger reward packages. We're working on coming up with some new high end rewards. This might also take a few days, but more will appear.

Lastly, thousands of questions have come in through the Kickstarter site. We're making our way through them. They will all get answered, but it may take a few days. A lot of them are real stumpers.

Thank you so much,

Rob
 

Project Update #2: Records Of Note
Posted by Rob Thomas, March 14, 2013

By the way, yesterday we set a few records.  We were the fastest Kickstarter project to hit $1M. We were the fastest Kickstarter project to hit $2M. We set the record for highest goal ever achieved. (Other KS projects have done better than us -- so far -- but none set a goal as high as our $2M goal.) We're also the largest film project in Kickstarter history.  Cannot thank everyone enough.
 

A Big Day For Fans
Yancey Strickler, March 14, 2013

Way back in 2006, when Arrested Development was canceled for the second time, we thought Kickstarter could save it. At the time Kickstarter didn't exist — we were trying to get it off the ground, and it would be three years before we would — but as fans of the show we thought Kickstarter could help. So what if a TV network wanted to kill the show? Fans could band together and fund it themselves.  So we tried to make it happen. Perry got an introduction to David Cross (Tobias Fünke on the show) through a friend and told him about Kickstarter: the fans fund the show directly and Arrested Development keeps going. David liked the idea (enough that through this he became Kickstarter’s first investor), but he told Perry that Arrested Development couldn’t happen that way. There were too many hurdles and the entertainment industry was just too complex for it to work.  At the time David was right. But seven years later things are changing. Arrested Development is back thanks to Netflix. And yesterday saw the relaunch of Veronica Mars in stunning fashion. 

Veronica Mars is a cult TV show created by Rob Thomas (Party Down) starring Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) as a young detective. It was canceled in 2007 after three seasons on UPN and its successor, the CW, prompting fans to bombard the network with candy. The Save Veronica Mars campaign raised more than $2,500, enough to buy 2,040 Mars bars, 4,848 Snickers Almond bars and 510 pounds of marshmallows – a nod to a marshmallow reference on the show — to protest the show's cancellation.  Rob soon dampened the fans’ hopes, saying, "It's over for good as a TV series." But Veronica Mars wouldn’t go away. It lived on on the Internet — in forums, in fan fiction, on YouTube, and especially on Twitter, where the marshmallows have been urging Kristen and Co. to reunite.  The actors kept the dream alive as well. Kristen put it this way: “I have never fallen so deeply in love with a character. We all became so close, and the cancellation of the show left a huge hole in my heart. I would have put on Veronica Mars: The Circus to bring it back.”

Over the years there have been hints about a reunion. Last week, Kristen and two other “Mars” stars were spotted together at a hockey game, cranking up the rumor mill. Was this actually going to happen?  Why yes, it just might. On Wednesday, Rob turned to the fans, mounting a Kickstarter campaign to bring Veronica Mars back to life, this time as a movie. The reaction so far has been overwhelming. “Veronica Mars” trended worldwide on Twitter, and the project quickly broke Kickstarter records, hitting its $2 million goal in less than 11 hours.  Matt Clipp, the first backer to comment on the project, said: "This movie has been a dream of mine ever since the series ended back in 2007. The best thing is that every time I click refresh on this page, the numbers keep rising. LET'S GET THIS THING MADE, VERONICA MARS FANS!!" Rodrigo Spotorno was more succinct: “You had me at ‘marshmallows.’"  Joi Weaver's response might be our favorite: "My best friends and I, when we lived together right after college, used to pile on our couch and watch the latest episode of Veronica Mars season 1 together. We laughed, screamed, and even cried. To me, the show meant friendship, courage, and girl power. I'll happily contribute just to say ‘thank you’ for those memories."

We’re with you, Joi. Yesterday was an amazing day for Rob, Kristen, Matt, Rodrigo, Joi, and the thousands of other fans who wanted this to happen. They finally got to have their say, and boy did they ever.   Congratulations to everyone involved! We're excited to see what happens next.

Project Update #3: New Rewards!
Posted by Rob Thomas, March 14, 2013

You asked for it, you've got it!  A New York City premiere and after party!  An Austin, Tx Southern Fried Rob Thomas Friends and Family Jubilee and Premiere.  And more spots for extras in a the movie. Now more even more value when you and a friend do it together!


Project Update #4: Canada! Join The Revolution! 
Posted by Rob Thomas, March 15, 2013  

We said we were trying to make it happen, and now it has. Canadian fans can now pledge to the Veronica Mars movie project.  Our two options on the rewards column are "ships within U.S. only" and "ships worldwide." Neither of those options is currently accurate for us, so ignore the "U.S. only" tag and sign up, Canadians.

Please note, we are trying very hard to include additional territories. There are hoops to jump through. (It's not a shipping cost issue.) Please keep checking back, non-U.S., non-Canadian fans. Give us a few days. Know that we're trying to make it happen.

Project Update #5: At long last! Europe, Australia and New Zealand can join the party! 
Posted by Rob Thomas, 26 march 2013  

As of right now, residents of the following countries can pledge to the Veronica Mars Kickstarter Project: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, UK.  Our first nine reward levels are open to overseas backers. Thank you so much for your patience. We're so happy to have you aboard.

Project Update #6: More Countries! More Continents!
Posted by Rob Thomas, 28 March 2013 

We are now open for business in Brazil, Mexico, Norway and Switzerland.  Our first nine reward levels are available to backers in these countries. Thank you so much for your patience. We're so happy to have you aboard.


Project Update #7: More premiere tickets available!
Posted by Rob Thomas, 29 March 2013 

As of this minute, we are making 50 additional pairs of tickets available for our Los Angeles and New York City premieres. These are available to domestic AND international backers.  We won’t know the exact date until we’re well into post-production. Travel is not included, so all backers—domestic and international—are responsible for all travel and lodging arrangements. International backers are responsible for securing any necessary visas and approval by Homeland Security for entry into the U.S.

Project Update #8: We will follow!
Posted by Rob Thomas, 29 March 2013 

We've just opened up 50 more slots at our $400 Twitter Follower level.  If you kick in $400 to the cause, we will love you so much that Kristen (@IMKristenBell) and Rob (@RobThomas) will follow you on Twitter for an entire year. You’ll also receive a signed movie poster, a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack, a digital version of the movie, the limited-edition T-shirt and a pdf of the shooting script. We'll start following you once the Kickstarter drive ends. The other goodies will show up in early 2014. Available to US and Canada backers only


Project Update #9: Closed Captioning now available! 
Posted by Rob Thomas, 30 March 2013  

Closed Captioning has been added for our supporters in the deaf community. You can see our video (below) and turn on captioning by clicking the CC in the player! 


 
Project Update #10: Final Countdown: Help Us Break Another Record!
Posted by Rob Thomas, 2 April 2013 

We are in the home stretch now, Marshmallows!  And here's the new situation: our not-so-secret ambition is to have more backers than any Kickstarter drive in history. To do that we just need to get past Double Fine Adventure's 87,142 backers. We just need 23,000 more backers.  So, starting right now, we're adding an official $1 donor level, and we need your help to show everyone just what our fans can do.

Get your friends to climb aboard, and help us make history! And starting today, Kickstarter backers are going to begin receiving exclusive for-your-eyes only content. You can get in on that with a simple $1 pledge! (And of course, if you've already donated, you're already on the exclusive update gravy wagon.) Plus, there'll be a backers-only treat tomorrow. I promise.

You guys are the best. Keep it up. Our love is epic.

Rob
 

Project Update #11: You're Hearing It First!
Posted by Rob Thomas, 2 April 2013 

Veronica Mars movie backer -- we've got great news!  Jason Dohring is officially on board for the Veronica Mars movie.  We now have three actors officially cast. Veronica. Logan and the waiter who says, "Your check, sir."  Don't worry. We're busily working on bringing your favorites into the fold. As a Veronica Mars backer, you'll be the first to know.  As a special treat, I tracked down these two photos of Logan from our original pilot makeup/wardrobe test. I believe that orange shirt is the first thing we ever see Logan wearing. It's what he's in when Veronica calls him an "obligatory psychotic jackass."
 

Project Update #12: Another Quick Exclusive 
Posted by Rob Thomas, 4 April 2013  

Dear Marshmallows and Backers,

So much has been happening behind the scenes of this whole Kickstarter adventure that we haven't had a chance to talk. (And there's a lot to talk about!) I'm working on a longer update for tomorrow. But today? Today, I want you to be the first to get a look at another scene in progress, hot off the screen. For your eyes only, from the Veronica Mars movie YOU are helping us make.  Also, with the gracious support of the fan who had set it up, we've just started posting on Twitter as @veronicamars, so be sure to follow us for some less exclusive news and updates.


Back to the script for me.

- Rob
                

Project Update #13: One Week Left, And Here's Where We Are 
Posted by Rob Thomas, 5 April 2013  

Dear Marshmallows, Backers & Believers,

Yesterday I promised you a longer update. So if you've got a few minutes, let's catch up now. I mean, really catch up. (You're looking great, by the way. Did you do something different with your hair? It's perfect.) As for me, well, it's been an exciting month. I haven't been sleeping a whole lot, but it's been worth it. Let me explain. 

As a lot of you have noticed, it's been a crazy couple of weeks since we launched this thing.  When we started, we knew you were still out there, and we knew you still wanted to see Veronica return just as much as we did. What we didn't know, of course, was how (or if) that would translate into the kind of budget we needed to get the gang back together, and to make the movie we've all been dreaming about.

Turns out, we didn't have to wait long for an answer. You guys shattered just about every Kickstarter record there is (and we've still got our sights set on one more). Fastest project to $1 million. Fastest project to $2 million. Biggest film project in Kickstarter history. And now, as we go into the final week of this insane experiment, we've raised a little bit over $4.5 million (!!!), which makes it a little hard to contain ourselves. So first of all, here's the most important message I need to share with you: thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Because of the way you stepped up, we're going to make history. We're also going to make, in my humble opinion, a really great movie.

And that brings me to a second important detail I wanted to share, gang, because I thought you should be the first to know. At the end of this message, you'll find a picture I took earlier this evening. (Go ahead, scroll down and look. I'll wait.)  Welcome back. Know what this photo means?  If your guess was "Rob just finished writing his much anticipated Twilight fan fiction," then sadly, you're wrong. That's still weeks away, at least.  But it does mean that, alongside all of this Kickstarted madness, I've just finished a first draft of the movie you're helping us make! There's a lot of work left to do, but it's a movie I can't wait to make. I think it's also the movie you've been waiting to see.

I wanted to take a moment to explain something that I could have made clearer at the beginning: $2 million was our minimum goal. It would be enough to get a movie made, but it was never going to let us make the exact movie we really wanted to make, or the one we know you deserve. I've spoken to the press a lot in the past month -- turns out they've been pretty excited about this whole thing -- and one thing I've explained is that the final script will depend on how much we're able to raise. $2 million would have been enough to get us back on the screen. When we started, we didn't want to set our goal higher than that, for fear we might lose our chance to make the movie at all. But because of you, we did go higher. Way higher.

We're at $4.5 million now. That's a lot of money. But for a feature length movie, it's still a pretty conservative budget. Everything you've pledged beyond the initial $2 million gives us more options, and for that I'm eternally grateful. More backing means more locations, more sets, more actors, and most important of all, more shooting days.  The bottom line? That extra support will give us the freedom to make the best movie possible.

That additional money could mean the difference between a movie that lasts 90 minutes, and one that lasts 110. It could also mean the difference between us shooting in Southern California, where the series was shot, and in a less expensive location somewhere else.  (To be clear, I can't make guarantees yet about how long the movie will be, or exactly where we will shoot, and the last thing I want is to make a promise I can't keep. But what I can promise is this: the more we end up with, the more freedom we'll have, and the better our movie will be. That's what this is about.)

That's a long explanation, but we know we're asking a lot of you. In return, we want you to know that we're not going to take all of the additional funds and swim around in a mountain of gold coins like Scrooge McDuck. Some of the money we raise will go toward the different rewards and incentives we're offering, like t-shirts, posters, DVDs, and premiere events. Turns out, a lot of it will also go toward shipping costs to get those rewards out to you. But I promise: after those costs, every dollar we raise will go toward making this movie the best it can be. 

We have one week left before the Kickstarter ends. So, what happens now?  What You Can Do: If you're even reading this, you've already made a difference. Truth is, we'd be insane to expect more of you. But if you want to do more -- and hundreds of you have sent messages telling us that you do -- there's still time to help! Here's what you can do:  Check back for announcements about new events and rewards throughout the week!

If you're friends with other fans who haven't contributed, let them know that even a $1 pledge help.  Keep an eye out on Saturday, when we'll post images you can use on Twitter & Facebook to spread the word.

What We'll Do: I know I haven't been great about posting frequent updates over the last few weeks, but there's been a ton happening behind the scenes every day. We've been reading your suggestions and comments and trying to respond to them, working on more events and rewards that we plan to announce throughout the final week, and somehow amid the chaos, I also knocked out a too-long first draft of the script. (#humblebrag) But now it's down to the proverbial wire, so it's time to put all the cards on the table.

Between now and next Friday, here's what you can expect:

Daily announcements and progress updates

New rewards, plus some more chances at a few of the sold-out reward levels.  More exclusive details and behind-the-scenes peeks.  And while we're still hoping to make a few more spots available for fans who would like to join us at one of the premiere screenings, I'm happy to announce that we've just launched a "Thank You Fans!" sweepstakes, available on our new official Facebook page for the Veronica Mars Movie. Starting now, all Marshmallows can enter to win free tickets to one of our premieres, so go Like the page and enter now!  Plus, if everything goes according to plan, later today I'll be able to share the official t-shirt designs we've been working on for the last few weeks. I'm excited about them. I think you'll be excited about them. (You'll be excited about them.) And there'll be more announcements to follow.

So, how's that for a more detailed update? Thanks for reading this, and thanks even more for helping us go back to Neptune. We've been dreaming about this for so long, it's still hard to believe it's really happening. (It is, though. Trust me. I have the lack of sleep to prove it!)  We love you guys, and we'll work every day to deserve the faith you're putting in us.

More this afternoon,

Rob
 

Project Update #14: Introducing Not One, But TWO Official T-Shirt Designs! 
Posted by Rob Thomas, 5 March 2013  

Dear Marshmallows,

As promised, the t-shirt designs are finally here!  In fact, as you'll see below, we've even got two designs that you'll be able to choose from.  The first is what we're calling our California Noir. It's what Jason is wearing in this first photo below. You can see the design a little bit better in the close up, but it's an awesome new shot of your favorite detective, doing what she does best.

The second design we're calling Mini-Blinds. The pictures might not do complete justice to how awesome the design is, but as you can see, It's printed on two sides. And if you look at the closeup of the camera lens, which is peeking between the blinds on the back of the shirt, you'll see a little nod to this whole Kickstarter adventure.  What else can I tell you?

MATERIALS: Both t-shirts are black, and are incredibly soft, beautiful materials. (They will be ringspun cotton-poly blends, for the discerning t-shirt enthusiasts among you.) These aren't going to be those cheap cardboard t-shirts you get for completing a 5K and never wear again in your life. These are the real deal.

EXCLUSIVE TO BACKERS: As promised, these designs are only available to you, our backers. After the Kickstarter campaign ends, these designs will never be offered again, ensuring you get the exclusive and stylish apparel you deserve.

MINOR VARIATIONS FOR EUROPE: This will sound a little bit strange, but just so you know what you're getting, the t-shirts for backers in Europe might be slight variations. Through the mysterious wonders of trademark law, we actually might not be able to use the words "Veronica Mars" on them. But they'll still be awesome, we promise. (I'll keep you posted on this as we find out more.)

CHOOSING YOUR SHIRT: You'll each get your choice of t-shirt designs. After the Kickstarter drive ends next week, and we have a little time to organize all of the information we get, we'll get in touch with all of our backers and collecting the required information (which design, what size, etc). This could take us a little while, since we'll have more than 70,000 backers to contact, but we'll keep you posted on when you can expect to hear from us.

 We can't wait to hear what you think!

 - Rob
 

 Project Update #15: Party! Friday Night In Austin! The Final Countdown!
Posted by Rob Thomas, 6 April 2013 

As we move into the final week of the Kickstarter campaign, I wanted to invite any backers in the Austin, TX area to come celebrate with me next Friday, April 12th, from 8-11 pm, at the Dog and Duck Pub.

The Dog and Duck Pub is located at 406 W 17th Street, Austin, TX 78701. (It's at the corner of 17th and Guadalupe.)  Together, we can count down the final couple of hours of the Kickstarter campaign. Plus, the documentary film crew that has been following me around during the course of the campaign will be there as well, and they'd love to put you on camera. We'll be doing interviews with Veronica Mars fans.

Please RSVP through my email address on this site. We'd love to get a rough headcount. The Dog and Duck will reserve the back patio for us if we know we're going to have enough people to w arrant it. It's a bar, so, naturally, it's 21 and over.  I'd love to see you there for the celebration. Whatever happens during this final week, we're already so thrilled and grateful with how it's gone.   And since I know most of you probably can't make it to Austin on such short notice, two other quick updates:

1. Keep an eye out tomorrow for another backer update linking to some great Facebook and Twitter graphics we're just about finished designing, in case you want to help us spread the word in the final week of the campaign.

2. I told you the t-shirt designs were going to be awesome, and it seems like a ton of you agreed with me! For everyone who has commented or sent messages asking for an option to purchase both t-shirts: we hear you, and believe me, we're working on it! With luck, we'll have some good news on that front tomorrow too.

That's it for today. Almost there!

Xoxo,

Rob
 
Project Update #16: T-Shirt Update, New Profile Pics & A Director's Cut of the Launch Video!
Posted by Rob Thomas, 7 April 2013 
 
Happy Sunday, Mars Army!  Three quick updates for today.
 
1. For those of you who have expressed an overwhelming desire to get not one, but both of our official t-shirt designs, great news! We've figured out the details, so if you want to get both designs, you can! Just add an extra $25 (USA) or $35 (international) to any pledge above $25, and we'll be able to send you one of each! (Sorry about the higher price for our backers outside the USA. Unfortunately, it's needed to cover the higher overseas shipping costs. We love all of you equally, we promise.)  When we get in touch to collect your size and design preferences, you'll be able to let us know if you contributed extra and would like both t-shirts. It's a little extra work for us, but baby, you're totally worth it.
 
2. We're getting down to the wire now. And since we're still hoping to reach a record-breaking 87,143 backers before the end of the week -- only 14,797, or about 3,000 each day, to go! -- we can still use your support in reaching more fans. To help with that, I wanted to share some graphics we've put together, in case you want to show your Neptune pride on Facebook and Twitter.  If you've been to my Twitter page in the last few days, you may have already seen some of them, but today we're adding a few more to choose from! If you check out the new album on our Facebook page, you'll find several cover photos, profile pictures and user icons you can grab for your own pages. Use them to your heart's content! (Fun fact: these designs are straight from the amazing Rick Pickett, who some of our fans might remember as the graphic designer from the show!)
 
3. I've been so focused on all the details of running a Kickstarter that it's been a few days since I last shared a fun behind-the-scenes exclusive. Let's fix that. Most of you have probably already seen the launch video we put together for our Kickstarter page, but here for the first time, just for our backers, is the never-before-seen Director's Cut of that video. Fifty extra seconds of never-before-seen fun.  http://youtu.be/MRq1ncVi5mc
 
Only 5 days to go now, my friends. Stick with us.
 
- Rob
 
Project Update #17: 4 Days Out
Posted by Rob Thomas, 8 April 2013 

All right, gang.  Less than a week now until the Kickstarter campaign ends, and I thought you might be getting tired of reading all of the updates I've been sending. So, here's a video update instead. (Easier on the eyes.)


So there you go: we've got four days left, and only another 13,000 backers to go until we break another Kickstarter record. Tomorrow, I'm hoping I'll be able to share a few more announcements that might help us get there.  In the meantime, thanks again for sticking with us. We're almost there!


- Rob

 

Project Update #18: 3 Days Left, 2 Announcements to Share
Posted by Rob Thomas, 9 April 2013

Another day closer, everyone.  We've now got 3 days left until the campaign ends, and we're inching ever closer to that last elusive record we're hoping to break. We now need less than 11,500 more backers to break the all-time record for most supporters on a single Kickstarter project, so if you've got more Veronica fans in your address book who still haven't pledged, consider reminding them that even $1 helps. We're also closing in on an astonishing $5 million raised, which is just mindblowing. (Please, take a moment to savor that accomplishment, because it wouldn't have been possible without each and every one of you.)

But enough numbers. Without further ado, two new announcements I can share:

1. We're coming to ComicCon! I'm thrilled to confirm that we'll be coming to San Diego this summer to meet as many of you as possible at ComicCon. We'll have more specifics to share tomorrow, and a few new rewards available for those of you who will be in town.

2. We're adding more seats to the LA and NYC premieres! By popular request from backers, we've managed to open up 50 more pairs of tickets each for both the LA and NYC premieres. Like the other tickets, these will be available as first-come, first-serve rewards... but this time, we want our backers to have the best possible chance of getting them before they disappear. So keep this to yourself: the final round of premiere ticket rewards will be made available on Friday at 1:00 pm EST.

And, last but not least: we're still reading your comments, and believe me, we'd like to have Mars Investigation coffee mugs just as much as you would. There's not enough time left for us to offer more Veronica Mars swag as part of the Kickstarter, but fear not: we're already looking to see if we can make a few more official products available after the Kickstarter ends for those who want them.  (Also, rest assured, the official t-shirts are exclusive just for our backers – that's you – and will never be available for sale again.)  I think that's enough excitement for one day, right? Stay tuned for details about ComicCon tomorrow, along with an additional offer for the Logan fans among you.

 
- Rob

   
Project Update #19: 77,000 Backers, 5 Million Dollars... And Still Going Strong!
Posted by Rob Thomas, 10 April 2013 
 
Gang,
 
I only planned on doing one update today, but I'm too excited to wait. (http://youtu.be/henSjk17cEA )  A few hours ago, your efforts helped us reach a secret goal I've been fixating on since our Kickstarter campaign launched: a breathtaking $5 million raised in support of this movie. And we've still got more than 48 hours left to go. Plus, within about 10 seconds of meeting that goal, we also passed 77,000 backers, which means we now need less than 10,000 backers to break our final record.  That's less than 200 backers an hour. We can totally do that, right?
 
I'll have another update for you later this evening with the details I promised about ComicCon, but right now I wanted to do something for all of you, to express the unending gratitude we're all feeling right now. So, to celebrate today's milestones, I wanted to announce two more free rewards we're adding to thank our backers.  (That's right, I said it: free. These won't cost you an extra cent.)
 
BONUS REWARD #1: We'll never be able to fully express our gratitude for your support, but that doesn't mean we can't try. So, I'm thrilled to announce that every single backer who supports this Kickstarter will be thanked by name on the official Veronica Mars movie website. (Unless, of course, you prefer otherwise. Your choice. If you're bashful, I get it.)
 
BONUS REWARD #2: Now that we added a $1 pledge level, we want to make sure our $10 backers don't feel under-appreciated, so I'm also excited to tell you that all backers at $10 and up will also receive an exclusive, limited edition set of Veronica Mars stickers. We're still finishing up the designs, but here's what we have in mind at the moment:
 
I know It's not a pony, but we really wanted to do something extra to show our gratitude for all of your support in making this movie happen.   Okay. Deep breath. We've still got another 50+ hours to go, and I'm feeling good. I'm going back to work on the script, but I'll have another update for you in a few hours with the promised details about San Diego Comic Con.  Thanks for everything you do.
 
Your Biggest Fan,

Rob
 
 
Project Update #20: Our triumphant return to San Diego Comic Con!
Posted by Rob Thomas, 10 April 2013 
 
Hi again.  Yesterday I promised we'd have more specifics about our plans for San Diego Comic Con. Here's what I know so far:
 
We'll definitely be there in July. We're still working with the organizers to figure out if we'll be holding an official, scheduled panel as part of ComicCon. I'll let you know when I hear more about that, but either way, you'll be able to meet us for autograph signings at the Warner Bros. booth.   We're throwing our own private event, just for our fans. After yesterday's update, a lot of you asked whether our SDCC event would be open to people who weren't able to get passes for ComicCon itself. And happily, the answer is ABSOLUTELY. Even if we have an official panel at SDCC, we're planning to pull out all the stops for our own exclusive event, so this is the one you'll want to be at. 
 
The Veronica Mars Fan Event (don't worry, we'll come up with a better name for it) will happen on July 19, 2013 at 7:30 PM, in what I understand to be an intimate theatrical venue in the Gaslamp District, near the Convention Center.   I'll be there, along with as many of our cast members as I can bring along, and we'll be doing an exclusive Q & A session. And yes, since you're wondering: we will be debuting some exclusive footage from the movie, and you will be the first to see it. (Except for me and our editors, obviously.) Doors will open at 7, and admission will be first-come, first-served... unless you want to reserve a spot now.
 
For those of you that do, we're going to be adding a few Comic Con related reward options tomorrow (Thursday) at exactly 1:00 pm EST.   The SDCC Fan Package guarantees you a single reserved seat for the Fan Event, in case you want to roll up fashionab ly late without waiting in line, and the SDCC VIP Package guarantees you a reserved seat up front at the Fan Event and some face time with me and the cast during a brief invite-only Meet & Greet event the same day.   (For those of you who can't make it to San Diego, don't worry: we'll also be recording the entire event so that all of our backers get to see it.)
 
Finally, I promised that we'd have some news for Logan fans. We will, I promise. We're finalizing the details with Jason now. What I can tell you tonight is that if you're a Logan fan (or a Jason fan), you'll want to look for another Backer Update tomorrow morning. In addition to the Comic Con rewards, we'll be announcing one more reward option that will also be available tomorrow starting at 1:00 pm EST.  I think that's enough excitement for one day. 48 hours to go, gang.  Let's finish this out right.
 
- Rob

Project Update #21: Do You Really Want To Have A Beer With This Fat, Sweaty Man?
Posted by Rob Thomas, 10 April 2013 

This Kickstarter campaign has been great. Really great. If there has been any downside, it's been the dredging up of a bunch of photos of me from 2005 when I was carrying all of my pregnancy weight. And don't even get me started on the hairstyling. Am I an eight-year-old boy?  But that's really beside the point. I want to talk about our countdown night at the Dog and Duck pub this Friday.

I genuinely expected that I might hear back from 40 or 50 of you. I figured we'd be at a few picnic tables in the back room. Just a handful of Veronica Mars fans shooting the shit. The response I got was so much bigger than that. So big that the Dog and Duck is bringing in extra bars -- that they're calling Veronica Bars -- for the evening. They're bringing in extra porta-potties, too! I'm getting RSVPs from people driving in from non-Texas states. We'd be packing the place even if none of the Dog and Duck's regular Friday night clientele shows up.

You all realize that it's just going to be me with my laptop and a documentary crew, right? No one is expecting me to do a reading from the script, I hope? (Though from me to you, I do expect to be done with the second draft by tomorrow.) No one is counting on me jumping forward in time and bringing back clips of the movie that we haven't shot yet, right?

I would really recommend that those of you driving in from out of town get there early. I would hate for anyone who made that kind of effort to not be able to get in.  My plan was just to walk around and mingle. It still is, but if I'm doing the math correctly --and it's likely I'm not doing the math correctly -- I can talk to everyone for about 15 seconds each. As my high school football coach was quick to remind me, "Stick and move, Rob. Stick and move."  And I say this with love -- if you haven't RSVP'd, please don't even attempt it. We're full up.  Also, I'm trying to get the bar to offer a signature drink. I think we should all have A Trip to the Dentist. Ummmmmm. Someone else's spit...

XOXO,

Rob
 
 

Project Update #22: A Few Words (and Headshots) from Mr. Jason Dohring
Posted by Rob Thomas, 11 April 2013 

Last night, I encouraged Logan fans to keep an eye on this morning's Backer Updates for details about an additional reward option we'll be adding today at 1 pm EST. I'll elaborate, but first I thought you might want to hear the basics from Jason himself.  http://youtu.be/uZnmktf6eys 

I'm just glad he was willing to record this video of his own free will. It was either this, or sending out ransom photos showing Jason tied to a chair in the basement until we break the 87,143 backer record.  I'm kidding, of course. Mostly.  Jason's not kidding, though. At 1 pm EST, we'll be adding a limited number of rewards that I think of as The Logan Lover's Package, which gets you all of the normal perks of pledging $100, plus a limited edition, signed headshot from Jason with a personalized message just for you. Or, if you prefer, for the Logan fan of your choice. You'll get to let Jason know if you've got any specific requests before he starts writing.

And speaking of writing, this script isn't going to revise itself. Back to work for me.  Don't forget to check the Kickstarter page promptly at 1:00 pm EST, when we'll add both the Jason and Comic Con reward options.

- Rob

Project Update #23: 24 hours to go: more rewards coming, plus a few last words
Posted by Rob Thomas, 11 April 2013 

Gang,

Hard to believe, but it's almost over. We've got 24 hours left until our Kickstarter campaign ends. Yesterday we got 2,400 new backers. Today, we've gotten 3,600. Tomorrow, we only need about 5,000 more to break the all-time record for most backers.  That's less than 220 backers an hour. We can do this.

In other news, we may have underestimated the level of interest you'd have in the new rewards we offered this morning, since all of the SDCC and Logan packages disappeared in under 10 minutes. If you were hoping for one of those, good news: we'll be able to offer another (final) round tomorrow.  Also, many of you asked if there was an option to get both Jason's personalized signature and the signed poster. Good news there, too. We'll be adding a limited number of Logan Lover's Deluxe packages for $250, which will include both the signed cast poster and the personalized headshot from Jason. Ask and ye shall receive.  For those of you keeping score at home, that means we'll be adding the following rewards tomorrow, April 12, at 1:00 pm EST.

COMIC CON REWARDS

  • 50 SDCC Fan Packages ($150)
  • 20 SDCC VIP Packages ($450)
PREMIERE TICKETS

  • 50 pairs of tickets to the LA Premiere ($750)
  • 50 pairs of tickets to the NYC Premiere ($750)
LOGAN LOVERS

  • 50 Logan Lover's Packages ($150)
  • 100 Logan Lover's Deluxe Packages ($250)

If you're determined to get one of these, you might want to set an alarm. I don't expect them to last long, and with the campaign ending tomorrow night, this will be your last chance.  Since I'll be over at the Dog and Duck Pub tomorrow night, this will also be one of the last updates I send before the campaign ends. I've said this a lot this week, but I want to say it one more time before this ends:  Thank you. For everything.

Whether we break this final record or not, Kristen and I could not be more amazed, thrilled or grateful. We've always known that we have the best fans in the world. Now we're pretty sure everyone else will know it too.

I'll let Kristen have the last word for tonight:  http://youtu.be/ct303jG-FaI

LoVe and Gratitude,

Rob and Kristen
 

Thanks To You, The Veronica Mars Movie Project By Rob Thomas Has Been Successfully Funded!
Posted by Kickstarter

Congratulations!

Thanks to you and 91561 other backers, The Veronica Mars Movie Project has been successfully funded. We will now charge your credit card.

Pledge Summary- Amount pledged: $50.00

Reward: Pledge $35 or more (22,997 backers) You will receive a digital version of the movie within a few days of the movie’s theatrical debut, plus the T-shirt, plus the pdf of the shooting script. Naturally, you will also receive regular updates and behind-the-scenes scoop throughout the fundraising and movie making process.

Pledge $50 or more (23,227 backers) You’ll receive everything listed above, plus you’ll receive a physical DVD of the movie that will include a documentary on the making of the Veronica Mars movie and the history-making Kickstarter campaign, plus other bonus features not available on the digital download.  Available to US, Canada, Australia/New Zealand, Mexico, Brazil, and Select EU countries (Now including Norway and Switzerland! See Project Description for full list) 

Estimated delivery: Mar 2014

Shipping:   When your reward is ready, Rob Thomas will send you a survey via email to request any info needed to deliver your reward (mailing address, T-shirt size, etc).

If you'd like to visit the project page, click here:


  

Project Update #24: We Did It! Now What?
Posted By Rob Thomas, 17 April 2013

Quick preface. This letter was written over the weekend, and I was planning to send it Monday afternoon. In light of the tragic events that took place in Boston, sending a message of celebration that afternoon felt wrong. My deepest sympathies go out to anyone who was affected. What follows is the original letter I had planned to send. - Rob
______

Gang, 

We did it. 30 days, 91,585 backers. $5,702,153 raised. 
And because of you, I can finally say this definitively: we're going to make a Veronica Mars movie. It's impossible to describe how exciting that statement is for me. But before I talk about the future, let me talk about the past for just a minute.

The Story Thus Far
Six years ago, we wrapped on the final season of Veronica Mars. 

Eighteen months ago, I started working with the team at Warner Brothers to figure out how we could get a movie made.  One month ago, Kristen and I asked you to help make that movie possible.  In under eleven hours, you came through, pledging the baseline $2 million we needed to move forward.  And last Friday night, we crossed the finish line with almost three times that amount

In the process, we managed to break several Kickstarter records:

  • Fastest project to reach $1 million: 4 hours. 
  • Fastest project to reach $2 million: 11 hours. 
  • All-time highest funded Kickstarter Film project. (The next highest was $808,341.)
  • Most backers for a single Kickstarter project (We smashed the record by 4,442!)
When we broke the record for most backers on Friday afternoon, I was lucky enough to be in a Skype chat with a few dozen of you. On Friday night, when the countdown ended, I was lucky enough to be celebrating in a bar with a few hundred of you. I say lucky because there's no other word for it, or for how how fortunate I feel to be going on this adventure with all of you. 

One of the funniest, happiest moments from Friday night was sitting with several hundred of you, watching the Kickstarter page projected on a large screen, and the collective anticipation that ran through the room as we waited for the counter to tick over to 90909 backers. That moment was the most I've felt like part of a team since my high school basketball days. And while we raised an amazing final total ($5.7 million!), that feeling – that we're all in this together – is a memory I'm going to treasure for a long time.
Another amazing feeling: finally getting to sleep this weekend. Wow, did I miss sleeping.

That brings us back to the present. Now let's talk about the future.
What Happens Next?

Over the past month, I've been so busy surviving the Kickstarter that I didn't talk about much else. And, over the next several weeks, we're going to have our hands full sorting out next steps, answering all of the questions we've received, and starting pre-production on the movie.  Before we do that, I want to take a minute to focus on the bigger picture.
Since the campaign started, we've talked a lot about the idea of making history, and we – you! – have already done that. But making history is about more than just breaking records, and it should definitely be about more than just raising money. So when people talk about the Veronica Mars Kickstarter in the future, here's what I hope they'll say: the really amazing thing about the Veronica Mars movie is how the fans were involved all the way through production.
Now, the truth is that you're more than just our fans: you're our backers. The Veronica Mars movie is happening because you made it possible. And while we're going to work our butts off to give you the best movie we can, I think we can do more than that. The most exciting part of being a backer shouldn't be pledging money, but what comes after that. And if that's true, then the experience of making this movie should be just as remarkable and historic as the fundraising was.

We're still figuring out how that's going to work. As we do, I promise to tell you more about it. But here's what I can tell you already: we want to find new and better ways to keep you involved. We want you to feel like you're part of the process. And while we don't want to spoil the fun of the movie, we do want you to see as much as you can.
I promised you that backers would get exclusive content, and believe me, you will. We're working on a ton of fun ideas and content already, and we're making plans for how we'll keep you informed and involved. I'm pretty excited about what we're planning, and I think you will be too. More on that soon.

Need Help?

Got questions, payment problems or other concerns?  If you sent us a message, we're working on responding as quickly as we can. (Please be patient. There were a lot of messages.) If you have a problem and haven't contacted us, please keep sending us messages through Kickstarter. We're also putting together a FAQ, and will share a link to that soon.
Rob, seriously, stop sending me so many messages!  I get it. Some of you just want to see the movie, and not get ongoing reports and extras for the next six months. No problem. When we send out backer surveys in a few weeks, you'll have a chance to tell us your preferences.

Last Words
This update is long enough, so I'll finish with the most important thing. If I can be sentimental one more time...
Thank you.  Thank you for everything you've done to get us this far. 

Thank you for giving us a chance to make the movie we've been waiting to make.  Thank you for trusting us, believing in us, and encouraging us. 

In the next few days, I'll be meeting with a team at Warner Bros to turn in a draft of the script, and then the real fun will start. We'll begin location scouting. We'll do our best to get the rest of our cast and crew back on board. And then, we'll get back to work again.  We're going somewhere good. I'm glad you're coming with us.
Muchos gracias,

Rob
 

Project Update #25: Several Small Updates and ONE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! 
(Posted by Rob Thomas, 03 May 2013)  

Dear Backers,

Don't worry, I'm still alive. It's been much longer since my last update than I had hoped, but I promise: you haven't missed anything exciting. As we're discovering, running a Kickstarter campaign with 91,000+ backers is almost as much work as making a movie. (Maybe more. It depends on who you ask.)  The good news, for both the Kickstarter and our movie, is that things are starting to speed up.

On the Kickstarter side, we're working through the many details involved in producing and shipping all of the rewards, because we want to get your stickers and t-shirts in your hands as soon as possible. (That still could mean June or July, but we're going as fast as we can.) We will be sending out a survey in the next few weeks to ask for your t-shirt preferences, shipping address, and any other details we'll need to get your rewards out to you.  (Don't worry, you haven't missed the survey. It's coming soon!)

On the movie side, a million things are happening at once. (Maybe more. It depends on who you ask.)  A few highlights:

The response to the script from the studio, and perhaps more important, from Kristen, has been incredibly positive. And as you might have read, one of our amazing writers from the series – Diane Ruggiero – just spent a few weeks working with me to finish it up.  As far as casting goes, we're still in negotiations, so I can't officially announce anything yet. But I can make two promises: first, we're working furiously on it, and second, when new cast members are confirmed, you'll be the first to hear about it. Bonus tease: I'm really excited about some of the cameos we're hoping to land. If all goes well, I'll be able to share more soon.

And finally, location. I would have sent an update earlier this week, but we were so close to making a final decision that I wanted to wait, because there's a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT, and I wanted you to hear it first. This morning, I got final approval on our shooting location.  Thanks to you, the Veronica Mars movie will be shot in Los Angeles!  From the beginning of this project, we always hoped we'd be able to shoot in Southern California. That said, it's not the cheapest place to shoot a movie. If we had only raised the $2 million we set as our original Kickstarter target, we'd have been forced to choose between fewer shooting days in Southern California, or more shooting days somewhere less expensive. Thanks to you, we didn't have to compromise.

Shooting in Los Angeles is great news, for many reasons.  For starters, it gives us the best possible look for the movie. If it came down to it, we could have re-created Neptune somewhere else, but nowhere else would have looked quite like Southern California.  Even more important, shooting in LA gives us the best possible chance to bring back our original cast and arrange some amazing cameo appearances, since it requires far less time, travel and expense.

On a more personal note, I lived in Los Angeles for 15 years before moving back to my home town of Austin, TX in 2009. So in addition to all of the important movie-making reasons I'm happy we'll be shooting in Los Angeles, I also have several personal reasons.

1) We moved my 8 year old daughter away from her favorite Los Angeles Chinese restaurant three years ago and she hasn't stopped harping about it since. We're going to rent a house for the days we're shooting in Los Angeles. The only requirement is that it must be in said restaurant's delivery radius.

2) We will be able to take my son to Disneyland for his 5th birthday in July. His sister has been lording her trips to Disneyland over him. I heard him say, "Small World this" in the next room the other day.

3) It's never 75 degrees in July in Texas.

4) I plan on wearing jodhpurs and holding a riding crop while directing. Anywhere but Los Angeles, people might question these choices.

5) Yes, I would like to be valet parked, thank you. And yes, I would like my table to be waited on by someone much, much better looking than me.

So, there it is. The Veronica Mars movie will be shooting in Los Angeles, starting in mid-June. At this point, we expect the shoot to last for about a month, and if you're scheduled to join us on set as an extra, you'll want to bring some suntan lotion. (Spoiler: it's going to be nice out.)

One last note: moving forward, I expect to start sending more frequent updates again, since I'll have more news to share. As we get into production, the updates should also be more interesting, unless you find news about contracts, negotiations, and Kickstarter reward fulfillment exciting. If you do, this might be as good as it gets.  And if there are specific things you'd like to hear more about, let me know in the comments. I can't promise I can answer all of your questions, but I'd be interested to know what you're curious about.

Have a great weekend, gang.

Rob


Project Update #26: Casting Update: Who's Your Daddy? 
By Rob Thomas, 09 May 2013  

Dear Backers,

In the last update, I promised that you'd be the first to hear about casting for the movie. So you're hearing it here first: I'm excited and relieved to tell you, exclusively, that Enrico Colantoni has officially signed on to reprise his role as Keith Mars.  I'm not quite sure how, but he had a camera rolling when I called to give him the word:  http://youtu.be/8dJ2VuJbFac

There was a lot of fierce competition for the role, but I think you'll agree that Enrico's unique experience makes him the only man qualified for the job.  The first time I noticed Rico was in Hope and Glory, and he was playing a kind of working class schlub, and he was the guy I wanted to watch. Then he knocked me out as this urbane playboy in Just Shoot Me. I became friends and creative partners with Dan Etheridge when we ran into each other at the Cinerama Dome, both of us catching a Galaxy Quest matinee for a third time, and Rico was breaking people's heart as an alien. I didn't write Keith Mars with Rico in mind, but when his name came up on a casting list, I said, "That's the guy." We didn't take anyone else to network. There was no plan B.  Rico also wanted to say a few words to all of you:  http://youtu.be/ubZDNzpIeOc

So now we've got Veronica, Logan and Keith. Plus the waiter. That makes four. That's a solid starting cast.  (We're really making a movie, gang!)  There's a ton to do, so I'm heading back to meetings, but I couldn't be happier to have Enrico with us as we head back to Neptune. Please join me in welcoming him (back) to our family, backers -- we'll make sure he sees your comments.

More soon,

 
Rob
 

Project Update #27: We've Got Producers! Meet Dan & Danielle.
Posted by Rob Thomas 

Dear Backers,

In the last update, I told you that Enrico has signed on to return as Keith Mars, bringing our officially signed cast up to four: Veronica, Keith, Logan, Waiter. I know that many of you are waiting for more casting news, and I appreciate your patience. Things are looking great on that front, though until some shooting days firm up, we can't announce which of your favorite actors have agreed in principle to reprise their roles in the movie.

As soon as we get the green light to announce these additions, you'll know about it. I promise.  The good news (especially for me) as we barrel toward production in June is that several amazing people have signed on to join the film behind the camera. Over the next few weeks, I'm hoping to introduce you to some of the other people you'll hear from as our movie goes through production.

Let's start with two of my oldest partners: Danielle Stokdyk and Dan Etheridge. For those among you who pay attention to TV credits, you'll recognize Danielle and Dan's names. They've been my partners ever since VERONICA MARS made it on the air. They are completely invaluable to me. I tend to stay focused on script, casting, music, editing. Dan and Danielle allow me to concentrate on those things by taking charge of all the other incredibly important facets of production. They are also my most trusted creative advisors. Theirs are the voices I listen to. They keep my hubris in check. They point out that the first step to world domination is one project that could even loosely be described as a hit. So true. So true.  (I don't know why I've never thought of this until this moment, but could someone please do a "Hitler reacts to the CW canceling VERONICA MARS," so we can post that on our YouTube channel?) Dan and Danielle were each an essential part of the original Veronica Mars team, so I'm excited (and relieved) that they've joined me as producers for the movie.

Each of them wanted to say a few words, so I'll let them take it from here.

- Rob

 
FROM DANIELLE:

Hey, all you amazing backers out there!  My name is Danielle Stokdyk, and I will be one of the producers of the Veronica Mars Movie. (I will also be producing the documentary about the film!)  I am part of the old gang – having produced the original series (with the most incredible partner in the world, Jen Gwartz!!!) – for three terrific years of my life. I am so grateful that we are able to reunite with Veronica and continue her story!

As a producer, my responsibilities run the gamut from being Rob's creative ally throughout the entire process (ie don't let anyone know what a diva he is) to helping oversee production, casting, post-production, publicity etc. I also tend to spend a lot of time on wardrobe, hair and make-up (fun for me!).  The last few years I have been in development with Rob on the scripted side for his various projects for HBO, USA, etc, and also recently formed a new partnership on the reality side, dedicated to quality reality programming. I also worked with Rob on Party Down (as Co-Executive Producer) and Cupid (as Executive Producer).  I had no idea this campaign was going to be such a huge success. As a matter a fact, I had a dream the night before the Kickstarter campaign launched that we made $67,000. Total.  So, can I just say? You guys seriously ROCKI

Danielle

FROM DAN:

Greetings all!  My name's Dan Etheridge, and I'll be one of the producers of the Veronica Mars movie.

Rob took this shot of Dan when they were breaking story in Ireland, back in the day: It remains one of the great pleasures of my career, spending three seasons down in San Diego as the on-set producer of the television series. Although I had produced a few movies, Veronica Mars was actually my first foray in TV. Prior to Rob writing the Mars pilot script, I had helped him break story lines for the pilot and for Season One. In the course of doing so we developed a fast friendship and excellent working relationship. So when he offered me the opportunity to embark on my first stint as a television producer, I couldn't have been more grateful and excited.

Turns out, it's a job I love: overseeing production from a creative perspective and working with directors to help bring the best possible version of every episode to life. It's a dream job.  What a splendid three seasons we had! Marvelous cast, crew, writers, directors and fellow producers. I even got to direct an episode (3.17 - Debasement Tapes). We didn't want it to end… but of course it did.  After that, I went on to work with Rob again on Party Down, which we co-created with John Enbom and Paul Rudd, and Cupid. These days, I am the on-set producer with the delightful and talented gang on The Carrie Diaries.  But… miracles happen. It wasn't the end for Veronica Mars. You all brought us back to life. I'm so appreciative of the fan support that allowed the Mars team to reunite for (at least) one more adventure. It's a thrill to be plotting the further exploits of Veronica, Keith, Logan… indeed, the whole gang.  I cannot wait to make the movie. I cannot wait for you to see it.  And thanks again.

 
Dan
 

Project Update #28: Two Weeks To Start: Updates on the Movie & Kickstarter
Posted by Rob Thomas

Dear Backers,

I know. It’s been over a week since the last update. Production is starting up soon. Perhaps you’re waiting for confirmation that your favorite actor will be in the movie. Maybe you’re wondering where your t-shirts are. Somewhere deep down, a little part of you is wondering if you’ll hear from me less, now that we’re moving into production.  Please don’t despair. If you haven’t heard much over the last few weeks, it’s not because I've forgotten about you, or don’t want to share details. Instead, it’s because we’re in meetings around the clock, and working to get many, many details figured out before we go into production.  Let me share a few of those details, so you can get a sense of how much has been happening.

Production Updates

1. Our official production start date is June 17. If you do the math, that’s less than two weeks away. (I prefer not to do the math.) Exciting as this is, it’s also a bit like standing on a train track, enjoying the sight of a train as it hurtles straight toward you. Deep breaths.

2. We have an official production office. This is where our families will find us over the next several months when we don’t come home.

3. Casting is almost finished, and I have several big announcements that I’m almost able to share. You can expect more on this very, very soon, but I think most of you will be pleased. (If you’re holding out for characters who died on the show, you’ll probably be less pleased.)

4. Our production staff is growing daily. New additions include a Line Producer, a Production Designer, and a Director of Photography, among many others. You’ll meet more some of them in future updates. Like me, every member of our team understands how unique this project is, and is excited to be part of it. I feel lucky to have them involved. When you see the movie, I think you will too.

5. Location scouting is going well, and has taken up a lot of the last few weeks. We have several important locations figured out, but are not ready to announce where just yet. I’ll share photos when I can. Another notable decision: we’re planning to shoot the entire movie using practical locations. (This means that instead of building new sets on a studio lot, we’ll be shooting in existing locations.)

6. Our production design team is hard at work designing costumes, props, graphics, and all of the other details that will bring Neptune back to life. In future updates, we’ll try to give you a detailed look at some of this work — but we’ll also be careful not to show anything that might spoil the movie for you.

7. Our documentary crew is capturing everything. When the behind-the-scenes documentary comes out next year, you’ll get an even better look at what’s been happening. There are already dozens of hours of footage, and we haven't even started production yet.

Kickstarter Updates

We’ve also been working on backer rewards around the clock, literally. With more than 91,000 backers, it's turning out to be almost as much work as the movie itself, so I appreciate your patience. Since we’ve been receiving a lot of questions about the rewards, I thought it might help to give a quick update here.

SURVEYS

No, you haven’t missed them: the official reward surveys haven’t been sent out yet.  We don’t like to keep you waiting, but we want to be absolutely sure we get this process right, and test it first, because we don’t want to confuse everyone with a do-over if something goes wrong. The survey will be sent out in the next two weeks, I promise. Until then, I appreciate your patience.

When the survey is sent out, I will also send an update (like this one) to let you know.

T-SHIRTS

When we launched on Kickstarter, we estimated that we would send out t-shirts sometime in May. I realize now that we were young and naive then.  It was a simpler time.  At this point, we’re doing our best to get the shirts to you as soon as we can. We'd like to make sure they arrive in time for Comic Con. If we can send them out sooner, believe me, we will. I want to wear them just as much as you do.  When you receive your reward survey, you will have a chance to tell us which design, size and style you’d like for each shirt. And yes: you will still have a chance to purchase the second t-shirt design if you want to own both of them.

OTHER QUESTIONS

If you have other questions about your pledge or rewards, then you'll be glad to hear that we finally have an up-to-date FAQ page! If you can’t find an answer there, you can also email us.

For customer service and questions about rewards:
Info@TheVeronicaMarsMovie.com

Questions for me, or the production team:
VeronicaMars@RobThomasProductions.com

I’ll have another update about casting soon -- several updates, in fact. Now, it’s back to meetings.  Less than two weeks until production!  Deep breath.

- Rob

 

Project Update #29: 10 years later and he's still full of pimp juice: Wallace is back.
Posted by Rob Thomas

Dear Backers,

Remember when I said that we’d have casting news for you soon? Well, I meant it.  If all goes according to plan, we’ll have casting news every day next week. (Perhaps that would sound more impressive if we didn’t start shooting the week after.) Still, I think you’ll be happy.  And just to kick your weekend off right, here’s an exclusive announcement to get you started: despite his unconscionable love of the Los Angeles Lakers, I’m thrilled to announce that Percy Daggs III will be returning to reprise the role of Wallace Fennel.

As so many of you wrote to remind me, Wallace’s friendship with Veronica has always been one of the foundations of the show. And now that he’s officially signed, I can admit that there was never a version of the script that didn’t include him. It just wouldn’t happen.  Percy asked me to pass along a message:


And then there were five: Veronica, Logan, Keith, Wallace and the waiter. (Only — spoiler alert! — he might not be a waiter anymore. We’re still figuring that part out.)  Please join me in welcoming Percy back in the comments, or tell him yourself on Twitter – his official account is @PDaggsIII.  A parting thought: this time next week, we’ll be less than 72 hours away from our first take.  Enjoy your weekends, backers.
 

Rob

  

Project Update #30: Bonus Weekend Update: "Piz" Makes Six!

Dear Backers,

I was thinking: why wait until next week to continue sharing casting news?  In the old world of entertainment, you were never supposed to share important news over the weekend, when it was more difficult to get press coverage.  But we’re not in the old world of entertainment: we’re in the new world, where 91,000 of you decided whether or not this movie would get made. Since it’s your movie too, there’s no reason to wait until Monday if I’ve got news, right?

So, let’s keep things moving: I think a lot of you will share my excitement when I tell you that Chris Lowell will be returning to Neptune as Stosh “Piz” Piznarski.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDLs_4yXPk8  Please join me in welcoming him back in the comments.  In related news, Chris will be joining me on a panel this afternoon about Veronica Mars and the Kickstarter campaign, as part of the Austin Television Festival. I don’t know what we’ll talk about, but I plan to share how amazing you, our backers, have been.  And if anyone asks what I love most about the new era of filmmaking, maybe I’ll tell them: you can make important announcements on Saturdays.


Rob
 

Project Update #31: Weevils Wobble, But They Also Come Back For Movies.   (11 June 2013)

Dear Backers,

I told you that I hoped to have new casting announcements every day this week.  At the moment, things are looking good on that count.  And since I can’t spend the entire week responding to well-intentioned pleas and death threats via email, let’s start with another casting announcement many of you have been (vocally) waiting for: I’m pleased to confirm that Francis Capra will be returning as Eli “Weevil” Navarro.  Playing a wrong-side-of-the-tracks-kid in a town full of privileged peers, Francis found a terrific — and difficult — balance between tough and soulful. I couldn't be happier that he'll be back with us for the film.

He asked that I pass along this message:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di3Wrafxx7g

Please join me in welcoming Francis back in the comments, or say hello on Twitter — his official account is @FrancisCapra. For those of you keeping score, that now brings our confirmed cast up to seven(And yes, I know, you’re still wondering about your other favorites. I said every day this week, didn’t I?)  The clock is ticking, gang: one week until we start production.

Busily Yours,
 

Rob

 

Project Update #32: He still has a zest for life. So sue him.  (06-11-13)

Dear Backers,

I’ll get to today’s casting news in a moment, but first, I thought I’d let you know what we’re up to.  We’ve spent the last two days driving all over LA for what’s called a tech scout. This involves putting about a dozen members of our production team on a bus and visiting all of our shooting locations.  We use these visits to make more detailed plans for each day of shooting: figuring out what props we’ll need, how we’ll position cameras and lighting, and preparing a million other small details so that things go smoothly.  But since many of you are reading this for the casting news, let’s get down to business.

It should go without saying that I love our entire cast, but only one of them has been my friend since the age of three. I hope you’ll be as pleased as I am when I tell you that Daran Norris will be reprising his role as Cliff McCormack.  Of course, now that Veronica has a law degree, Cliff isn’t the only lawyer in Neptune, figuratively speaking. But even if the script hadn’t called for it – and it did – you should know that I felt obligated to include Cliff, as Daran has been kind enough to let me use the guest room in his house for five months while we make the movie.  Since there’s a lot to do this afternoon, I’ve asked him to write the rest of this update.

A Message From Daran

Hi, everyone. Rob tells me we're making a movie! Getting to play Cliff McCormack again is a dream come true, so thank you all for making this actually happen! I will try not to ruin it with my lousy timing and girlish voice.  Speaking of my lousy timing and girlish voices, I made this quick video to share my excitement:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpxCoUB1jCo   I think I’m in the movie. We’ll find out!  In the meantime, since we're all friends here, I wanted to share one of my favorite memories from the show. I was shooting a scene with Kristen and Rico. It was the week before Thanksgiving, and Kristen mentioned that someone was making a "turducken." Rico made an "mmm" noise, and I made an "eww" noise.

          Rico: "Daran, you don't like Turducken?"

          Me: "I don't eat anything that starts with 'turd'."

Rico got the giggles, which gave me the giggles. Then I made it worse by claiming that a turducken is "actually just a roast duck stuffed with turds." Rico and I could barely keep it together when we finally shot the scene, while Kristen remained the consummate professional. Juvenile? Perhaps. But in our defense, it was very late on a Friday night after a long week.

Anyway, thank you all. Again. You broke Kickstarter records to make this possible, and now we're all ready to break our backs to make sure the film is top-notch in every way. I am so looking forward to this, and not just for the opportunity to make Enrico Colantoni giggle like a schoolgirl. But if that were to happen…

Daran

___________

Rob again. That brings the official cast up to eight.

Please make Daran feel welcome in the comments, and say hello on Twitter: he doesn’t tweet often, but when he does, he tweets as @golfstoomuch.  Just don’t tell him that he’s in the movie. I want to see how long we can keep him guessing.  The bus just arrived at our next location, so that’s it for now. More to come.  Six days left!
 

Rob

 

Project Update #33: Another two confirmed RSVPs for the Neptune Reunion.

Dear Backers,

First, a quick service announcement about Kickstarter rewards.  This afternoon, we began sending out the first reward surveys. If you didn't receive a survey yet, please do not worry. We'll be sending them in batches over the next week, one reward level at a time. If you pledged more than $10, your survey has not been sent out yet. When all of the surveys have gone out, I'll let you know. I promise. I'll also let you know what to do if you haven't received one. So if you haven't gotten one yet, please don't be alarmed.

That concludes the announcement, but since I'm already writing, I might as well give you another update. What else can I share? Well, I’m pleased to report that today’s tech scout went well, and our locations are looking great.  It’s an exciting time. Hour by hour, this movie is becoming more and more real. Even though it’s been almost two months since the Kickstarter ended, and three months since you all gave us the green light to make this movie, I still have moments where it feels like a trick someone is playing on us. But it’s not, and here’s the proof.

We’ve confirmed two more familiar faces who you'll be seeing again in the movie: Amanda Noret, returning as uber-bitch Madison Sinclair, and Sam Huntington, returning as ethically-challenged Luke Haldeman.  Whatever you think of their characters, I promise that off screen, both Amanda and Sam are lovely people, so I’m looking forward to working with them again.  Here, see for yourself.

A Message from Amanda

Hi! Thank you SO MUCH to our incredible fans and backers for making this movie possible. And thank you, Kristen and Rob, for letting me be part of this amazing experience!  After being a stay-at-home mom for the last four years (shout out to the other mamas out there!!!), I’m SO excited for the chance to be Madison again. I love my kids more than anything, but now that I’ve been a mom, there’s something even MORE exciting about getting to play Madison, who is just so super-focused only on herself. (Plus, you just KNOW she’s been waiting for this reunion, right?)

What’s also wonderful is how this isn’t just a movie reunion, but a REAL reunion with so many people I love and admire. I haven’t seen most of the cast since the show ended, so its a reunion for us too. Only at ours, I don’t have to act like an alpha bitch!  I can’t wait to get back to the set and see everyone. Some things might change with time, but I guarantee that Madison is still up to no good. Thank you so much for giving us this chance!!
 

Love,

Amanda

 
A Message from Sam

Wow! Thank you to everyone — amazing fans, Kickstarter, Rob Thomas and KB alike — responsible for this awesome reunion!  I can honestly say that Veronica Mars changed my life. Not only did I make friends that have become some of my dearest, but it helped me discover my true passion: drug running. Yup. Just running steroids to and from Mexico.  So there's that.  In all seriousness, I'm flattered and humbled to have been asked to reprise my role as "Luke" in the Veronica Mars movie. Not only is it going to be amazing to work and reconnect with such talented and beautiful friends, but it's beyond exciting to be a part of such a revolutionary filmmaking experiment.  Thanks again for the opportunity. We won’t let you down!

Sam

___________

See? Lovely people.  Please welcome Amanda and Sam in the comments or on Twitter, where you can find them using the names @Amanda_Noret and @SammyHuntington.  And in case you weren’t counting, that brings our official cast up to ten people. Not enough for a full reunion, I know, but the week’s not over yet. I’ll share more tomorrow.

Rob

 

Project Update #34: Your wish is her shift-command. (Little computer humor for you, there.) (06-12-13)

Dear Backers,

Back in 1996, I received an email from a 11-year-old asking me questions about my first novel, RATS SAW GOD, that had come out that year. The girl was doing a book report, and she'd gone the extra mile by tracking me down. One of her questions was, "What do you want to do next?" I replied that I was hoping to transition into the TV and film business. She responded that she'd done some film work herself.

A girl with big dreams of being an actress! How sweet! I thought to myself. I should say something encouraging!  I figured she'd been an extra in a friend's short film, or something along those lines, I wrote back asking her, politely I hoped, what movies she'd been in.  "Waterworld," she wrote. "Corrina Corrina. When a Man Loves a Woman."  She was very sweet, though. She told me I should keep chasing my dreams.

Which brings us around to today's casting announcement. Seventeen years later, I'm pleased to confirm that Tina Majorino will be returning to reprise the role of Cindy “Mac” Mackenzie.  When we began shooting Veronica Mars, I asked our casting director to track down Tina. I wanted to find out what she was up to. I learned she had just finished an indie with good buzz that was going to Sundance. The director of that indie with good buzz was a gentleman named Jared Hess, who had been a camera operator on a short film I'd directed. During the shoot, Jared had shown me some footage — five or six minutes – of a curly-haired boy dragging a GI Joe behind a school bus. He said he was hoping to make a feature film out of it. It sounded like lunacy to me -- how was this going to stretch to 90 minutes?

The film turned out to be Napoleon Dynamite. I've never trusted my sensibilities since.  I really wanted Tina in Veronica Mars. To say I wrote Mac with Tina in mind would be an understatement. I wrote Mac for Tina, and Tina only. Veronica needed a female friend, and a Q to her Bond. Tina felt like just the sort of girl that Veronica would like and respect. I couldn't be more pleased that she'll be with us for the movie.  Please join me in welcoming Tina back in the comments.  T-minus-five days, and counting.
 
Rob

  

Project Update #35: The Good, The Bad & The Stoned. (06-13-13)
Posted by Rob Thomas 

Dear Backers,

It’s been a long day, and it will inevitably be an even longer tomorrow, so with your permission, I’ll keep this update short and sweet.  The confirmed cast continues to grow, and this evening, I’m pleased to announce not one, not two, but three more characters who will be joining us as we return to Neptune:

    - Brandon Hillock, as the long-suffering Deputy Sacks,

    - Kevin Sheridan, as chronic ne’er-do-well Sean Friedrich, and

    - Jonathan Chesner, as aspiring horticulturist Corny.

As different as their characters are, all three of these gentleman have one thing in common: they’re an absolute pleasure to work with, and to write for. I’m delighted to have them back for the movie. I’m equally delighted to report that they each passed along a message for me to share with you.
 

A Message From Brandon

Greetings, Mars fans!

I could NOT be more excited to return to Veronica Mars. I have to thank Rob for personally casting me in the show, and giving me my first big break ever. And now, again, for bringing me back! So thank you Rob, and Kristen, and most of all, the fans! I would not be here if it wasn’t for all of you.   As for Deputy Sacks: the last time we saw him, he had just made his first kill trying to save his partner and boss, Sheriff Lamb. Alas, he didn’t make it in time. I think that does something to a man. Will we see a different Sacks in this film? I can’t tell you that. But I can tell you one thing that won’t be different: the ‘stache. Sacks rocked a mustache before it was cool, and he sure as hell ain’t about to give it up now.  Thanks for giving me another round as Sacks. I can’t wait.

Brandon

 
A Message From Kevin

UNREAL!!! I feel so incredibly GRATEFUL to all the fans of VM and backers on Kickstarter. Rob, Kristen, Diane & Dan -- my respect and admiration for you all is endless. What you all have accomplished so far is mind boggling. Truly a testament to your talents and character. If any of you ever need an organ donated or a bullet to be taken, preferably, in a non vital area -- Kevin Sheridan is your man.   Before working on Veronica Mars I was like a wounded, motherless doe. Gangly legged, wide eyed, and full of fear. Then Rob Thomas et all took me in and thus began my maturation process. The nights were slow and painful -- "Who am I?" I would ask. "Why is this world so scary?" Rob and Kristen sat and listened, not because they particularly cared, but because it was the only way they could get me to shut up.

Then, under their tutelage and guidance, I blossomed. With their help I discovered my one and only talent -- thievery. Stealing anything and everything. It's a pretty good life I must say and I owe it all to VERONICA MARS.

But seriously... I am so thrilled to be working again with such wonderful people. Working on Veronica Mars was one of the highlights of my life. I am chomping at the bit to see everyone again and do whatever I can to make this film a success.  Thank you!!! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!

Kevin

A Message From Jonathan

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be able to come back and play Veronica Mars’ most striking, mysterious, and handsome male…CORNY! When I heard about this Kickstarter campaign, I was so excited. For years I’ve missed delivering pizzas, getting tasered, and being Neptune’s most loveable stoner.

Funny story: when I first went to audition for Veronica Mars, I accidentally downloaded the wrong script. So, I showed up ready to blow away the competition… for the role of Wallace Fennel. Apart from not being black and having no idea what the heck was going on – it was the scene where he gets duct taped to a flag pole – I figured I’d be perfect.  Unfortunately, my audition got off to a bad start. Before I even arrived, I spilled Chinese food all over myself, soiling my garments. But maybe that was supposed to happen, because things worked out pretty well, and now here we are.

I’m not sure what Corny has been doing since graduating from Neptune, but I’ve been busy. Among other exploits, I surfed a bunch, wrote the award-winning ADHD in HD: Brains Gone Wild! (seriously, it just won a Ben Franklin book award!), and came up with a cool invention for wheelchairs. Random, right?  I can’t wait to see some old faces and bring a new chapter to Veronica Mars history. Rob Thomas, you are l-e-g-i-t! Can’t wait to film.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find my tuxedo t-shirt for the premiere.  Hi-fives!

Jonathan

___________

Please welcome these gentlemen back into the fold, either in the comments on or Twitter, where you can find them posting as @FanBoyBrandon, @sheridankevin and @jonathanchesner.  I’ll end tonight’s message, dear backers, by sharing two exciting numbers: 14, which is the number of actors we've announced in our official cast, and 84, which is the approximate number of hours left until we start shooting.  And yes, we still have more casting announcements to share tomorrow. 

Until then,

Rob

 

Project Update #36: She used to have, like, a thousand friends on (the old) MySpace. (06-14-13)

Dear Backers,

We’ve reached the end of pre-production. The final details are falling into place.  Over the last few days, our cast members have been meeting with the costume designers. We’re almost finished scouting locations and planning out our shots. And this afternoon — no spoilers — we’ll spend some time finalizing the stunts and special effects for an important scene. Our production team has now grown to more than 85 people, each working around the clock to bring Veronica back to life. Next week, it will be even more.  If there was time to stop and reflect, it might be hard to believe this is all happening. But there’s not time for that, because it is happening. And it starts in less than 72 hours.

Before it does, there are still a few more returning characters to announce. This time, I’m delighted to confirm that Krysten Ritter will be returning as Gia Goodman.  Despite the name of her most recent television series, Krysten couldn’t be lovelier to work with. I’m thrilled that she’ll be joining us for the movie.  From the message she passed along, I suspect she is too.

A Message From Krysten

G-G-G-Gia!!!! I'm thrilled to be reprising my role of Gia Goodman in the Veronica Mars movie!!! It's gonna be very juicy Marshmallows!!!!! AAAHHHH!!!! Forgive my over-use of exclamation points. Since you can't hear me squealing, I'm reduced to excessive punctuation. Ha!  Veronica Mars has a special place in my heart because it was my first big acting job (!!!!!!) and it was also one of the most lovely on-set experiences you could ever ask for. This will truly be an awesome shoot, not only because we all get to be reunited (can't WAIT!) but because of the revolutionary way this all was able to come to life!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to Rob Thomas, Kristen Bell, Kickstarter, and most of all, to you, our AMAZING FANS, for making it happen. I'm honored to be a part of it!

______

With Krysten, that brings our confirmed cast up to 15 people.  Please join me in welcoming the lovely and talented Ms. Ritter back to Neptune in the comments, and find her on Twitter as @KrystenRitter.  Three days to go.

Rob
 

Project Update #37: Friday afternoon: must be time for a Dick Party! (06-14-13)

Dear Backers,

In the video that launched our Kickstarter campaign, the first person you saw on screen was Ryan Hansen, just sitting in Kristen’s living room and laughing. At me, as it turned out.  Almost a year and a half after directing Ryan in that video, it's a relief to admit what many of you have suspected all week: Ryan Hansen will return as Dick Casablancas.  I could say more about Ryan, and how much I’ve enjoyed working with him — on both Veronica Mars and Party Down – but that would keep you from watching the video he sent along.  And trust me, I want you to see this. Probably more than once.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADKKZA5twgI&feature=youtu.be  When you’re done re-watching that – go ahead, I’ll wait – please join me in welcoming Ryan back in the comments, or say hello to him on Twitter as @HiRyanHansen.  Two days left until we start shooting. We've come a long way, gang.  Have a good weekend,

Rob

 

Project Update #38: Before we get started: an update on surveys and t-shirts.  (06-17-13)

Dear Backers,

This is it. We start production on the Veronica Mars Movie in less than an hour.

Before we do, I wanted to give you a quick update about the status of your Kickstarter rewards, surveys and t-shirts.  Last week, our team received hundreds of emails about these topics. We’re happy to answer them, but believe me: answering your questions here will be much faster, especially once shooting begins.

Please read this update carefully before sending questions.

SURVEYS

1. Most surveys have not been sent out yet. If you pledged more than $10, please do not worry: your survey has not been sent. You did not miss it. You will still get your survey. In fact…

2. Surveys will be sent out over the next week. For a number of complicated and technical reasons, we can’t send all of the surveys at once. Surveys will start going out today, but more will go out each day for the next week. When all of the surveys have been sent out, I will tell you. Until I tell you otherwise, please do not worry.

3. Make sure your survey doesn’t get marked as spam. When your survey arrives, it will not come from Kickstarter: it will be in an email from info@veronicamars.com or member@research.net. It’s possible that your email will mistake the message for spam, so please check your spam folder, or add these addresses to your address book.

T-SHIRTS

1. We now have final t-shirt designs. It took a lot of refinement and tweaking, but I’m relieved to tell you that the shirt designs are now final. As you’ll see in a moment, we tried to account for some of the feedback we received. I wanted to make sure you could see these final designs before you filled out your survey and selected your t-shirts, so you’d know what you were getting.

2. If you still want to purchase both t-shirts, you can. Some of you already pledged for an additional t-shirt. Many of you have asked if you’d still have the chance. We were able to find a solution, so the answer is yes: if you like both t-shirt designs, you’ll be able to get two shirts. The details will be in your survey.

3. We’ve got great variant designs for our EU backers. For several reasons I can’t begin to explain, we had to make slight changes to the designs for our backers in the EU, since we couldn’t include the words “Veronica Mars.” I’m feeling great about how they turned out, and hope you’ll love them too. You’ll see these below.

4. We heard your requests. Many of you took the time to send in suggestions, make special requests and offer advice. We couldn’t solve all of the issues you raised, but we were able to address three of the most common requests:

       - Shirts are now available in mens’ and ladies’ styles.
       - Both designs now include the words “Official Kickstarter Backer.”
       - A sizing chart is available (
click here).

THE FINAL DESIGNS

The first design is called California Noir.

It hasn’t changed much from the original design, but it now includes a white logo on the back, just below the neck.  If you’d like a closer look at the design, you can see the standard version here, and the EU variant here. The EU design is very similar, but with a tighter shot of Veronica on the front, and the Mars Investigation logo replacing the Veronica Mars logo on the back.

The second design is called Miniblinds (She’s Back).

This one has evolved more from the original design.  As we prepared to make the shirts, we found that printing the blinds onto the sleeves didn’t look right and almost doubled the price of each shirt. The blinds now have a more faded look at the edges. The red logo is still on the back, but no longer hidden. And the biggest change is one that one of you suggested, and many more supported. Inspired by a suggestion from Kyle Davis (@Boilermaker_Fan), the front design now includes a glimpse of Veronica’s face behind the blinds. (Thanks, Kyle.) Again, if you’d like a closer look at the design, you can see the standard version here, and the EU variant here. The EU design is very similar, but uses the Mars Investigation logo instead of the Veronica Mars title on the back.

MORE QUESTIONS?

I hope this answers most of your questions. If it doesn’t, you can always email Customer Support (info@theveronicamarsmovie.com), but please look at the Official Movie & Kickstarter FAQ first!  One last thing.   I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but it seems important to say it now:  From the entire cast and crew, and from me and Kristen, thanks for making this possible.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a movie to direct.

Rob

 

Project Update #39: Week 2 Begins. Plus: A Plan For Giving You More Access! (06-24-13)

Dear Backers,

This morning marks the beginning of our second week of production on the Veronica Mars movie. While it has been seven years since we were all on set together, I'm pleased to report that it didn't take long to fall back into our natural rhythm. As you can see, everything is back to normal:


I also know that a lot of you were hoping for more updates from behind the scenes last week. I've got good news on that front, but first, I'd like to share a couple notes about our first week back.  Though this may not inspire confidence, I thought you all would be amused to know that on the very first shot of the movie, I yelled "Action!" before the shot had even been slated. I'd like to say that's how eager I was. It might owe more to inexperience and nerves.  Kristen immediately began cackling on set. I believe this will probably make the gag reel.  The next day, I did the same thing on the first shot of the day when an actor I've admired for 30 years was doing a special, secret appearance in the movie.   Again, Kristen thought this was the funniest thing in the world.

On Friday, I trumped both of these. I returned to video village from the set in the next room and put on my headphones. Everything looked good on the monitors. I saw the slate. I heard the first A.D. yell "Set!" It was a party scene, so with bullhorn in hand, I called, "Action!" As it turned out, the DP had asked the video crew to play back the previous take, and I was actually yelling action at a recorded image. Sigh.

Weird moment of the week: My wife and kids have now joined me in Los Angeles, and I went out to pick up dinner from a nearby restaurant. I told the man at the counter that I had a to-go order for Rob Thomas. His reply was, "The singer or the director?" It took me a moment before I could stammer out, "Uh, the director." He said, "Good luck with the movie." This, of course, has never happened to me before.  I can't say I didn't enjoy it.  As for the movie, here's what I can tell you about what we've shot so far: it looks great.  Our Director of Photography (DP), Ben Kutchins -- whose name I misspelled in a previous tweet -- is doing fantastic work at a frantic pace. I can promise you that it will look like a movie. I was proud of the look of the TV show, but one is always framing things for a TV set when shooting a TV show. We're framing this to look like a movie. I think you'll appreciate the difference.

Keeping You More Involved

Last week, you might have noticed that there were fewer updates. Now that production has started, I have – for somewhat obvious reasons – a lot less time to stop and write.  But Rob, you’re thinking, this is when things get interesting! This is the part I wanted to hear about! Who will take pictures? Who will shoot video? How am I going to get the exclusive access you promised me as a backer? Are you going to make me wait until next year when the documentary comes out, you swindler? Hypothetical backer, I’m glad you asked.   When our Kickstarter ended in April, it became clear that this thing was going to be much, much bigger than we first thought. It also became clear that it would be impossible for me to give you the kind of access I was hoping for while also writing and directing a movie with a tight production schedule. 

As some of you pointed out this week, whatever time I spend updating you is time that I’m not spending on production, but we want you to have it all: the best movie we can make and an unprecedented level of real-time access to the production process. You can see the dilemma we’ve been facing.  To solve that dilemma, I’d like to introduce our Associate Producer, Ivan Askwith.  Ivan worked on the production team during some of our third season. At the time, he was also finishing his graduate work at MIT, where part of his work focused on our fans, and their efforts to keep Veronica Mars from ending. In 2005, Ivan wrote an article suggesting a new way to save lower-rated shows like ours: he proposed that fans deserved the chance to finance their favorite shows in advance, in order to keep them from getting canceled. The studios weren’t quite there yet, of course, and we did get canceled.  Almost ten years later, with the rise of Kickstarter and crowdfunding, his suggestion suddenly seemed a lot more reasonable. When Ivan heard that KB and I were planning to launch a Kickstarter campaign, he called us and offered to help out behind-the-scenes. Over the next month, he became our strategist and go-to guy for all things internet-related, and worked with me on a daily basis to make sure the Kickstarter was a success. 

By the time our Kickstarter ended, it was clear to Kristen and me that Ivan shared our specific vision for how to keep our backers involved during production, and that his unique experience with Veronica Mars, our fans and the internet made him the ideal person to carry out that vision.  With that in mind, I was relieved when Ivan agreed to sign on as our Associate Producer. In that role, Ivan is now focused on producing your experience as a Kickstarter backer and everything that goes along with it. It’s a huge job, but Ivan is a very tall fellow. I feel confident that it will work out just great.  Please welcome him in the comments, or say hello on Twitter, where he posts as @ivanovitch. And remember: if you've got suggestions or requests of what you'd like to see from the set, he's your man.  With a producer dedicated to keeping you involved, here’s what you can expect: 

1. I’ll still be sending updates as often as I can. That will probably be closer to weekly than daily, but I’ll do my best. If it’s important, you’ll hear it from me. 

2. We’ll also continue to share regular updates from the production team on Twitter and Instagram, while doing our best to avoid spoilers. Our partners at Warner Bros will continue to run the movie’s official Facebook page and Customer Service. 

3. For those of you who want more exclusives, good news: later this week, we’re hoping to launch a password-protected website just for backers. Our goal is to update the site each day with exclusive photos and video from the set. We’re also exploring options for Q & A, live chats with the cast, and more. As soon as we've got it working, we'll send you a password to log in. 

4. In both these Kickstarter updates and on the website, you’ll still be hearing from me. But you’ll also meet a lot of the other talented folks, cast and crew alike, who are working with me to bring Veronica Mars back to life.

A Few Last Notes

More Casting News: After production began, we received a lot of letters asking whether there would be any more casting news, and the answer is yes: I do still have a few casting announcements left to share, which include both familiar and new faces. I'm hoping to share at least one of those announcements in the next 24 hours.

More SDCC News: We also continue to receive a lot of questions about our plans for San Diego Comic Con. As I shared in April, we'll be holding our own fan event on the evening of July 19th, but now that we've finished coordinating with SDCC, I'm pleased to tell you that we'll also be putting in an official appearance at SDCC itself: in the next few days, we should be able to share details about an official Veronica Mars panel and cast signings at the Warner Bros booth.

More soon,

Rob

 

Project Update #40: You can't buy that kind of publicity. (He's tried. You really can't.) (06-25-13)

Yesterday morning, I told you that I hoped to have another casting announcement for you. I was hoping I’d be able to share it within 24 hours. Since it took me longer than expected, I’ll make it up to you with two casting updates.  Last week, you might have heard a rumor that Martin Starr was joining our cast. (It appears that this rumor might have originated with Martin himself.) Martin never appeared in the show during our original run, but once I was confident that we were making the movie, he was one of the first people I called.  Like many of you, I first saw Martin on Freaks & Geeks (a reunion movie that I would be thrilled to support on Kickstarter). Several years later, I was delighted when he agreed to join Party Down as misanthropic uber-nerd Roman DeBeers. 

Today, I’m equally delighted to confirm the rumors from last week: Martin Starr has joined the cast of Veronica Mars in the new role of Lou “Cobb” Cobbler, another 09’er returning for the ten-year reunion. 

I shouldn’t take full credit for this idea. Martin sent me a video a few nights ago, claiming that it was Kristen’s idea to cast him:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0dnFUURyoY  Whoever thought of it, it wasn’t a terrible idea.  He passed along a few words to introduce himself.

A Message From Martin

Hello. I’m so incredibly excited to work with Rob and Dan and Kristen and Enrico once again! Each one a treasure in a flesh casing. Don't you worry Kickstarters (Is that what you'd prefer to be called? Or perhaps you're the Kickstartees? I know not.) I'll give those lovely fleshy bags of organs a hug for each one of you individually. This may take me a couple months and perhaps cost me a few subsequent months in jail time for stalking. Time will tell. I'll update you all on twitter.

___

With Martin and Ryan involved — not to mention Kristen, Rico, Jason and Darran – there are moments where our set also feels like a trial run for a Party Down reunion. That makes this morning’s second announcement especially fitting: I’m also pleased to confirm that Ken Marino will be returning as Veronica and Keith’s would-be competition, Vinnie Van Lowe.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi3xeBs2jvE  He says that he was only available because the Kickstarter guy wouldn’t return his call. (Thanks for that, Yancey.)  Whatever the reason, I couldn’t be happier to be working with Ken again. Please welcome him back in the comments, or on Twitter, where he posts as @kenmarino

And before you ask, yes, I still have more casting announcements to share.  Unfortunately, they’ll have to wait. Tonight, 30 of our backers have joined us on set as featured extras, and we’re working hard to deliver on one of the promises I made in the original Kickstarter pitch. I won’t spoil anything for you, but I will tell you this: there’s going to be one hell of a fight at the Neptune Reunion. 


Rob
 

Project Update #41: Starting Week 3. Plus: SDCC Plans, Reward Surveys & More. (07-01-13)

Dear Backers,

This morning we began the eleventh day of what we expect to be a 23-day shoot.  You’ll be happy to hear that things couldn’t be going much better. We had about half of our Kickstarter extras on set with us last week, and with their help, the Reunion scene and the promised brawl both turned out great.

Casting News, Paparazzi & Spoilers

Now, let’s take a minute to talk about casting news and backer exclusives.   If you’re trying to avoid all spoilers, you’ll want to skip the links in the next few paragraphs. (You’ll also want to avoid 2/3 of the internet, but I can’t help you there.)  Over the past two weeks, you might have noticed production photos showing up on entertainment blogs and gossip sites. This is because, despite our best efforts to keep a low profile, there have been a lot of paparazzi showing up at our locations.  This is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it’s exciting to have the world so interested in what we’re doing. (Oh, to have had these problems when we were facing cancellation seven years ago.) On the other hand – even as we work to keep you informed and involved in our production – we also want to have a few surprises left when you watch the movie.

Unauthorized set photos make this tremendously difficult. Actually, scratch that. They make it impossible.  This week, those photos caught an actor on set while he was shooting an unannounced cameo. Please understand: if I had intended for the cameo to be revealed before the movie came out, you’d have heard it first. In this case, we wanted it to be a fun surprise.  If you’ve avoided the news, it still might be. For the rest of you, I apologize. There’s not much we can do to stop photographers when we’re shooting in public. However: since I didn’t get to tell you about the cameo first, here’s an exclusive detail that we didn’t share yet: the actor who appeared on set this week will appear in the movie in the role of Drunken Wingman.

Don’t believe me? Here’s his trailer:

 

Just for fun, here's another team favorite:

 

And with that, I need to finish preparing for this afternoon's scenes. There are a few other announcements to cover, but I’ll let Ivan take it from here.

Rob

____

A Message From Ivan

Hello, Backers!

Rob introduced me last week, but I haven’t gotten to say a proper hello until now.

As the Associate Producer for Veronica Mars, I’m here to make sure you know how much the cast and crew value you, and to make sure they know how much you value them. I think the most amazing thing about this entire movie is that so many people – Rob, Kristen, the cast, the crew, you! – all care so much. It’s incredibly special, and I’m honored to be helping tell a story that so many of us have been waiting so long to see.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the real news.

San Diego Comic-Con

Here’s what I can tell you about our plans to bring Veronica Mars to SDCC:

1. We’ll only be there on Friday, July 19. We’d love to be there longer and meet more of you, but we’ll be shooting late the night before, and as soon as we’re done, we’ll turn around and come back to LA for our final day of production.

2. We’ll be doing an official panel! We’re not allowed to share the exact time or location yet, but it will be Friday morning, and you will need to be registered for SDCC to attend. Pretty much the whole gang will be there. Here’s the plan: Rob Thomas, Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni, Ryan Hansen, Jason Dohring, Tina Majorino, Krysten Ritter, Chris Lowell, Percy Daggs III andFrancis Capra will join a conversation with Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jensen to talk about the movie you made possible. They'll be talking about the production and our amazing fans, showing a little bit of exclusive footage, and taking questions from the audience.

3. We’ll be doing an official signing!
Most of our panelists will stop into the Warner Bros. booth for an official signing session. Please be advised: because of our packed schedule, we aren’t able to bring Kristen to the signing. (Also, she just gave a birth a few months ago. You heard about that, right? We need to make her get some rest.) We’ll provide more details soon, but you’ll be able to get tickets and wristbands for signings in advance.

4. We’ll be holding a fan event in the evening!
An official panel is great, but we owe you more than that. As Rob announced in April, we’ll be holding our own fan event in the evening. In addition to having all of the panelists from the morning session, we’ll show you even more first-look footage, take your questions, and maybe have a few surprises. Be sure to follow us on
Twitter and Facebook during SDCC for real-time updates on what’s happening.

Some backers already have reserved seats or tickets as part of the Kickstarter rewards. For those who don’t, the line for the remaining tickets will start around 6 am. Good news, though: you don’t need to be registered for SDCC to attend our event.  The week of SDCC, we’ll send one more Backer Update with final details, including instructions on where and when to line up. Until then, here’s what we can tell you:

     WHAT:      Veronica Mars SDCC Fan Event
     WHEN:      July 19, 2013, 7:30 PM
     WHERE:    Horton Plaza - Regal Cinema (United Artists 8)
     WHY:         We’ll be finishing up production, and you made it possible!

5. After the event, we’ll be sharing video from both events.
Can’t make it to SDCC this year? We’ve still got you covered! All backers will get access to video of the official panel and the fan event shortly after Comic Con.

Reward Surveys

If you’ve received and responded to your survey, feel free to skip this section! A few weeks ago, Rob said that we’d tell you after all the Kickstarter Reward Surveys had been sent out, and that you shouldn’t worry until then. Well, here’s the deal: we’ve now sent out all of the surveys, but if you haven’t gotten yours, you still shouldn’t worry.  We know some of them got lost in spam folders, went to bad email addresses, or that you might have questions for customer support before you can fill them out.

Our customer service team will help you resolve these issues, we promise.

If you didn’t receive a survey, here’s what you should do now:
     1. Send us an email at
info@theveronicamarsmovie.com.
     2. In the subject line, write: “Didn't receive my VM reward survey”
     3. Please be sure your email includes:
            - Your full name
            - The email address you used on Kickstarter

We promise that we will help you get your issues resolved. Our customer service team is doing their best to make this a positive, easy experience, but we know there have been some bumps. We really do appreciate your patience while we work them out.

Veronica Mars Panel @ ATX

Our friends at the Austin Television Festival (ATX) have been kind enough to provide video of their Veronica Mars panel from June 8th, featuring Rob and Chris Lowell. It’ll be available to everyone next week, but they said we can show it to you right now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_VwphKf34k

Password-Protected Backer Site

We’re still finalizing a few tech issues, but we’re aiming to launch our password-protected site for Backers within the next 48 hours. Our plan is to post at least a few times each day, and to share exclusive behind-the-scenes photos, interviews and more. We’ll share more information as soon as it goes live.

A Polite Request about Set Visits

We’ve gotten a lot of requests from fans in Los Angeles (and beyond) who are eager to come to the set, watch us shoot, and meet the cast. 

As much as we hate to say this, we really need to ask you to please avoid showing up at our shooting locations to meet the cast or watch shooting.

Please understand: we genuinely wish we could invite all of our backers to visit the set, but we’re working on a tight schedule and a limited budget. When visitors show up on set uninvited, it costs us time and money: our crew has more trouble getting their work done, and our actors have more trouble concentrating. The cast wants to meet everyone, but we also want to make sure we’re able to finish shooting a great movie. We need your help to make that possible.

_____

That’s all for this afternoon, but if Rob’s schedule allows, look for another update or two this week with more casting news, as well as details about the password-protected site for backers.

Until then,
Ivan


 

Project Update #42: Ryan Hansen, Gorilla Suits & Other Updates. (07-10-13)

The Highlight of Last Week Or: why Ryan Hansen is my favorite living human.

by Rob Thomas

Last week I was stressed about one detail on our schedule. I needed a man dressed like a gorilla for a scene in the movie. More specifically, I needed a man dressed like a gorilla to dance in the foreground of one of the shots, while Kristen and Ken Marino played a scene on a bench behind said dancing gorilla.  The problem was, unless you hire an actor who has auditioned (as opposed to using an extra), you never know what you're going to get. I was afraid we'd end up with someone who had no dancing ability — or, more importantly, no willingness to go for it, to really cut loose and dance.   Where to get a dancer? Where to get a dancer?

It was at this point that I thought of Ryan Hansen. He'd just wrapped his last scene of the movie a few hours earlier, and he committed the cardinal sin of hanging out on set afterwards.  I can't begin to tell you how short the list is of actors I've worked with who I'd feel okay walking up to after they've wrapped, and saying, Hey, I know you’re not working tomorrow, but do you mind coming in, dressing in a heavy, old, smelly gorilla costume, and dancing in a scene as glorified background?  Come to think of it, Ryan may be the only person on that list.

And naturally, he agreed to do it, because he's a better person than you or I or anyone we know. After he agreed, I went back and sat in my director's chair. I thought about it for a little longer, and I had another idea.

Well, what if we don't tell the other actors that it's Ryan in that gorilla costume? And what if, during the second or third take, I just come storming onto the set from my chair and just start screaming at the gorilla for upstaging our actors, throwing an absolute tantrum? Naturally, Ryan was game for this as well.

The next day, we put the plan in motion. Ryan was dancing with abandon in the gorilla suit. After the first take, I barked that "the monkey needed to tone it down a bit." After the next take, without yelling cut, I came out from behind the monitors with a full head of steam. I started yelling, The movie is called VERONICA MARS! Not MAN IN MONKEY SUIT!  Kristen and Ken stared at me wide-eyed. I'm not really a tantrum thrower. The 30-some Kickstarter extras who were working as extras thought I had lost my mind.  It was at this point that Ryan sheepishly took off his gorilla mask and told me he'd try to do better. Laughter and relief all the way around.

 

Then I made Ryan put the mask back on and do six more dancing takes. Which he did, without complaint.

So here's today’s bit of insider knowledge: when you see the movie, that's Ryan Hansen in the gorilla suit, doing us a solid. And no promises, but I suspect my screaming tantrum might make the DVD bloopers reel.

Rob


Updates: Shirts, SDCC, Websites & More.

Hey, everyone! Ivan here.  Just wanted to share a few quick updates on what's been happening behind the scenes.  We’re continuing to work through all of the details involved in the Kickstarter. I know some of these things are taking longer than some of you — or we — had hoped. Please know that we’re working as fast as we can, and that we appreciate your patience.  Let's take some questions. You, over there. You first.

Q: YEAH, WHERE ARE OUR KICKSTARTER T-SHIRTS?

A: We’ve started printing your shirts, and we're waiting for updated information on when they'll be ready to ship. In the meantime, we'll keep you posted. Haven’t received and responded to your reward survey? Please email us at info@theveronicamarsmovie.com, and we’ll help figure out the details. Next?

Q: I WANT THE MARS INVESTIGATION LOGO ON MY SHIRT. MAKE THAT HAPPEN.

A: That's not exactly a question, but we understand. For backers outside the EU who preferred the EU design, we’ve got bad news and good news. Bad news: we're only able to offer the EU design to our EU backers. Good news: we’re planning to release more official Veronica Mars merchandise before the movie comes out, and just like Rico promised, you’ll be able to get official Mars Investigations shirts, pencils and mugs.

Q: WHEN WILL WE HEAR MORE ABOUT SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON?

A: See, that is a question! Now that SDCC has announced the specifics, we're excited to confirm that the official Veronica Mars Comic-Con panel will take place on Friday, July 19, from 11:15 AM - 12:00 PM, in Hall H. If you've never seen Hall H, this is really exciting. Hall H is the biggest room at SDCC -- fitting around 6,500 people -- and is usually reserved for the biggest summer blockbusters. It sounds like we're not the only ones getting excited: several sites have included us on their lists of this year's Most Anticipated Comic-Con Panels. We'll send one more update next week with details about our panel, autograph signings, our evening Fan Event, and we can't wait to meet you all in San Diego!

Q: GREAT, BUT I'M NOT GOING TO SDCC. WHERE ARE THE REGULAR UPDATES YOU PROMISED?

A: Fair question. Many of you have been asking for more regular behind-the-scenes updates, and believe me, we want you to have them. In our last update, we promised that you’d be getting access to a password-protected website just for backers, where we can share a lot more exclusive content than we can send in emails. We know that’s taken (a lot) longer than expected. As of now, we’re pretty confident we’ll be able to launch this week, and we promise: as soon as it’s ready, you’ll get an update with all the details. If it makes you feel any better, when we launch, the site will be loaded with photos from every single day of production.

And as long as we're taking questions, one last thing...

Got questions for our cast?

As part of your exclusive access as our backers, our cast and crew want to answer some of your questions! Tell us what you'd like to know, or send in questions for the cast and crew, and we'll do our best to get their answers. Plus: if we ask your question, we’ll do our best to give you credit!  A few quick suggestions, just to save us all some time:

  • We’re not going to reveal what happens, or doesn’t happen, in the movie. You can ask, but I promise, we're not going to tell you. No spoilers, remember?
  • Kristen will do her best to answer some questions, but since she's in almost every shot of the movie, she doesn't have a ton of free time -- so questions for our other cast members are encouraged!
Ready for some answers? Post your questions in the comments, or send them to veronicamars@robthomasproductions.com, and we'll see what we can do.
___

Rob's on set directing today's scenes, so I'm headed back to take more pictures for you. That'll do it for this time, I think.

More soon!
 
Ivan
 

Project Update #43: Meet Ruby Jetson (07-12-13)

I had one of those electrifying moments watching TV last year. I was watching a scene in which the actor was knocking me out -- so much so that I felt compelled to do an IMDB check to find out whose work I was admiring.  The episode I was watching was the season 3 premiere of LOUIE, and the actor -- who seemed very familiar to me -- was Gaby Hoffmann. The same Gaby Hoffmann who was so memorable as a young actor in FIELD OF DREAMS, SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE and UNCLE BUCK.

Gaby has already been on set for several days of shooting, and she's been absolutely brilliant as new character Ruby Jetson. I have an incredible eye for spotting talent that much more successful and talented people discovered 20 years earlier.  Just this week The New York Times Magazine ran a fascinating feature about Gaby's life and career.  She'd like to say a quick hello.

A Message from Gaby

Kickstarter Supporters, hello!  I'm so thrilled to be part of this project. Thank you for making it happen.  I think we are all a part of a very exciting tide shift in movie making history. Of, for and by the people. Take that, traditional studio system!!  I'm having a ball making this movie. I hope you'll have as much fun watching it.

THANK YOU!

xoxo gaby
___

Please welcome Gaby to the family in the comments. We're lucky to have her.

Rob

  

Project Update #44: Carrie Bishop 2.0 (07-14-13)

Dear Backers,

I know it was circulated that we were hoping to get Leighton Meester back in the fold to reprise her role as Carrie Bishop for the movie. That is true. Sadly, Leighton was doing a different movie during the same time frame on the wrong coast.  In the end, she was unavailable.  One of the reasons I wanted Leighton, beyond her talent/beauty/history in the show, was that we needed a performer who could sing in this important role. Once it became evident that we couldn't make Leighton's schedule work, I decided to cast someone from a band I already wanted in the movie.

When I write a movie, I start throwing songs into a playlist that feel appropriate either because, (a) I want to use them in a scene or in the movie generally, or (b) they evoke the mood of the movie. The list will usually start at a few songs and will grow to 30-40 songs by the time I finish the script.  Those of you who have been following my THIS IS MY JAM updates on Twitter know what a fan of the band Twin Sister I am, so you won’t be surprised when I tell you that my most-played track while writing the Veronica Mars movie was their song "I Want a House.” Twin Sister’s lead singer, Andrea Estella, has an amazing voice; I can’t get enough of it.  I'm pleased to announce that Andrea Estella has agreed to join Veronica Mars as Carrie Bishop, and that we’re planning to include a couple of Twin Sister’s songs in the film.

A Message from Andrea

Hello Backers!

This is the first movie I've ever appeared in. I had never seen Veronica Mars before all of this. I've been increasingly interested in finding new TV shows to plow through. I watched the Veronica Mars Pilot and was totally into it! It's the exact kind of show I would get obsessed with, so it's been a bit of dream to be in a movie, especially being a messed up rock princess. How could I say no? I think the VM fans are going to be very happy!

Thank you Rob Thomas for thinking of Twin Sister and myself. And super thanks to everyone who donated to Kickstarter! What fun to help fund a film you're really into. Such an amazing, fun, dreamy, kawaii, fantasy experience!!

Andrea
____

If you haven’t listened to Twin Sister yet, now is a good time to start. Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpCOYQic8fg  Please join me in welcoming Andrea to our movie in the comments. I’m thrilled to have her involved.  In other news, we should have more details about Comic-Con for you tomorrow, for those of you who will be in San Diego on Friday.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, gang.


Rob

 

Project Update #45: Veronica Mars @ SDCC 2013 (07-16-13)

Dear Backers,

For those of you going to Comic-Con, this is the week. We’re looking forward to seeing you this Friday, July 19th, in San Diego.   As promised, I want to share some final details about where (and how) you’ll be able to find us.

Official Schedule: Veronica Mars @ SDCC 2013

WHEN                WHAT                             WHERE

11:15 AM           Comic-Con Panel            Hall H

4:00 PM             Autograph Signings         WB Booth

7:30 PM             Official Fan Event            Regal Cinema @ Horton Plaza

Below are more details about each of these events and instructions on how to attend.

1. The Veronica Mars SDCC Panel

WHEN:      11:15 − 12:00 PM

WHERE:    Hall H, San Diego Convention Center

Along with Kristen, Enrico, Ryan, Jason, Tina, Chris, Percy and Francis, I’ll be talking with Entertainment Weekly’s Jeff Jensen about the movie you made possible. We’ll be discussing the production, our amazing fans, showing the first-ever footage — straight from the set — and taking your questions.

HOW TO GET IN
• Check the
official SDCC website for details on when you can start lining up.
• Remember: you’ll need a Comic-Con badge to enter this panel.

2. Autograph Signings

WHEN:        4:00 PM

WHERE:      Warner Bros. Booth, #4455

Along with Enrico, Ryan, Jason, Tina, Chris, Percy and Francis, I’ll be at the Warner Bros. booth signing autographs and meeting fans. Please be aware that Kristen is unable to attend this signing.

HOW TO GET IN
• You’ll need to get a wristband in advance, and there will only be about 120.
• Ticket drawings and wristband distribution will take place on Friday morning in the Sails Pavilion.
• If you’ve got an SDCC badge, you can start lining up as soon as the Sails Pavilion opens to attendees.
• Drawings for wristbands will begin just after 8:00 AM.

3. The Official Veronica Mars Fan Event!

WHEN:          7:30 − 9:00 PM

WHERE:        Horton Plaza, Regal Cinema (UA8) http://goo.gl/maps/VIq0x

Official panels are great, but Hall H isn’t exactly intimate, so we’ll be doing another event in the evening. We’ll all be sitting down for a longer chat with E!’s Kristin Dos Santos, and we’ll have a lot more time for your questions. We’ll also show some more first-look footage that wasn’t screened at the morning panel. We might have a few surprises. We’ll definitely have some giveaways. Please note that there will only be about 130 tickets available, and all tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. Also, please note that while there will be a VIP Entrance Line for Backers who pledged for SDCC Kickstarter Rewards, we are not able to have separate Backer and Non-Backer lines for the remaining tickets.

HOW TO GET IN
• The line for tickets will form inside the lobby of the Horton Plaza Regal Cinema.
• The line will not open until 6:00 AM, so please don’t arrive before then.
• Numbered wristbands will be given out, in the order that you arrived, starting between 6:30 and 7:00 AM.
• If you score a wristband, you’ll come back at 6:30 PM and line up in a designated area on the 5th floor of the mall.
• We’ll let people into the event in the order specified on the numbered wristbands.

WAITING LIST
• If fans with reserved seats do not arrive by 7:15 PM, their seats will be given away.
• The line for open seats starts at 6:00 PM, on the 5th floor of the mall, next to the wristband line.• This line will also be first-come, first-served.• We don’t know how many open seats will be left, so we can’t make any promises.
 
What If I'm Not Going To Comic-Con?

We know that not all 91,585 of you can make it to San Diego, and we don't want you to miss out. We'll be recording both the SDCC Panel and the Fan Event, and will make the full video of each event available sometime in the next few weeks.

It's not the same as being there, but it is the next best thing.

And if you’ve read this far, I’ll give you two more things to look forward to tomorrow:

1. We're finally ready to launch the Backer Exclusive Website; we'll provide all the details.

2. I’ll explain the meaning of this Sherrif Lamb photo, taken on set early this morning:

More tomorrow!


Rob

 

Project Update #46: Odds are Veronica is smarter than this one, too.  (07-17-13)

Backers,

A few years ago, Adam Scott invited me to the premiere of PIRAHNA. The performance in that movie that I couldn't get over was Jerry O'Connell's take on an amoral, coked up and soon-to-be penis-less smut peddler. I just kept wanting to get back to scenes of Jerry chewing scenery.  So... when it came time to cast the amoral older brother of Don Lamb as the new sheriff of Balboa County, I lit up when Jerry's name was raised.

I’m pleased to tell you that Jerry O'Connell has joined Veronica Mars as Sheriff Dan Lamb, a new Lamb Brother I hope you love to hate.
 
He took a few minutes after shooting last night to record this for all of you:

http://youtu.be/DzSNu26-QJE  Please join me in welcoming Jerry to Neptune in the comments, or say hello to him on Twitter, where he’s @MrJerryOC.  And since there are a few questions I know everyone plans to ask at Comic-Con on Friday, I’ll send one more update tomorrow confirming a casting question we’ve gotten a lot.

In the meantime, I’ll hand things over to Ivan, who has details about the website we’ve been putting together to give you a much deeper look behind-the-scenes.


Rob

 
Behind-the-Scenes Access

We know you can’t all make it to San Diego for SDCC, but as Rob said yesterday, here’s the good news: we’re planning to share full-length video from both the Comic-Con Panel and the Official Fan Event, and as one of our backers, you’ll get to see it before anyone else.

Of course, to view it — and a whole lot of other exclusive content we’ve been preparing for you — you’ll need to head over to our new password-protected website:


Name:            

Password:      

 Why a single name and password?

For now, we didn’t want to complicate things by asking all 91,000 of you to create new accounts or memorize new passwords, so there’s a single name and password. It’s faster for us, and easier for you.

So can we just share this stuff wherever?

We can’t stop you from sharing the content we post on the site, but out of respect to all of the other backers, we’re asking a favor: please keep it to yourself for now. Backers who happen to work in the media, we’d politely ask the same courtesy of you: the content we post is meant to be exclusive to our backers for a while, so we’d ask that you not re-publish it without permission. We know that many backers don’t care if the content is exclusive, but since the Kickstarter promised exclusives, we’d like to respect those who do. Please help us do that.

Will this stuff always be exclusive?

This is the internet, so that seems unlikely. Also — like most of you — we want the movie to be as successful as possible, so at some point we’ll release most of this content to the rest of the world, so that they can get excited about the movie before it comes out. We just want you to have it first, since you made this movie possible.

Isn’t production ending soon?

It’s true that we’ll be finished shooting next week, but we’ll be working on the movie for a lot longer than that! We’ll keep updating the site through the fall and winter with new content, photos, Q&A, video and more, right up til when the movie is released. Trust us, there’s plenty left to do, and we still want you along for the ride.

And finally, three site features worth mentioning:

1. If you prefer getting more email updates to checking a website, you can subscribe to the site and we’ll send you an email each time we update with new content.

2. Everything we post has a LIKE button on it. Over the next several months, we’ll keep an eye on which updates you like the most, and do our best to give you more stuff like that, so be sure to let us click LIKE and let us know.

3. To make commenting and discussion as easy as possible, you can log in and comment with your Facebook, Twitter or G+ accounts, or you can quickly set up a new account just for commenting. Just start writing your comment, and then choose the login you want.

You’re probably not still reading this, but if you are, you’ve got all the details you need! Take a look at the new site, let us know what you think, and keep checking back for updates during the rest of production, Comic-Con and beyond

 

Project Update #47: He told you, he's a scoundrel. (07-18-13)

Backers,

I’ll get to the casting confirmation that I promised in just a moment. First…  It’s someone’s birthday.

As some of you know, today is Kristen Bell’s birthday.  Just like every other day of the past month, she’ll be spending it hard at work on the movie, to make sure that we’re able to finish it on time. I’ve told you, many times, how grateful we both are to all of you for making this movie possible, and it’s true.  Today, I also want to tell you how grateful I am to be working with Kristen again. If you’d like to join me in wishing her a happy birthday, here’s a suggestion I know she’d appreciate:  Please consider making a donation to Invisible Children, a cause that she has been passionate about for years. If you donate now, you’ll also get the chance to win a (platonic) date with Kristen, attending the Fourth Estate summit later this year. If you win, you can wish her a happy birthday in person. It’ll be a little bit late, but I promise: she’ll still appreciate it.  You’ll find all of the details at prizeo.com/kristen.

Now, about that casting news… It’s not his birthday.  (Though Leo is, coincidentally enough, a Leo.)  During the original series, Deputy Leo – like Vinnie Van Lowe and Dick Casablancas – was only supposed to be a one-time guest star, but when the writing staff discovered someone they wanted to write for, we found reasons to bring that actor back.  We brought Max back a lot.  Now, in one of the worst kept secrets in Hollywood, I’m pleased to confirm that Max Greenfield will be reprising his role as Leo D'Amato in Veronica Mars.  When I first reached out to Max about being in the movie, he said he'd do the movie for free and pay for his own travel. This is only one of the many reasons I love Max. It's also why actors have agents. (Don't worry, SAG! We are paying Max!)  He joined us on set yesterday. Before he got started, he recorded this for you:


While I have a moment, I'd really like to recommend young Mr. Greenfield to other producers and casting directors around town. He has a great attitude, and he's a hard worker, and if someone just finds the right role for him, I think he'll really shine. You heard it here first.  Please join me in welcoming Max back for the film in the comments, on our backers website, or on Twitter, where he posts as @IAmGreenfield.  Finally, while we're on the subject of Max’s I love and actors who were only supposed to be in one episode -- one of the actors I really wanted in the movie was Adam Rose, who played Max in season 3. He was actually in the 160-page first draft of the script, but didn't survive the condensing process. He and Mac were still going to be carrying on a friends with benefits relationship.  Just thought you might be interested.

 
Rob

Website problems.

After yesterday’s update, we got a little bit more traffic than we were expecting. If you were one of the backers attempting to visit the Backers-Only Website, you might have had some trouble, or noticed that it was slow.  (Slow might be generous.)  Good news: we think we’ve got the problem solved. If you didn’t get to see the site yet, give it another shot now. And if you don’t want to waste time browsing through individual photos, here are two links to get you started:


We’ll keep updating the site with new content; be sure to take a look.

Live Updates from SDCC

One last thing: whether you’re joining us at Comic-Con tomorrow or not, we don’t want you to be left out of the fun. We’ll be covering the official panel and the fan event live on Twitter and Instagram, and we’ll be asking all of our fans at SDCC to use #veronicamars in any tweets about the event.   For those of you at home, this should make it easier to follow along.  And for those of you in San Diego: see you tomorrow!

 

Project Update #48: The First Footage, Straight from SDCC (07-20-13)

Backers,

It's been a very long day, so I'll keep this short and sweet.  This morning, we showed off the first footage from the movie in Hall H, to a packed crowd.  Tomorrow, we'll share it with the press. I wanted you to see it tonight.

http://youtu.be/LVJhjV3EOY4  We'll share photos of everything that happened today by the end of the weekend. For now, let us know what you think in the comments, or even better, on our new website.
 

Rob

 

Project Update #49: That's a wrap. (07-23-13)

Backers,

A few minutes ago, at 4:34 AM, we wrapped production on Veronica Mars.

It has been a long, intense month, and there is still a tremendous amount to do. But it has also been a tremendous amount of fun, and tonight we’ve reached a major milestone in bringing Veronica back to the screen.  As our backers, I wanted you to be able to share this moment with us.

Here’s what happens next:

First, I’m going to take a day or two off. I might see my family, if they still remember me.  Most exciting of all, I might sleep in tomorrow.  After that, we go into editing for the next several months. In a few days, I’ll start reviewing all of the footage from our 23-day shoot with my editor. Once that’s done, we’ll start assembling a rough cut of the film. That should be finished sometime in mid-October.

Of course, that’s just what I’ll be doing. Several other members of our post-production team will also be hard at work on music, editing, sound mixing, and all of the other tasks that go into making a finished movie. Over the next few months, we’ll do our best to continue updating you on our progress.  And in the meantime, we also have a lot of photos to share from the past month. Over the next week, we’ll be sharing more than 100 photos just from behind-the-scenes at Comic-Con. We’ll also share set photos from our second two weeks of production, so keep checking the backers’ website for those. I think the plan is to keep releasing new photos each week for the next several months, and I know we have some great ones.  (If you need the name and password for the backers' website, please look at the end of Update #46.)

We also have plans to create more content this fall, including Q&A videos with the cast and some other surprises I won’t reveal just yet. It should be fun, and now that we’re not on set, I’m hoping we’ll have time to share more frequent updates.  First, sleep. And before that: thank you, once more, for making this all happen. Spending the past month seeing old friends, and revisiting characters who we’ve never been able to let go, has been a gift — for me, for Kristen, and for many other people. You’ve given us something special.  We won’t forget it, and we can’t wait to return the favor.  See you in a few days.


Rob

 

Project Update #50: More From San Diego (07-27-13)

Backers,

As promised, we’ve got a lot more photos from San Diego Comic-Con, and we’ve now posted all of them to the Backers’ Website.

Be sure to take a look:


(If you can’t get into the website, remember: it does not use your Kickstarter name and password. You will find all of the details you need to login in the second half of Update #46, I promise.)  Also, a nice milestone: our first-look footage has now been watched more than 1,000,000 times on YouTube, and we got there in less than a week. Even though half of those views were from my parents, that's still pretty amazing. Thanks for helping us spread the word.  If you weren’t following the event in real-time last Friday, you can also see all of our live-tweets from the Fan Event. We’ll also add another post on the backer site soon, aggregating some the best live-tweets from fans during the Official Panel. If you’ve got your own photos you’d like to share with us, you can send them to veronicamars@robthomasproductions.com.

And since I know you’re wondering: yes, we’re still working on getting full video from the Panel and the Fan Event. (I’m eager to see it too; I’m not quite sure what I said during either conversation.) We expect to receive it, and share it with you, sometime within the next week. As soon as we’ve got it, we’ll post it. I promise.

Finally, in addition to the Comic-Con video, we’ll have more to share next week, including behind-the-scenes photos from the second half of production.

Have a good weekend, gang.

Rob
 

Project Update #51: On Editing, Updates, Rewards & More (08-13-13)

Hey gang,

The last week has been an intense one. As many of you know, I’ve agreed to act as the producer for a couple Veronica Mars books for Vintage Doubleday, that will continue where the movie ends. One of my goals is to get the first book into stores shortly after the movie comes out early in 2014.  What that means, of course, is that we now need to move fast on both the movie and the first novel.  As a result, I spent most of last week working with the editor and author outlining the novel each morning, and then editing the movie each afternoon and evening. I’ll share more about the novels in a future update, but for now, I can tell you that I’m really happy with the story for the first book. Also, while the books will pick up where the movie ends, the movie will be able to stand on its own. You won’t need to read the novels. (Want, yes. Need, no.)

Today, though, let’s talk about our movie, which is now three weeks into editing. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the editing process, let me take a moment to explain how it works.

The Editing Process

About a week after we wrapped production, I sat down and watched the Editor’s Cut of the movie, which is the first chance I get to see how all of the shots we’ve got come together into a full movie. Audiences often assume that editing doesn’t begin until production ends, but the truth is that editing starts immediately once we start shooting. Each morning, our editor Dan Gabbe received the dailies — untreated footage from the day before – and started putting them together in the correct order. Once we finished shooting and he added the final shots, we had our first watchable version of the movie.  We’re now three weeks into the process of editing the Director’s Cut. During this eight week phase, we make multiple passes through the entire movie, from beginning to end. For the first several passes, the goal is simply to get close to where we’re going. If a shot looks wrong, we might replace it with another take. Right now, we’re fixing shots that don’t work, rather than tweaking and perfecting shots that do. We don’t get hung up on individual moments.  

During these early passes, we also don’t spend much time focusing on the sound. We’ll drop in placeholder music — old bits of the score from the show, music borrowed from other movies – so that we can start to get the general mood down. In a few places, we’ve also inserted a few needle drops — specific, existing songs for the soundtrack – that I’ve had in mind since I wrote the script. Mostly, we just need to put in music that helps the movie sound like we want it to sound, even though we’ll use different music for the final cut.  Toward the end of this phase, once we’re close to locked picture (that is, when we’ve got most of the shots selected), a composer would normally begin writing the new score for the movie. For those who remember the music from the series, you’ll be pleased to know that the show’s composer, Josh Kramon, will be composing the movie as well – and I'm pleased to know that he's already gotten started.

Now that you have an idea of how editing works, here’s where we are in the process:

For reference, the movie is divided into six reels, each currently lasting about 20 minutes, more or less. When I left to catch a plane back home to Austin last Friday night, we had just started digging into the final reel.  During this pass through the movie, we're trying to get picture 90 percent of the way there. Then, in the next pass, we'll get into the super fine tuning, which is where an inordinate amount of the hard work happens.

But here’s the good news: I'm actually happy with how editing is going.

I'm a bit notorious for wanting to throw myself off a building when I'm watching rough cuts. This was true even during some of the best episodes we ever did of the show. So, I think it's a good sign that I'm already looking forward to screening it for our studio partners, even though that screening is still weeks away.  And with that, I’ll turn things over to Ivan, who I think has a lot of new details to share about SDCC videos, Kickstarter rewards, the backer site, and more.

Rob


Backer Website Updates

Greetings, gang! As many of you have noted, it’s been a while – a little over two weeks – since the last official Backer Update. But as many of you have also realized, the good news is that we’ve also been updating the Backers’ Website with new content almost every day.   Moving forward, our current plan is to send an official Backer Update from Rob every 1-2 weeks, depending on how much is happening, and to update the website at least a few times each week. We’ll still link to the highlights in these official updates, but if you can’t wait, you’ll find more – more often – over there.  In case you haven’t looked lately, here's some of what you’ll find waiting for you:


(We're leaving these videos as Backer Exclusives until the end of this week. Then we'll post them on YouTube as well, in case you want to share them.)

A few helpful hints:

Can’t login to the website? As always, remember: the website does not use your Kickstarter name and password. You will find the name and password you need at the end of Backer Update #46.)

Check out the captions! If you click on any photo on the Backers' Website, you’ll be able to view a larger – or full-screen – version, as well as a caption with more detail about what was going on.

Subscribe for email updates! If you don’t want to keep checking the website to find out when we’ve posted new content, use the SUBSCRIBE form on the right side of the Backers Website to get email after every site update. It looks like this:

Where are the Kickstarter Rewards?

For those of you still waiting on Kickstarter Rewards – and that’s most of you – we wanted to share a quick update on what’s happening, and when you can expect to receive the swag you’ve been waiting for.

SEASONS 1-3 ON DVD -  SENT! 
The DVDs for Seasons 1-3 were sent out last week! Some of you have already received them, but for those who haven’t, they should arrive within 7-10 days. (You should also have received an email with a tracking link for the shipment.) For international backers: if you requested a download code instead, we should have them out to you soon.

T-SHIRTS - EARLY OCTOBER (EST.)
Let’s be completely honest: we wanted to have t-shirts in your hands a month ago, and it didn’t happen, because our order for 80,000+ blank shirts has created unexpected supply issues. (Literally. We bought out the entire stock from the manufacturer, and are now waiting for them to make more.)

At the moment, our best guess is that we’ll be able to print the t-shirts in late September, and ship them in early October.

We hate that this has been delayed, and we’re doing the best we can to speed things up. We know most of you understand and are patient, and we appreciate it, but we still wish we could get them to you sooner. You’ll have them the moment we get our hands on them.

POSTERS - NEAR PREMIERE, EARLY 2014
We’re just getting to work on the official poster designs now. Once that’s done, we’ll need to print them. For those of you who pledged for signed posters, we’ll also need to get the whole cast back together to sign them! Our best guess is that you’ll receive these – signed and unsigned – sometime around when the movie premieres.

PERSONALIZED REWARDS - COMING SOON
If you're expecting a personalized reward, we've got more details. We’ll send you a separate Kickstarter message about these in just a moment.

PREMIERE SCREENINGS - DETAILS THIS FALL
We’re still focused on finishing the movie, so we haven’t started scheduling the premieres just yet. If your rewards include tickets to the Premieres and/or Afterparties, we’ll get in touch with you later this fall, once we have specific dates locked down.

iTunes Sale (USA) & Official Merchandise

Two last notes:

USA iTUNES PROMOTION
If you live in the United States, iTunes has a pretty sweet
Veronica Mars promotion this week: you can get the (broadcast version of the) Pilot for free, and each of the three seasons in HD for just under $30/each. If your friends still don’t understand what you’re talking about, giving them a free download of the Pilot might help. Just saying.

OFFICIAL MERCHANDISE
We’re still working on plans for official Veronica Mars Merchandise, but if you can’t wait, a few older products have been re-released in the
WBShop. We’ll have newer designs for you soon, and for those of you who asked: yes, we’ll do our best to make sure the new merch is available in time for the December holidays!

That’s it for this time. See you over on the Backers’ Website!


Ivan

  

Project Update #52: Music, Editing, Distribution & A New Project (09-13-13)

Gang, 

Just wanted to take a few minutes to check in with an update. Since the last update, most of our efforts behind-the-scenes have remained focused on editing, so there's not a lot of new information that I can share. 

Here's what I can tell you. 

Music & Editing 

We've now done two full editing passes through the movie, and it gets a little bit better each time.

As I explained in the last update, we used a lot of temp music – parts of the score from the original show, and songs that fit the scene – during the first edits, so that we can start to capture the mood we're looking for. During the most recent pass, our composer (Josh Kramon, who also scored the television series) has started to provide a bunch of the score for the first half of the film, so we're continually pulling out the temp score and putting real score in its place. We're also starting to zero in on getting the rights to songs we want in the movie. 

Since many of you have asked, I can also tell you that we do expect to release an official soundtrack for the final film. At this point, that's as much as I know. I'll share more details once we have them.  As the editing continues, I'm finding that I am in a state where I know every single tree, but find it difficult to see the forest. After being so close to the script and the film over the past few months, I'm particularly interested in learning what might confuse new viewers. To help with that, I've invited a few friends and colleagues we trust to come in and watch a screening of the film this week. They'll fill out questionnaires afterwards.  Once we have that feedback, we'll go back for a third pass in editing, which we'll then screen for our studio partners in the next few weeks.  And as some of you might have seen on Twitter, Kristen stopped into editing last week for a visit. You'd have to ask her, but I think she liked what she saw.

Distribution Plans

In addition to editing the film together, we've also been working with our partners at Warner Bros on figuring out our release date and distribution plans.  We've gotten a lot of questions about where and when the film will be released, how many screens it will appear on, what languages it will be translated into, where it will be for sale, and so on. For now, all of these questions have the same answer: I don't know. We're still figuring out what makes sense, but there's nothing firm enough to share yet.  As usual, I'll share more details as we figure them out. And for those of you who have asked, yes, I will also let you know if there's something you can do to help influence the release and distribution plans. 

Some Other News 

Even though it's not Veronica Mars, I wanted to comment on another bit of news that came out since the last update. I've been working with a writer named Graham Norris to develop a concept for a modern remake of Les Miserables, set in the legal system. A couple weeks ago, FOX purchased the script for the pilot of that project.  Since the announcement, I've gotten a lot of questions about the show, as well as how the deal might impact my work on Veronica Mars. The most important thing I can tell you is that, despite all of the media commotion, this is just a script sale, which is much different than a commitment to making the show. Each season, a network will buy 80 or so scripts. Of those, only 12-15 ever get produced as pilots. And of those, only 6-7 shows will ever get picked up and go to series. 

For now, all this news really means is that I'll be supervising Graham Norris, a talented young writer who I believe in, as he works on a script for the pilot. It's still a long way from being a show.  But this also means that, despite the new project, Veronica Mars still has my full attention. The FOX deal will have no impact on the schedule or release of Veronica Mars, which I still expect will premiere sometime in the first few months of 2014. There are a few more things to cover in this update, but I've got editing to do. I'll let Ivan take it from here. 
 

Rob 

 
Backer Updates & A Few FAQ 

Greetings, all! 

I know it's been a few weeks since Rob's last official update. That's the bad news. The good news is that we have continued to post new photos from production every weekday on the Backers' Website, which now cover the entire 23 days of production.  For those of you who haven't subscribed, or don't visit often, here are three links to help you catch up

We still have a few more photos to share from the final two days of production. Once we've posted those, though, we'll aim to get more diverse with the updates.  Over the next few months, we have a lot more pictures to share, but we'll also do our best to show you some out-take footage from the documentary, interviews with members of the cast and crew, and start answering some of the questions you sent in for the cast at the end of production. Plus, as we get closer to the release of the film, we've got even bigger plans in store. If there's something you'd like to see, be sure to email veronicamars@robthomasproductions.com or post a comment on this update and let us know: we can't promise we'll be able to accommodate all of your requests and ideas, but we'd love to hear them! 

Finally: the number one question we've received since the last update comes from backers who have moved, or will be moving before all of the Kickstarter rewards are shipped. Don't panic! We'll make sure you get your rewards!  To change your shipping address, just email info@theveronicamarsmovie.com  And while we're at it, just to repeat one answer from the last update for those who missed it: T-shirts have not been sent out yet!  We now expect to send them out in early October.  That should do it for now. Until next time, see you on the Backers' Website! 


Ivan

  

Project Update #53: On T-Shirts & Test Screenings (10-16-13)

Good news, gang: T-shirts and stickers started shipping today!

We know it took a lot longer than we ever expected – and we appreciate all of your patience -- but all of the kinks have been worked out, and most of the shirts have now been printed. In fact, we've been printing between 5,000 - 10,000 shirts per day for the last week or so, and are still going -- and the first wave of shirts and stickers just went into the mail today.

We also know that a lot of you still have questions, so please read this carefully:

  • Shirts started going in the mail today, October 16! 
  • We're able to mail about 6-8k shirts each day, so it'll take us about 10 days to get them all in the mail.
  • As a result, some shirts will not go in the mail until as late as October 25.
  • So, depending on where you live...
Your shirt should arrive sometime between October 18 and November 13.

This next part is important: please do not send questions about your shirt until at least November 13. Answering more questions would just slow us down from getting the remaining shirts in the mail, so:

Questions about shirts sent before November 13 will not be answered.

Around November 13th, we will send another Backer Update, and will include specific instructions for what to do if you haven't yet received your shirt.

IF YOU HAVE MOVED OR STILL NEED TO CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS, we're happy to help you change it for future rewards, but since shipping labels have already been printed, we can no longer change the address before the shirts go into the mail. If you've moved, please be sure to contact your local post office, and provide your forwarding address. If you do, your shirt should still find its way to you.

What about the movie?

Most of the work happening right now still takes place in the editing room, where Dan Gabbe (our editor) and I are sequestered. We have now exhausted most of the good lunch options near the editing facilities, but we're making great progress on the cut. In the most recent pass, we've been starting to replace more and more of the temp music with sections of Josh Kramon's final score.

Speaking of which: in the past month, we've gotten a lot of letters asking to hear more about Josh's approach to composing and recording the score. In a future update -- and on the Backers' Website -- we'll do our best to give you a closer look at his process, and he'll explain how the score evolves throughout the editing process.

In the past month, we've screened the film for a few trusted friends and colleagues, and after that, for our partners at Warner Bros. Showing work in progress tends to be nerve-wracking, but it's also essential: when you spend all of your time in front of an editing monitor, watching the same scenes over and over, it's hard to keep a fresh perspective on what you're watching. These screenings have been helping me get a better sense of which sections of the movie are working, and which still need a little more work.

Earlier today, we also held our first test audience screening. I wish we could have stacked the audience with our backers, but Warner Bros wants to see how the movie plays for a general audience before determining a marketing strategy. Is it a film just for the fans or could complete Veronica Mars virgins enjoy the movie? That's a large part of what the studio hopes to find out.

It's what I'm hoping to find out, too. Every day in the editing room, I'm faced with this predicament: keep it or lose it? There are moments I believe VM fans will really enjoy that I know newbies won't get, and I ask myself, "Do I keep that in? Does it slow down the movie for non-fans? Would fans hate me if I cut it?"  This screening should tell me a lot.

Also, here's the thing that always terrifies me about test screenings: the movie is far from finished. It hasn't been color-timed, so it's not as "pretty" as it'll be when it's completed. None of the visual effects are in, so the audience is looking at blank computer and phone screens, or green screens where, eventually, tigers will be mauling centurions in the background. (Okay, that may be an exaggeration.) There are lines of temp dialogue read by the editor where an actor is supposed to be speaking. Some of the score is temp. We haven't done foley for the movie, so things like foot steps and punches sound kind of out of sync or canned.

When I first moved out to Hollywood in my late 20s, I was an audience member at a test screening, and the person running the test warned us about all of this. He said, "the movie will look unfinished. Everything is temp. Music. Color. Sound. But please try to put that out of your head."  I couldn't do it. I kept getting taken out of the movie watching experience by the temp elements. I ripped that movie to shreds in my comment card. I didn't think they'd ever be able to fix that dog.  And that little movie turned out to be Aliens.* 

Thanks to the advice I gave them on my comment card.

* Okay, that last part is not true. It was the Ted Danson-Mary Steenburgen indie Pontiac Moon, and it was lovely. Thanks to my comment card there's an entire zombie subplot that was trimmed from the movie. I think it was a good lift. You're welcome, America.

Veronica at the AFF

One last thing: if you happen to be attending the Austin Film Festival later this month, I'll be there on October 26, for a discussion about translating Veronica Mars from television to film. Joining me on stage will be Mr. Chris Lowell, who will also be at the Festival to show off his own directorial debut, a feature film called Beside Still Waters. Chris let me see it a couple of months ago, and he did a masterful job with it. That kid has a bright future.  If you're at the Festival, we'd love to meet you, so be sure to come say hello.
 

Rob

  

Project Update #54: Screening Results. Also: new footage! (28 October 2013)

Dear Backers,

I didn't want to keep you waiting a month for the next update, so I'm writing again now. Hopefully you won't mind. There are just two quick things to share this time, and I think you'll enjoy both of them.

How The Screening Went

First, a word about test screenings...  I don't know a TV writer who has ever enjoyed going to one. In fact, among writers, it's usually worse than just about anything you can name from that standard list of sucky things you just have to soldier through: getting a root canal (test screening is worse), hosting unwanted house guests (test screening is worse), facing a battery of rabies inoculations (test screening is worse).

In television, test screenings are done in a very specific way. Fifty people sit behind one-way mirrors and watch your new pilot while holding a dial in their hands, dialing up when they enjoy what they're seeing on screen, dialing down when they're not enjoying what they're seeing on screen. I am on the other side of the glass wondering why my Xanax hasn't kicked in yet. Invariably people dial down in sad scenes and dial up in happy scenes, even though that isn't really how it's supposed to work.  Afterwards, the audience testing company suggests that you remove all the sad scenes from your show.   (Secret tips for future TV writers: people dial up when they see dogs! People dial up when good looking people take off their shirts! These things may seem self-evident, but it took me way too long to understand this seemingly simple concept.)

So, it was with some degree of dread that I showed up for our test screening last Wednesday night. As I know I mentioned in the last update, I feel like people not "in the business" have a hard time seeing past things like temp score, missing visual effects, footage that hasn't been color-timed.  I was scared, y'all.  Turns out, I didn't need to be. The crowd reaction was everything I hoped for. People were laughing and gasping and cheering. As a TV writer, I rarely get to experience audience reaction. I could get used to that feeling. Our distribution partners at Warner Bros. were also very pleased by the feedback and excited about the movie. The scores made me happy to the point of unseemliness.

Since the movie was financed by you, the fans, the one bar that I felt like I had to hit was that VM fans must enjoy it. Coming out of the screening, I felt like we had achieved that. (Honestly, I wouldn't have allowed myself to hope for the very nice feedback we got.) The scores from the non-VM fans were also incredibly encouraging.   The constructive criticism was also tremendously helpful. We're diving back in, polishing up some sections, and doing our best to clear up some confusion in a couple of areas in the movie.

How The Screening Really Went

Okay, now that I've typed this all out, I'm thinking perhaps I've done a disservice to the movie in the expectations game. I know that if I hear all of these great things about a movie, and I go see it, and it's good, but it doesn't blow my mind like it does everyone else's, I'm disappointed. The opposite also holds true (which may explain why Bad Teacher was my favorite movie of 2011).  So, what I'm saying is, erase all that positive news about our test screening from your mind.  In fact, on second thought, it only went so-so.  We're now adding dogs and reshooting large sections with Logan and Keith with their shirts off.

Plus, a little something new to share.

In the last update, I also mentioned that Chris Lowell and I would be sitting down this afternoon at the Austin Film Festival for a little discussion about Veronica Mars, and the work involved in adapting a television series for a feature film. (I also mentioned that Chris will be screening a new movie that he directed, but if you don't believe me, head over to the Backers' Website -- he'll tell you about it himself.)  What I didn't mention, for fear that it would jinx our plans, is that we also decided to debut a little bit of new footage. And since it's your movie, I wanted to make sure you don't have to wait to see it.  We've edited the new footage together into a short featurette suitable for sharing with friends, loved ones, or enemies who happen to share your taste in pop culture, and included enough context that it'll make sense even if your friends never saw the show.

And while we were careful to avoid significant spoilers, this footage does reveal a few new details about what to expect in the film... and gives our cast a chance to weigh on the eternal Logan vs. Piz debate. Take a look.

http://vimeo.com/veronicamars/lovetriangle   We're feeling pretty good about how the film is coming together, but we'd love to know what you think. Sound off in the comments. We're still reading them, I promise.  Until next time, gang.
 

Rob

 

Project Update #55: Some Final Details On Kickstarter T-Shirts. (11-27-13)
Dear Backers,

We'll have another, more interesting update for you in the next few weeks, but this is an unusual Backer Update, because we're hoping that most of you won't need to read more than the first few sentences.
This update is just about the Kickstarter t-shirts.

While it took a little bit longer than we had hoped, we're relieved to announce that almost all of you have now received your t-shirts, and those who haven't gotten them yet should have received an email with tracking details. So, if you haven't received a shirt or a notification email -- or if you need help with the shirt you received -- keep reading for directions on what to do.
Here's the good news: over the past 6 weeks, we sent out almost 85,000 t-shirts, and from the avalanche of messages, comments and tweets we received, it looks like about 98% of you are thrilled with the shirts! (We're pretty excited about that.) However, before we congratulate ourselves on pulling this off, we also know that 1-2% of you have experienced problems, and we want to get those fixed.

To keep things in perspective: with more than 80,000 t-shirts manufactured and shipped, it was inevitable that there would be a small percentage of backers who experience problems. But if you're one of them, we know it can be super frustrating, and we want all backers to have the best possible experience with this entire process. Our goal is to make sure all backers get what they ordered, but while we do that, we appreciate your patience and understanding. So...
If you've received your shirt(s) and are satisfied, you're all set, and can skip the rest of this update! (But if you want to show off, feel free to tweet a selfie to @veronicamars wearing your shirt with the hashtag #vmshirt, so we can collect as many as possible!)

If you haven't received your shirt yet, or received it but are having a problem and have not already emailed Customer Support, we want to help -- but we need you to help us help you. To do that, please head over to the Backers' Website, where we've set up a special T-Shirt Support Page, which will guide you through the process of helping us solve whatever problems you're having.  And remember, you'll still need to login to access the Backers' Website, using these details:
Login:
Password:
There'll be more interesting news to share soon -- including, we hope, an update on the release date for the movie! -- but for now, we want to make sure we get all of your issues worked out ASAP.
Thanks, as always, for your patience and support!

Rob & Ivan

 

Project Update #56: Thanksgiving Bonus Update!  (11-28-13)

Gang,

Here in the United States, many of us are spending today celebrating Thanksgiving, enjoying (or surviving) time with our families, and (at least in principle) expressing gratitude for the things that we value in our lives.

Since you're all part of the extended Veronica Mars family now, I thought I should take a moment first to tell all of you what I'm thankful for this year.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exDPxzFplEw   (I mean it, too: my mom is the most impatient fan I've ever met. Love you, mom!)

And since yesterday's update didn't have much update in it, I thought I'd also share a link to a 75-minute-long interview that Joel Bush recorded with me a few days ago. (Joel is also my brother-in-law. We're married to sisters.) Our conversation covered Kickstarter, Veronica Mars, my pre-television career as a writer, the future of TV, and more.  The length might be a little excessive for most of you, but since we're celebrating a holiday dedicated to excess, I'll take that chance. Think of it as our Kickstarter's equivalent of Black Friday! Feel free to skip it if you've had your fill of hearing me talk.

Now, I'm not stuck in editing this morning, but there are still turkeys that need to be carved up, so that's all for this time.  For our American backers, enjoy the holiday. And for all of our backers, here in the US and all around the world: thanks again. For everything.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Rob
 




Project Update #57: An Update About An Update. (12-04-13)

Dear Backers,

I should warn you that this is less of an update, and more of a pre-update.   We're almost ready to make an announcement that a lot of you have been waiting for, and that I'm excited about.   To get as much attention as we possibly can, Entertainment Weekly has agreed to help us break the news with an article tomorrow morning.  As soon as the article is released, I'll send another update with a link and more details. For today, I just wanted to let you know that we've got some big news coming.

That is all.

Rob
 
 

Project Update #58: Veronica Returns To Screens On March 14, 2014. (12-04-13)
Gang,

As promised, we've got big news for you this morning.  Entertainment Weekly just posted an article announcing the official release date for Veronica Mars. They also included a new first-look clip from the movie.

Since I know that each new detail we announce also creates several more questions, I'll send another update tomorrow with a few answers and some more details just for backers. For now, let's just focus on today's news.  Take it away, EW:

On March 13, 2013, Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas asked fans of the acclaimed, gone-too-soon teen detective drama starring Kristen Bell to Kickstart a big screen revival. Fitting, then, that Marshmallow Nation will get to see what their $5.7 million paid for on the one year anniversary of the groundbreaking fundraising campaign: In an exclusive interview, Thomas tells EW that Warner Bros. will release the movie — simply titled Veronica Mars — on March 14, 2014. “Warner Bros. had this date circled for quite some time and hoped it would stay open,” Thomas tells EW. “Luckily, no other teen detective movie decided to open in the middle of March.”  Head over to EW.com now to read the rest, and see the new first-look footage.

More tomorrow,


Rob

 

Project Update #59: Everything You Wanted To Know About The Release Plan, Except The Things We Don't Have Answers For.

Gang,

Now you know: in just under 100 days, Veronica Mars will open in theaters across the United States. I'm guessing that most of you saw the announcement on EW.com yesterday, so I won't repeat all of the basics. As promised, though, I'll try to answer a few more questions I've gotten about the release, the remaining Kickstarter rewards, and what happens next.  Before I do that, I'd like to tell you what I've been thinking about this week.

What I've Been Thinking About This Week

It took us almost eight years, 92,000 fans, and some major changes in the entertainment business to get this movie to the starting line. That's not the longest a movie has ever taken to get started, but it's a long time. That's longer than George R. R. Martin takes to write a Game of Thrones novel.  But when Veronica returns on March 14, it will only have taken us one year -- almost to the day -- to get a movie funded, written, shot, edited, scored, marketed and released. That's not the shortest amount of time a studio film has ever taken, but it's pretty damn close.

Since yesterday morning -- when several of you pointed it out, and I can't believe we didn't realize this ourselves but now let's all just pretend it was always the plan -- I've also been thinking about the fact that 3/14, at least on the internet, is referred to as Pi Day. And you can't spell "pi" without P-I.  Which is also the shorthand for "private investigator." Which is a pretty lucky coincidence. Which I've now over explained, so let's move on.  (But if you want to start experimenting with recipes for marshmallow pies, you've got 98 days. Go.)

As you might remember, our original hope was that Warner Bros would be confident enough to give Veronica Mars a limited engagement run in a few US cities. But with the amount of attention the movie has received -- thanks to your support -- it looks like we're going to get a much wider release than we ever expected. I know that for a lot of you, this raises new questions. We're not ignoring them. We know there are a lot of open questions, and if we haven't answered yet, it's because we're still working on them. I promise -- as always -- that you'll get answers as soon as we have them.  For today, let's cover a few of the most common questions.

Q: Will the movie get a theatrical release outside of the USA?

A: We don't know yet, but we're working on figuring that out. It's not a simple question, so I doubt we'll have an answer until at least January. As soon as we do, I'll tell you.

Q: How will this affect our digital downloads and DVDs of the movie?

A: This one is easy: it doesn't. If your Kickstarter rewards include a digital download of the movie, we've always promised that you'll get it within a few days of the film's theatrical debut. That's still the plan. For DVD and Blu-Ray rewards, I'm told that we're hoping to ship those out in early May, but that's still subject to change. We'll keep you posted if it does.

Q: When are the NYC, LA and Austin events?

A: By definition, premieres have to happen before the nationwide release, so you can expect our red-carpet premieres, and the Veronica Mars Southern Fried Rob Thomas Friends & Family Premiere & Jubilee™, to take place during the first two weeks of March. If your Kickstarter rewards include tickets to the LA, NYC or Austin events, you'll get another email soon with more details, so that you can start planning.

Q: What if I have other questions about this?

A: This probably won't work, but I'll try it anyway: please help us out. If you've got questions that can wait, please hold onto them. (Responding to questions that don't have answers slows our Customer Support team down, and it takes them longer to respond to questions that do.) I promise, if we have information, you'll either find it in these updates or the official FAQ.

If you still have urgent questions -- as in, time-is-of-the-essence or someone-might-die urgent -- you might also try asking other backers in the comments on Kickstarter or the Backers' Website. (Most of the questions we get, we get a lot.) If none of that works, then you should email Customer Support as detailed in the FAQ. 

Be advised: if we're receiving a lot of questions, it'll take them longer to respond. Otherwise, it should take 2-3 days to get a response to your question.

Q: Got it. So what happens next?

A: Right now, we're finishing up visual effects and finalizing the soundtrack. We're also trying to lock picture by Dec. 20th, so I can get back to Austin for my wife's birthday and remind her who I am. It's going to be like a scene out of Sommersby.  Then, with a confirmed release date and a finished print, we'll move into the marketing and promotional phase, in hopes of making the movie as successful as we can.

Q: How can I help the movie succeed?

A: Let me be clear about this: if you're reading this update, you've already helped the movie succeed, just by making it possible. It would be insane for us to expect you to do more, and I know it.

But I also know that we get a metric ton of messages each week from backers and fans asking what you can do to help support the movie launch. And the answer is: a lot. I'm pretty sure about that. What I'm not sure about is exactly what would be most useful, so give us a little more time to figure that out. I'll have more details in January, but I promise: if you do want to help, there will be things you can do.

Q: While I'm waiting, can I see that new footage again?

A: Sure. We've added it to our YouTube channel, so you can see it right here:


Q: Wow, it looks like you really did shoot a Veronica Mars movie, Rob. You're not living incognito on a Costa Rican beach with our money.

A: Thank god. I've been informed that it's no longer possible for us to refund Kickstarter pledges. But if you get me really drunk, I'll tell you the unsettling things that run through your brain when you see nearly six million dollars in your Amazon account.  I think that's long enough for one update, and the five of you who read this far probably agree.  Only 98 days until we open nationwide.
 

Rob

 

'Veronica Mars' Movie Gets A Release Date
(By Jeff Jensen, Entertainment Weekly, 04 December 2013)

On March 13, 2013, Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas asked fans of the acclaimed, gone-too-soon teen detective drama starring Kristen Bell to Kickstart a big screen revival. Fitting, then, that Marshmallow Nation will get to see what their $5.7 million paid for on the one year anniversary of the groundbreaking fundraising campaign: In an exclusive interview, Thomas tells EW that Warner Bros. will release the movie — simply titled Veronica Mars — on March 14, 2014. “Warner Bros. had this date circled for quite some time and hoped it would stay open,” Thomas tells EW. “Luckily, no other teen detective movie decided to open in the middle of March.”

The original distribution plan called for Veronica Mars to get a limited engagement run in just a few cities before becoming more widely available via video on demand and other digital platforms. But Thomas reports that Warner Bros. will now give the film a wider, nationwide release (number of screens still TBD) and let the marketplace decide how long it should stay in theaters. “We’re not going to dribble it out there,” says Thomas, who shot the movie in 23 days this past summer.  He is currently finishing the special effects and putting together a soundtrack. Thomas also reports that a recent test audience screening went very well. “There are smart ways to do a movie of this size- and we chose none of them,” he says with a laugh. “We are a low budget movie with big set pieces and 60 speaking roles. A murder mystery in a house would have been more cost effective. But I think we have managed to pull it off.”

In the movie, Veronica returns to her hometown of Neptune, California, after 10 years away to aid former flame Logan (Jason Dohring), who has been accused of killing his pop star girlfriend. The original cast is back, including Enrico Colantoni as Veronica’s father and Tina Majorino and Percy Daggs III as Veronica’s best friends Mac and Wallace. Fans will see many other of their favorite characters, too, because after all: “10 years away” = 10 year high school reunion.



  

Project Update #60: New Year, New Update, New Trailer (12-31-13)

Gang,

Over the last few weeks, perhaps you've received your share of holiday greeting cards, with clever, carefully folded photocopies tucked into them, detailing all of the wonderful events that unfolded for your friends and relatives during 2013.  We didn't send a letter, but if we did, it would have been easy to write:  "It finally happened."  There will be other, better times for me to get sentimental before our movie premieres in March. Today, I just want to send one last letter for 2013, and to share four quick updates with you.

1. We're the opening act at PaleyFest 2014.

On March 13, 2014, just one day before Veronica opens nationwide, our cast will join me on stage at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles to kick off PaleyFest 2014. If you're not familiar with PaleyFest, it's possible that you don't actually like television. It's also possible that you've just never heard of PaleyFest, which is an easier problem to solve. This won't be our first visit to PaleyFest, but it will be our first time since 2005.


2. Somehow, we're already winning awards.

Since our movie doesn't come out until March, I didn't think I was going to need a new suit for the upcoming award season. Happily, I was wrong: the folks at Variety have selected Veronica Mars as a recipient for their "Breakthrough of the Year Awards."  This means that on January 9, Kristen and I will be walking a red carpet somewhere in Las Vegas, and if all goes well, knocking back canapés and fancy cocktails with -- among others -- Olivia Munn, Will Forte, and our friends from Burning Love.  If anything interesting happens during the awards show, I promise to tell you about it. 

3. Our official theatrical trailer will debut in less than 48 hours!

We've only got 72 days left until our movie debuts, which means that over the next two months, we'll be moving into full-on promotional mode. In a few weeks, I'll send another update with more details about what you can expect and how you can help.  Today, I wanted to be the first to tell you that the official theatrical trailer is now finished, and will be debuting in less than 48 hours, on January 2, 2014. To help give the trailer the widest possible exposure, a clip is scheduled to debut on E! News at 7:00 PM (EST & PST) on January 2, and the entire trailer will follow shortly afterward on E! Online.  As soon as it does, I'll send you another update with a link.  And finally:

4. Kristen asked me to pass this along to you.

http://youtu.be/2TwmT0Z27-I   What she said.  Now, enough reading emails: it's time to go celebrate.  Everybody Wang Chung tonight or I'll kick your ass,


Rob

 

Project Update #61: Our Official Theatrical Trailer (01-02-2014)
Gang,

As promised, E! Online just debuted the official theatrical trailer for Veronica Mars.  You can find it right here, right now. 

More soon,

Rob
 
 

Veronica Mars Movie Trailer: Love, Murder, Guns And A High School Reunion For Kristen Bell & Co.
(By Chris Harnick, E News, 02 January 2013)

It's here, Marshmallows; the official Veronica Mars movie trailer is finally here! Pat yourselves on the backs because you're the reason this movie is being made.  In the trailer, which debuted exclusively on Thursday's episode of E! News, Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) learns about her former beau's legal troubles—he's been accused of murdering his girlfriend. But let's be real, the only thing Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) could be guilty of murdering is our hearts. All this happens just as Veronica is close to landing a plum gig as a high-powered New York attorney and making a happy life with Piz (Chris Lowell) in the Big Apple. Will she throw it all away for LoVe?  "Nine years of radio silence and yet I still kind of knew I could count on you," Logan says to Veronica in the trailer above. 

Veronica's return to Neptune also coincides with her 10-year high school reunion. The fan-funded flick hits theaters on Friday, March 14 in AMC Theaters in select markets across the U.S.  Series creator Rob Thomas wrote the movie with Diane Ruggiero and served as director. "This project has been a labor of love for everyone involved—me, the cast, my producing partners," Thomas said in a statement. "We are so grateful for the outpouring of support from the Kickstarter backers. This movie wouldn't have happened without them."

Veronica Mars aired for three seasons from 2004-2007 on UPN and The WB. The Kickstarter to fund the movie launched in February 2013 and reached its goal of $2 million in 10 hours. The Kickstarter campaign grossed more than $5.7 million.  In addition to Bell, Lowell and Dohring, most of the principal Veronica Mars series cast returned for the movie. Ryan Hansen, Krysten Ritter, Percy Daggs III, Tina Majorino, Francis Capra, Ken Marino and Enrico Colantoni all reprised their roles for the movie.
 



 

Project Update #62: Official Trailer, Redux.  (01-13-2014)

Gang,

A lot of you have now seen the trailer, but for those of you having trouble viewing it on E!, we've also added it to our official YouTube channel.  Let's try this again.  http://youtu.be/wq1R93UMqlk   Let us know what you think in the comments, or on Twitter using #VeronicaMarsMovie.
 

Rob

  

‘Veronica Mars’ Official Trailer: Is Rob Thomas Really Going To Pull This Thing Off?
(By Emily Yahr, Washington Post, 03 January 2014)

“Veronica Mars” was one of the biggest comeback stories of 2013 — a cult favorite TV-show-turned-movie, all thanks to Kickstarter. And now, creator Rob Thomas is kicking off the new year by releasing the official theatrical trailer.  It has everything: Dramatic music, car chases, fight scenes, tantalizingly vague descriptions. (The perfect job…the perfect man…the perfect chance — to throw it all away.) It looks like — well, an actual big-budget movie. 

Surprising? In a way, yes. “Veronica Mars,” a niche, quirky WB series about a teenage private detective (Kristen Bell), didn’t necessarily have all the makings of a hit mainstream film. The show, which lasted three seasons and was canceled in 2007, was beloved among a small, rabid group of viewers, but never broke out as a true hit. But Thomas decided to take a gamble anyway that the show could have a bigger future,  launching a Kickstarter project last spring to raise money for a film version.

And now, $5.7 million later — a number that shattered Kickstarter records — Thomas has fulfilled his promise. He got the entire cast (Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni) back together, while also wrangling appearances by supporting characters who have gone on to bigger things (Max Greenfield, Krysten Ritter).  The film opens in select theaters on March 14.



 
Project Update #63: 63 Days to Go: Las Vegas, SXSW, Poster, Streaming & More (01-10-2014)
Gang,
We're just 10 days into 2014, but I've got to tell you: I'm feeling good about the year in front of us. And right now, I'm feeling even better about the last 24 hours. A lot has been happening, so I wanted to take a moment to fill you in.
 
What happen(ed) In Vegas...
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/513/934/0c698ea36f6838575fc6e8818bf4f62e_large.jpg?1389376387
 
Yesterday afternoon, Kristen and I made a quick trip to Las Vegas, where we accepted our film's first official award, as Variety's Breakthrough Movie of 2014. I promised I'd tell you if anything interesting happened, so, show of hands -- who thinks that when receiving an award the photogenic leading actor should be the one to say a few words, and who thinks the nebbish, lisping writer should say a few words?  Would you rather watch Clooney or his writing partner Grant Heslov occupy center stage?  Exactly!
 
That was my thought process, too, which is why I had prepared nothing to say upon acceptance of our award last night. Obviously, Kristen Bell would be doing the talking. Kristen thought -- God knows why -- that I'd be doing the speaking. We were not the most prepared duo at the festivities.  It's odd, too, accepting an award for a movie that almost no one has seen. We realized we were accepting an award for the way the movie came to be. In other words, we were accepting the award on behalf of you -- our backers. Once that came into focus, we were able to find a few words. Or, rather, I stole my mini-acceptance from the dedication I'd written for the first Veronica Mars novel, which will be released in conjunction with the movie. Kristen, naturally, spoke from the heart.
 
In other news: I went all Chris Farley on Dean Norris backstage at the event. "You know that time... (panting) ... in Breaking Bad (panting)... when you got shot... (panting)... That was awesome.  Whoops. Spoiler Alert!  A big thanks, too, to Ryan Hansen who flew out to Las Vegas to introduce us. That boy's going places. He's got charm.
 
We've been invited to premiere the film at SXSW!
Even before the complementary cocktails were served en route to Las Vegas, I was in a good mood. As some of you might have seen yesterday afternoon, we also got confirmation that Veronica Mars has been invited to have its official world premiere as one of the featured films in this year's SXSW Film Festival.  (This is different than the invite-only Austin event, which was one of our Kickstarter rewards.)  There are a lot of reasons I'm excited to be premiering at SXSW. On a practical level, headlining a major film festival like SXSW is a big deal. It gives us a huge boost in helping more people discover Veronica, and for obvious reasons, I want as many people to see our movie as possible.
 
On a more personal level, and as a long-time resident of Austin, I've dreamed of headlining the SXSW Festival since it first began in the late eighties.  Today, SXSW is probably the biggest annual event in Austin. Every March, some 20,000 visitors descend on the town like locusts for a heady two-week orgy of music, film, tech and BBQ. But in 1987, it was a different beast -- a small-ish music festival where about 700 people got to hang out and drink while listening to mediocre local bands.  I don't mean to sound disparaging. I was in one of those mediocre locals bands. Perhaps even the mediocre-ist. To put it in perspective, in one of our favorite reviews of our band, the critic said, "I don't like them. They strike me as ordinary." Our band, Hey Zeus, played a number of classic originals: I Hate You and I Hope You Die; Moscow, Idaho; Betty Goes to Italy. Raise your hands if you have any of our classic mid-80s cassette releases!  We stopped getting invited to participate in SXSW once people realized we had only a modicum of talent. This might partly explain why I'm so excited to be back at the festival doing something in which my complete lack of musicianship is less of a drawback.
And if you're going to get a little notoriety, your home town is a pretty good place to get it.
 
Kickstarter Premiere dates are finalized.
Here's another piece of good news: now that we've been confirmed as part of the SXSW lineup, we've also been able to finish negotiating the rest of the dates and venues we need, which means we now have confirmed dates for the Austin, NYC and LA Kickstarter premieres.
 
If your Kickstarter rewards include tickets to one of the premiere events, you'll get another email in the next hour with the confirmed date, along with a few quick questions and details. Please be sure to read it and respond ASAP.
If you don't have tickets to one of the premieres, there's good news and bad news.  The good news is, we still love and value you, and are grateful for all of your help.  The bad news is that all three premiere events, and the afterparties, are completely booked. Unless something changes and we tell you otherwise, there are no additional tickets available. We love you, I promise, but physics are physics, and full is full. 
 
Want to rewatch the series before March 14?
Since production started, we have gotten a lot of requests to make the original three seasons of the series available for streaming online. Obviously, that's a good idea. Less obviously, it's also much, much, much more complicated than it sounds. I don't fully understand it myself, so I won't try to explain all of the details, but it's a huge, complex process.  Well, miracles do happen, Virginia: starting right now, all three seasons of Veronica Mars are streaming on Amazon Prime and free to Amazon Prime members.  The timing, as it turns out, is almost perfect: there are 64 episodes of Veronica Mars, and 63 days left until March 14. That's one episode a day, with the series finale on the morning of the premiere, and you're set for opening day.  And, if you prefer a more social re-watch experience, you might want to join the fans over at Neptune Rising (@neptunerising), who have organized a schedule to re-watch the entire series between now and the film, and are live-tweeting an episode each day. They started a week ago, but you can still catch up.  In other news...
 
You liked the trailer!
It's been just about a week since we debuted the official Veronica Mars trailer, and the response has been amazing. The trailer is available on several different sites, but the one we posted on our YouTube channel alone is already approaching 2.5 million views. In a week. We were hoping for a good response, but 2.5 million views in a week... that's better than good. That's fantastic.  This movie might just do okay, gang. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq1R93UMqlk   And now, we've got a poster to go with it.
With our trailer burning up the YouTube charts, we thought it might be time to release the official Veronica Mars poster, to go along with it. You can read more over at Yahoo! Movies, where we just debuted the image to the public, but I'm feeling good about it.  In case you're wondering: yes, this is the poster you'll receive as part of your Kickstarter rewards. No, the actors haven't started autographing the signed posters yet. And yes, we're planning to send the posters to you in protective tubes to keep them safe.
 
 
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/513/940/9c2d895a0f870ca51065d3ee0ea1ec76_large.jpg?1389376493
 
More about theatrical release plans.
One last note: we know that many fans outside the United States are still waiting for details about international release plans, and that many fans inside the United States are eager for a list of theaters where the movie will appear in the United States.  We are eager for those things too, but I promise, we're not keeping them from you. As I said in Update #59, those are discussions and decisions that take time, and all of those details are still being worked out. We might not have answers until 3-4 weeks before the movie comes out, but as soon as we know, you'll know. I promise.  That should do it for this time.  Happy New Year, everybody.
 
Rob
 
 
Project Update #64: We're in MTV's Final Four for Most Anticipated Movie of 2014.
Want to help us win?  (01-24-14)
 
Gang,
If you're up for a fun challenge, we could use your help.  Yesterday morning, Veronica Mars defeated Mockingjay (the third movie in The Hunger Games trilogy) in the quarterfinals of MTV's Movie Brawl, putting us into the semifinals for the title of "Most Anticipated Movie of 2014." For the record, that means we got more votes than the highest-grossing film franchise of 2013. 
 
But now that we're in the Final Four, the competition is fierce.  (Right now, we're getting trounced.)  But we've gotten this far, so we'd like to see if we can go all the way. If we don't win? Well... it's amazing that we got to the Final Four.  But if we do win, it would make a great story. It would help a lot of people discover Veronica for the first time. And most of all, it would be a cool recognition of how long you waited, and how hard you worked, to make this movie happen.  If you want to help, you can vote as many times as you want between now and Monday morning, right here:  http://bit.ly/VMMvsMR  From what we're hearing, some of our competitors' fans have been marathon voting every few seconds, for hours on end...   But then, you raised almost $6 million to make a movie.  Let's show them what we can do.
 
Rob
 
 
 
Project Update #65: AMC Announces Locations & Preorder Dates for Veronica Mars (01-28-2014)
 
Gang,
We've gotten a ton of questions about which theaters will be showing Veronica Mars when it's released on March 14, whether you'll be able to see it in a theater near you, and when tickets will be available for online pre-orders.
 
Well, good news: we've got some answers for you.
2. Arrangements have also been made to screen Veronica Mars at a select few cinemas, in areas where AMC does not have theaters: 
  • Premiere Cinema 15 (Lubbock, TX)
  • The Living Room 6 (Portland, OR)
  • Cinetopia Progress Ridge Beaverton (Portland, OR)
  • Cinetopia Vancouver Mall (Vancouver, WA)
3. Tickets will be available for pre-order starting on February 14 -- just in time for all of your Valentine's Day gifting needs!
 
What's amazing about this list is that, for a movie of our size, the normal approach would be to do a limited release in no more than 5-6 of the biggest cities in the United States. And for a normal movie, that would have been great. But we know that our backers aren't just in those big cities, so AMC has been working hard to help place us in theaters all over the United States.   With luck, you'll see a theater near you, or at least one within a 1-2 hour drive, on AMC's list. If you don't -- or you'd like to encourage AMC to add your local theater to the list -- it doesn't hurt to tell them. As AMC said in their announcement, they can't make any promises... but if you want to see Veronica in another theater near you, let them know in their comments.
For our international backers: don't worry! We're still working through the arrangements for international distribution, but we'll have more news soon. Until you hear something from me, assume it's just a rumor.
Also...  MTV Tournament: Final Showdown!
Last but not least: thanks to anyone who took the time to vote for Veronica in MTV's Movie Brawl. With your help, we've advanced to the final round, where we're facing off against Vampire Academy for the title of Most Anticipated Movie of 2014. Our movie doesn't have sexy teenage vampires in it -- that you know of. On the other hand, we probably have more brooding. I expect it's going to be a tight race. If you want to help tip the scales, you can vote (as many times as you want) between now and Thursday morning, right here:
http://bit.ly/VMMvsVA .  Look for a longer update later this week.
 
Rob
 
 
Project Update #66: On Audio Mixes, Ratings, Spin-Offs, iZombies & More. (02-01-2014)
Dear Backers,
Earlier this week, I promised you a longer update. Here goes. 
The MTV Movie Brawl: Nailed It.
Last week, I sent you an update about Veronica's against-all-odds performance in MTV's Movie Brawl, a tournament that asks fans to select the Most Anticipated Movie of the Year. At the time, I wondered whether we'd be able to survive the semi-finals, where we were getting thrashed by a film called The Maze Runner, so I issued a friendly challenge: help us raise awareness of our movie by voting.  Gang, I'll be honest: for a moment, I forgot what happens when we give you a challenge.  On Wednesday afternoon, Veronica Mars – the film you got made – was named as MTV's Most Anticipated Movie of 2014.
 
We don't have official numbers, but we do know that over 40,000,000 votes were cast just in the final round. And while I'm not sure what we actually win, I'm choosing to believe that this will translate directly to box office gross. I'll never know -- and probably don't want to know -- how we got over 20,000,000 votes in 72 hours, but I know what it means: we have the most unstoppable fans in the world.  You'll be happy to know that Jason and Ryan took the competition just as seriously as you did: http://youtu.be/-eyzcN_KdlM
 
The Movie: Just About Finished.
It's been almost two months since I gave you an update about progress on the movie itself, so here's some good news: we are very, very close to having a finished movie. And that's a good thing, because our goal is to lock down the final version of the movie in about ten days.  At this point, the picture has already been locked, which means that we're no longer reviewing different takes, or changing the actual footage that you'll see on screen. Instead, Daniel Gabbe (our editor) and I have spent most of January sequestered on a soundstage in the Technicolor building with a team of highly-trained audio professionals, finishing the sound mix for the film.  The first step in that process was ADR (additional dialogue recording). Over the last few weeks, most of our cast have stopped in to record loop lines. Basically, this is a process that involves watching the same scene half a dozen times, and then recording new sound for any lines of dialogue that aren't working just right.
 
There are a lot of reasons you can end up needing ADR. Sometimes you decide to add a funny line spoken by an actor who is off camera. Maybe you couldn't get clearance for a specific cultural reference. Maybe you decide that a line would be even more impactful if the line were read a little bit differently. And a lot of times, you just need a "clean" recording, because a dog barked during a take, or a plane flew by, or a car horn honked. Whatever the reason, the process is the same: the actor sits in front of a microphone, performing a line of dialogue a dozen different ways, so that we have more choices during the final edit. But here's the irony: if we all do our jobs well, it will be impossible for you to tell that we've done anything at all.
Here's proof that it happened, though, taken during one of Kristen's sessions.
 
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/588/357/155477eb87a3afddaff6fb49049ce361_large.jpg?1391297341
 
After finishing ADR, we turned our attention to the final sound mix: a painstaking process of re-watching each scene in the movie until the dialogue, sound effects and music are balanced exactly how we want them. This results in 20 minute discussions about whether a footstep sounds loud enough, or if a music cue should end 1/20th of a second earlier. We've got just a week or two left until we finish the mix and lock the audio.
 
The Rating: PG-13. Probably.
As we finish up the final sound mix on the movie, I can also finally answer another common question: we expect the final rating for Veronica Mars to be PG-13. We received a lot of messages making it clear that many of you want to be able to experience this movie with kids, younger siblings, or friends who look too young to get into R rated movies.  Before anyone asks, rest assured that going with PG-13 didn't require any major compromises to my vision for the movie. It did require us to record two new loop lines in ADR to replace jokes that the MPAA wanted changed to keep us out of an R rating. It also meant that we had to be more selective with our limited allocation of F-bombs. (We get one. We hope you believe we used it wisely.)
These are sacrifices we were willing to make for you.
 
The "Spin-Off" Web Series: Happening, but not just yet.
About two weeks ago, The CW announced during the TCA Press Tour that we'll be developing a "Veronica Mars spin-off" web series for their online channel, CW Seed. Many of you wrote in asking if it was true, and whether I could to share more details. The answers to your questions, in order, are "Yes" (it's true) and "Umm, Not Really?" (because there aren't more details yet).
Here's what I can tell you:
  • We have reached a deal to produce a comedy web series for CW Seed, which both is and isn't a spin-off of Veronica Mars. It's more of a spin-off about a spin-off.
  • The basic idea is that Ryan Hansen will play a version of himself, as he tries to put together a Dick Casablancas-centric television spin-off, calling on his pals from Veronica Mars, Party Down and beyond to help him get the show off the ground. For the most part, I would expect that these friends will also be playing versions of themselves.
  • We're not talking about a full-length series, here. We still need to figure out the specifics, but we're probably looking at 8 or so webisodes, lasting 5-10 minutes each.
  • I'm going to beg Rob Thomas to play me in the spin-off. The other Rob Thomas. The slimmer, better-looking, more talented one. (But does he know how to use a semi-colon? Because I do.)
  • We probably won't even be able to start working on the web series until after the movie comes out, so I can't begin to guess when this whole thing will get released. I just know that we'll get the chance to make it, you'll get the chance to see it, and that we're all excited to have an excuse to keep working together.
 
Speaking of the CW...
...you might have also seen an announcement earlier this week that the CW has ordered a pilot episode of a new show I've been developing called iZombie, which is based on an excellent series of comics from Vertigo. I wrote the pilot with Diane Ruggiero, who was a writer on Veronica Mars and my co-writer on the screenplay for the movie, and I've tricked my long-time producing partners, Dan Etheridge and Danielle Stokdyk, into overseeing yet another project with me.  I should point out that a "pilot order" is exactly that: the CW liked our script, and gave us the go-ahead to produce a pilot episode for the series. This is a good development, but it's still not a guarantee that we'll end up on television. Each year, the networks commission up to a dozen new pilots, but only a few of them receive a series order. So while I'm excited, this doesn't mean that I've got a new television series... yet.  What it does mean is that I'll no longer be able to take a few days off when we finish work on Veronica Mars and lock it down next week, since we've already started working on casting, locations, and a million other details that need to be worked out in order to produce the pilot. We'll begin shooting in late March, probably just days after the movie is released in theaters.
---
There's more to share, but I think that's enough excitement for one update, so I'll save some of it for next week.  Enjoy your weekend, gang.
 
Rob
 
 
Project Update #67: Starting Tonight: ‘Live’ Online Episode Viewing + Q&A With Our Cast & Team (02-03-14)
Gang,
There's a lot left to do this week, so I'll get right to the point.  We've now got less than 40 days left until Veronica Mars hits theaters, and our cast and crew couldn't be more excited. With the MTV Movie Brawl behind us, we wanted to give you something else to look forward to, and we think we've found a good solution.  A few updates back, I mentioned that the team at @NeptuneRising have put together a schedule to re-watch the entire series before the film is released, and have been encouraging fans to join them in "live-tweeting" and discussing one episode each night at 8pm EST / 5pm PST.  Well, once that happened, I started getting messages from our team, asking if it would be OK to join in. And I thought that sounded like a great idea, so... 
 
Starting tonight, some of the Veronica Mars cast and team will join fans to live-tweet selected episodes, and stick around afterwards for a little bit of Q&A.  Last-minute changes are always possible, but as of now, here's the current schedule:
This week:
  • Feb 3: PERCY DAGGS (@PDaggsIII), for Episode 2x12, Rashard & Wallace Go To White Castle. 
  • Feb 4: AMANDA NORET (@amanda_noret), for Episode 2x13, Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough.
  • Feb 7: DARAN NORRIS (@golfstoomuch), for Episode 2x16, The Rapes of Graff.
After that:
  • Feb 17: RYAN HANSEN (@HiRyanHansen), for Episode 3x4, Charlie Don't Surf.
  • Feb 21: DIANE RUGGIERO (@rugz19), for Episode 3x8, Lord of the Pis.
  • Feb 26: JASON DOHRING (@jason_dohring), for Episode 3x13, Postgame Mortem.
  • Feb 27: BRANDON HILLOCK (@fanboybrandon), for Episode 3x14, Mars, Bars
  • Mar 2: DAN ETHERIDGE (@danetheridge), for Episode 3x17 Debasement Tapes.
  • Mar 4: FRANCIS CAPRA (@franciscapra), for Episode 3x19, Weevils Wobble But They Don't Go Down. 
  • Mar 5: JOSH KRAMON (@JoshKramonMusic), for Episode 3x20, The Bitch Is Back.
Want to join in?
  • Make sure you've got the day's episode cued up and ready to watch (e.g. on DVD, Amazon, iTunes, wherever).
  • Be sure you're following @VeronicaMars, @NeptuneRising and the special guest on Twitter.
  • Open your web browser to http://bit.ly/VM-Rewatch, or use your Twitter app to search for #VeronicaMarsRewatch.
  • Just after 8pm EST / 5pm PST, @NeptuneRising will send a tweet telling you to start the episode.
  • As you watch, join in the conversation by adding #VeronicaMarsRewatch to all of your tweets, so everyone else will see them.
  • If you've got a question, ask anytime during the day of the rewatch, and include @veronicamars and #AskVM.
 
More news later this week.
 
Rob
 
 
Project Update #68: 35 Days To Go: Let's Talk About Music.  (02-07-14)
Gang,
 
Music has always been an essential part of Veronica Mars. Over the years, I've heard from a lot of fans who still listen to the soundtrack from the television series, telling me that Veronica Mars introduced them to Tegan & Sara, Mike Doughty, The Faders, Something Happens, Cotton Mather, and more. As someone who loves music, it feels good to introduce more people to musicians I enjoy.  Music has always been important to me. While I was working on the film script last spring, there were a handful of songs that I kept listening to. Some of those songs were even mentioned in the script to describe the emotional tone I wanted for certain scenes. And when I met with Kasey Truman, our music supervisor, that playlist was the first thing we discussed.
 
Now that we're almost done with the final sound mix, I'm excited to confirm that many of those songs will be on the official soundtrack album, which I've just learned will be available for pre-order on iTunes and Amazon starting next week. And for those of you who also loved Josh Kramon's score for the original series, and were disappointed that it was never released for sale, even more good news: 
WaterTower Music will release not one, but two Veronica Mars albums in March:
  • The OFFICIAL SOUNDTRACK will be available on March 4. 
  • The OFFICIAL FILM SCORE will be available on March 14.
And I’ve got the cover art to prove it:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/609/028/e674c6c9c90ee5f6a51bdd0a31096ca1_large.jpg?1391797524
 
You'll be pleased to know that The Dandy Warhols are back. 
I was also going to tell you that the official soundtrack will include tracks from Mr. Twin Sister, Sufjan Stevens, and Emperor X, among others.  But then I found out that I'm allowed to share the entire track list with you:
 
  • We Used To Be Friends (Alejandro Escovedo) 
  • Go Captain and Pinlighter (Emperor X) 
  • Holding My Breath (Mr. Twin Sister) 
  • All Around and Away We Go (Mr. Twin Sister) 
  • Criminal (ZZ Ward - ft. Freddie Gibbs) 
  • Chicago (Sufjan Stevens) 
  • Stick Up (Max
  • Never Give In (Mackintosh Braun) 
  • Prosthetic Love (Typhoon
  • You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine (Lou Rawls) 
  • Second Chances (Gregory Alan Isakov) 
  • We Used To Be Friends (The Dandy Warhols) 
  • Mug Shot (Max) *bonus track - on digital album only.
  •  
For those who have been asking, one of the tracks – Stick Up, by Max – is the same song featured in the last 30 seconds of our official trailer. And yes, you'll also hear it in the movie.
 
More soon, 
 
Rob
 
 
Project Update #69: 31 Days To Go: Advance Screenings, Soundtrack Preorders & Official Tumblrs  (02-11-14)
Gang,
We now have just over a month until March 14, and just a few days until we're scheduled to completely lock down the final sound mix for the movie. I'll share a little bit more about the movie as soon as it's officially locked, but I'm relieved to report that we're just about there.  I know you continue to have questions, and as always, I'll continue to share answers with you as soon as I know them. If I'm not mentioning something here, it's because it's still being finalized.
 
In particular, I know many of you are still waiting for news on whether we'll be able to show the movie in more theaters, especially in other countries, as well as news about when you'll receive your digital downloads and DVD rewards. We expect to have more information about both of those questions in the next week or two.
In the meantime, here are a few quick updates that I can share with you this morning:
 
Want to see Veronica Mars the night before it's released?
As I mentioned in a previous update, tickets will go on sale for Veronica Mars this Friday, February 14.
However, we've also gotten a lot of questions from backers in areas where screenings have already been announced, asking if there will be midnight screenings on March 14. So, I asked Warner Bros about it.
As it turns out, AMC actually had something cooler in mind.  On Thursday, March 13, 2014, AMC will be hosting special Advance Screening Events at a handful of their largest theaters – and we've made sure that our backers will have a chance to get tickets before anyone else.  If you're near any of the following theaters, you'll have a chance to see an Advance Screening: 
  • Atlanta – Phipps Plaza 14 
  • Boston – Boston Common 19 
  • Chicago – River East 21 
  • Dallas – Northpark 15 
  • Denver – Westminster Promenade 
  • Houston – First Colony 24 
  • Kansas City – Studio 28 
  • Los Angeles – Century City 15 
  • Miami – Aventura Mall 
  • Minneapolis – Southdale Center 16 
  • New York – Garden State 16 
  • Philadelphia – Neshaminy 24 
  • Phoenix – Westgate 20 
  • San Diego – Mission Valley 20 
  • San Francisco – Metreon 16 
  • Seattle – Pacific Place 11 
  • Washington DC - Tyson's Corner 
  •  
Obviously, attending an Advance Screening means you'll see the movie before most people, but from what I've heard, AMC is also working on a few fun surprises to make the experience more exciting and memorable. 
Tickets for the Advance Screenings will go on sale this Thursday, February 13: on Thursday morning at exactly 9 AM (EST), I'll send out a Backer Update with details on how to get them, and you guys will have at least an hour to reserve yours before AMC announces them to the general public. If you want to be sure you don't miss them, you'll want to set an alarm for 8:55 AM (EST) on Thursday.  And if you're on the west coast, I know it's early. Believe me, I wish it weren't: I'll be awake even earlier to make sure the update is sent out on time.
 
Soundtrack now available!  (For preorder. Not for listening to.) 
Last week, I also shared the news that WaterTower Music would be releasing not one, but two official Veronica Mars albums in March: an official soundtrack and an official score. We're not releasing the score until March 14, in order to avoid spoilers, but as promised, the official soundtrack is now available for preorder on Amazon and iTunes, and will be released on March 4.
 
Why we've finally joined Tumblr.  (And why we didn't do it sooner.)
Ever since we launched our Kickstarter last March, we've done our best to interact with fans and backers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as the official Backers' Website. Just keeping up with those channels has been time-consuming, so despite our ambitions, we've been hesitant to jump onto more.  At the same time, we've always been aware that a lot of our most passionate fandom exists on Tumblr, trading news, suggestions, opinions, fan fiction, memes and artwork. There's a lot of amazing work living there, and while I can't begin to keep up with all of it, it's important to me – and to our entire cast and crew – to recognize the talent and passion that exists around Veronica Mars. That's why I was excited when Warner Bros proposed an idea called Veronica Mars Fan of the Week, where we've been sharing some of the amazing personal stories and creations we've heard from fans.
 
As we get closer to the movie, I want to make sure we keep celebrating you as much as you've been celebrating us, so I'm pleased to announce that we've finally set up an Official Veronica Mars Tumblr.
I'm not sure what we'll do with it long term, but for now, we'll do our best to share some of the artwork and personal stories we hear from our fans and backers almost every day. We can't include everything we see, but if you've got something you'd like to share with our team, be sure to let us know.
 
Finally, a gentle warning: as we get closer to March 14, there will be a lot more information we want to share with you. That means that these updates will probably be a lot more frequent over the next month. I'll do my best not to overwhelm you, but I also want to make sure you hear as much about what's happening as possible.  And later this week, we'll have something fun (and a little bit exciting) to share with you, just in time for Valentine's Day.
 
Rob
 
 
Project Update #70: An Early Valentine's Day Present from EW (02-12-14)
Gang, 
At the end of yesterday's update, I told you that we'd have something fun to share with you later in the week. 
 As it turns out, later came sooner than I was expecting.   This morning, EW revealed a fun surprise they've been planning for months, and gave readers a first look at the cover of their Valentine's Day issue:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/626/472/27f5776924e344b8161494370135deb1_large.jpg?1392216652
 
That's right: ten years after Veronica Mars first appeared on television, and eight years after getting canceled,   we've finally landed the cover story in Entertainment Weekly. The full article won't be available until EW hits newsstands on Friday, but in the meantime, EW also has two new videos: a clip of Kristen and Jason from their photoshoot (on Facebook) and new footage from the movie (on their website).  It's an exciting moment for all of us, and one that we wanted to share with you.  More soon,
 
Rob
 
 
Project Update #71: 30 Days To Go: On Color Timing, The Finish Line & More  (02-12-14)
Gang,
Me again. Remember yesterday, when I told you that I'd be sending more frequent updates?   I wasn't kidding.  The full article from Entertainment Weekly won't be released until Friday, but while we're waiting, I thought I would send a longer update to tell you a little bit more about the post-production process, and to share a major milestone with you.
 
A word about color timing.
A few updates back, I explained some of the final steps involved in mixing the sound for the movie, and reported that we had already locked the picture. After I sent that update, I realized you might also be interested in knowing a little bit more about the final work done on the picture while we were mixing the sound.  This part of post-production is fascinating, but also fairly technical -- so I asked my editor, Dan Gabbe, if he would help me explain it to you. 
 
Here's what Dan wrote:
Hello, backers!
Rob invited me to say a few words about color-timing, which is one of the last steps the film went through, just before we locked it. The color timing process is when the photographic look of the film really comes together, and when Rob and Ben (our Director of Photography) finally get to see the images as they had envisioned them. They work with our very skilled colorist, Jill Bogdanowicz, to review, alter, and balance aspects of the image such as contrast, saturation and hue. It's an arduous and important task as newer digital tools have given an amazing amount of control to filmmakers.
 
1. The image that the camera shoots is just the first step in a multi-step process. Ultimately, Rob and Ben know how they want the film to look, but they also want to leave themselves a lot of flexibility until editing is finished. On set, the camera captures a larger image than we use in the final cut; in the first screen below, you'll see that the footage hasn't yet been cropped to its eventual widescreen dimensions. You'll also notice that the un-timed footage we capture on set -- which we refer to as dailies -- can often look flat and washed out.
 
When we first receive dailies, the image will look something like this:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/627/869/6f8ac436300810c600e5e8b3fcef3530_large.jpg?1392241586
2. Before we start working in the editing room, the original shots from the camera are given a quick color timing pass, making the color richer and more vivid than it appeared in the dailies, and cropping the image to the correct dimensions. That way, we know we're seeing something that loosely approximates where Rob wants to go with the final image, even though we know it is going to change (and get much better) once we finish cutting the movie. The original, full-resolution digital files are so big that we can't easily cut with them, so the shots we get in Editorial are also compressed. They look good, but nowhere near as crisp and detailed as the completed film will be. 
In editing, we might be looking at something like this:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/627/892/d8d39320d0e7f91c7c77bcdb4abfe922_large.jpg?1392241780
3. Finally, when we're finished editing the film, the final cut is reassembled from the original full-res digital files. Final visual effects and title elements are incorporated, and Jill adjusts each shot according to guidance from Rob and Ben. Sometimes the adjustments are small, like balancing the look of multiple shots within a scene to make the whole sequence look consistent. Other times, the changes are larger -- like taking a midday shot and making it seem like it's late afternoon. It's amazing what Jill can achieve, and very exciting to see the final picture on a big screen. 
The final result reflects the color and lighting that Rob and Ben envisioned, like this:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/ksr/assets/001/627/897/90a68ddaf7093d276e8a964649bc05f4_large.jpg?1392241795
 
In this last shot, you can see how the whole image is brighter and cleaner, with Veronica, Wallace and Mac standing out from the background more clearly. You can also see how the temperature has changed, making all of the colors richer, more vivid, and less yellow.  Editing and color timing take a lot of work, but now that we've locked the final picture, I can safely say that it's looking great. We can't wait for all of you to see it next month.
------
Color timing might be interesting, but I know: it's not exactly exciting.  Let's talk about something that is.
The Veronica Mars movie is now finished.  Last year, on March 12, 2013, we launched a Kickstarter campaign to find out, once and for all, if we were the only ones who still wanted to make a Veronica Mars movie. You know how that turned out.  Exactly 11 months later, on February 12, 2014, the Veronica Mars movie is now 100% complete.   I'm not going to get sentimental just yet, but in honor of the occasion, I will take a moment to reflect on just how much we've accomplished together in less than a year.
 
 
I'm exhausted just listing it all.  Was it all worth it? We'll know next month when we hear the reaction from you, our backers, the people who made it possible. I have so many goals for the movie, but the biggest one is to please the Marshmallow army.  Of course, even with the movie completed, we've still got a lot to do between now and March 14th.   Here's what we're working on next:
  • The WB Post Production and Technical Operations Groups are now hard at work, preparing the finished edit for distribution to theaters, for digital download, and for mastering to DVD and Blu-Ray. (They're also the ones working hard to make sure that our backers around the world will receive the movie as soon as possible.)
  • At the same time, we're beginning to focus more on marketing and PR. Over the next month, our cast and I will start doing a lot more interviews and press. I'll do my best to share links whenever possible, and to tell you if there are specific dates and times where you can tune in.
  • There's also some work left in fulfilling all of your Kickstarter rewards. Tomorrow, our cast will be getting together for an all-day poster-signing marathon, and over the next few weeks, they'll be sitting down to record a lot of personalized voicemail messages and video greetings.
  • And, of course, we're making plans for the red carpet events in Austin, New York and Los Angeles, as well as our opening night panel at Paley Fest. We're looking forward to meeting more of you, sharing the movie, and getting to thank you in person for helping it happen.
_________
One more reminder: tickets for the 3/13 Advance Screenings will be available tomorrow at 9am EST, and tickets for opening weekend will be available on Friday at 9am EST.  I'll send another update with details at exactly 9am tomorrow, with details on how backers can get the Advance Screening tickets before anyone else gets a chance.   That's probably enough for this afternoon.
More to come, gang.
 
Rob
 
 
Project Update #72: Advance Screening Tickets: Available Now!  (02-12-14)
Gang,
It's very early here on the west coast, so I'll keep this short and sweet:  Tickets for the Advance Screening Events on March 13 are available starting right now, and as promised, AMC is making them available exclusively to our backers for the first hour.  You can grab tickets for the Advance Screenings right here, until they sell out.  Note that you may need to select a location where an Advance Screening is being held BEFORE you'll be able to see the showtime and select a ticket. AMC has also shared a few more details about what you can expect at their "Veronica Mars Fan Event": the advance screenings will take place on March 13 at 8pm, and will include exclusive footage from our red carpet premieres, as well as exclusive t-shirts and limited edition lanyards for all attendees.  If you do make it to one of the Fan Events, we'd love to see your photos, so be sure to tag them with #VeronicaMarsMovie if you post them on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to back to bed for another 15 minutes.
 
Rob
 
 
Project Update #73: RIGHT NOW: More Tickets Available for the AMC Fan Event on March 13  (02-13-14)
Gang,
As it turns out, I never got those extra 15 minutes of sleep.  We know that there were some tech and timing issues this morning, and that most of AMC's "Fan Event" advance screenings on March 13th sold out before many of you got the chance to purchase tickets.  Two important points to make here:
 
1. To help more backers get a chance at tickets for the Fan Events, AMC is releasing a limited number of additional tickets for March 13 screenings, STARTING RIGHT NOW.  To give backers a better chance at getting the remaining tickets, AMC will not announce them for another 30 minutes. If you weren't able to get tickets this morning, I hope more of you will get them now.  Here's the link: https://www.amctheatres.com/events/veronica-mars.  Out of respect to other backers, please don't share this news online. We'd like as many of you to get tickets as possible.  Again, these are the only 17 theaters where Fan Events are being held on March 13:
  • Atlanta – Phipps Plaza 14 
  • Boston – Boston Common 19 
  • Chicago – River East 21 
  • Dallas – Northpark 15 
  • Denver – Westminster Promenade 
  • Houston – First Colony 24 
  • Kansas City – Studio 28 
  • Los Angeles – Century City 15 
  • Miami – Aventura Mall 
  • Minneapolis – Southdale Center 16 
  • New York – Garden State 16
  • Philadelphia – Neshaminy 24 
  • Phoenix – Westgate 20 
  • San Diego – Mission Valley 20
  • San Francisco – Metreon 16 
  • Seattle – Pacific Place 11
  • Washington DC - Tyson's Corner 
 
2. Please remember that the tickets on sale this morning were JUST for the advance screenings on March 13 at the theaters listed above. Tickets for March 14 and opening weekend do not go on sale until tomorrow morning. Even if you aren't able to get a ticket for the Fan Events, you'll still be able to see the movie 24 hours later, during opening weekend, at a much longer list of theaters.
 
Good luck.
 
Rob
P.S. -- Our cast have been hard at work for the last several hours signing posters for you. Be sure to check our Twitter and Instagram feeds for photos throughout the afternoon.
 
 
 
Project Update #74: 28 Days Left: Tickets Now Available in the USA... and Canada!  (02-14-14)
Gang,
We've received thousands of messages since yesterday morning, so we know that you have a lot of questions about tickets, preorders, the AMC Fan Events, opening weekend, and international distribution plans.  I wanted to send a quick update this morning to clear up some confusion and provide some answers.
 
1. Good news: opening weekend tickets are not sold out!
It sounds like there was some confusion around the "AMC Fan Event" tickets that went on sale yesterday morning. The only tickets on sale yesterday were for the Advance Screening events that are being held on March 13 at a select handful of theaters around the United States.

2. Opening weekend tickets are on sale starting now.
Starting at 9 AM EST / 6 AM PST this morning, tickets for opening weekend screenings went on sale at AMC's website. And, unlike the Fan Events that were offered yesterday for a smaller number of select locations, you can now grab tickets for all of the theaters listed here, which covers a lot more of the United States.  Warner Bros is putting the movie in many more theaters than we hoped for when we launched the Kickstarter project last year. I don't know whether we'll be able to get the movie into more theaters. It will depend on how the movie performs in that first week. But here's what I do know: I know that you'd like us to. I know that we'd like to. I know that we'll keep trying to make it happen. If we get any good news on that front, you'll be the first to know.  Our team, and our cast, remain committed to keeping all of the promises we made during our Kickstarter -- which is why our entire cast spent yesterday marathon signing almost 5,000 posters. If you're worried because the movie might not be showing in a theater near you, here's the good news: you won't have to wait weeks or months to see the movie you helped us make. Digital downloads will be available for all backers within a few days of the theatrical release, just like we've planned since the beginning. We'll have more details to share in the next few weeks, once the final arrangements are made, but I think you'll be satisfied.  Tonight, however, we do finally have our first details about releasing the film outside the United States.

3. We will be releasing in Canada on 3/14, and tickets should be available now!
For our backers in the Great White North, I'm excited to tell you that we've reached an arrangement with Cineplex to release the movie in more than 20 cities across Canada -- and that more than a dozen cities will release the movie on March 14, the same day the film debuts in the United States.
You'll find more specific details on the Cineplex website, but I can tell you that the movie will open on March 14 in: 
  • Calgary
  • Edmonton
  • Halifax/Darmouth
  • Hamiton
  • Kitchener/Waterloo
  • London
  • Montreal
  • Ottawa
  • St. John's Newfoundland
  • Toronto
  • Vancouver
  • Victoria
  • Winnipeg
In addition, the movie will get a limited release on March 20 in: 
  • Barrie
  • Fredericton
  • Lethbridge
  • Nanaimo
  • Red Deer
  • Regina
  • Saskatoon
  • St. John • Windsor
 
By the way, in case I haven't mentioned this before: we love Canada! Rico – who is celebrating his birthday today – is from Canada! Our iZombie producer's assistant, Bob, is from Canada! In fact, I'm in Canada as I type this! And in case you're not convinced, we've even pay homage to Canada in the movie: 
 
(I'm not going to explain this. You'll find out soon enough.)  Finally, for international backers who aren't in Canada, we hope to have an update for you next week. We're still working on it. As soon as we've got more news, I'll be sure to share it with you.  More tomorrow,
 
Rob
 
 

 
How The 'Veronica Mars' Movie Made Me Switch From Team Logan To Team Piz
(By Lindsey Bahr, Entertainment Weekly, Mar 15, 2014)

 [WARNING: We'll be discussing major spoilers and plot points from the Veronica Mars movie. Proceed with caution.]
A dude with the name Stosh Piznarski was never going to have an easy time.  As a season 3 addition to the Veronica Mars universe, Chris Lowell played the sarcastic, manic radio host whom we all came to know as “Piz,” and it was fine. He was fine. He didn’t inspire, but he didn’t harm either. He just existed. It was college and Wallace (Percy Daggs III) needed a roommate. Why not make him part of the gang? We didn’t even blame him when he fell for Veronica (Kristen Bell) — because, really, who wouldn’t? He was like a little awkward puppy vying for the gorgeous, confident sleuth’s attention. She wasn’t supposed to even notice him. Not when the brooding, charismatic, and wholly undeniable Logan (Jason Dohring) was around. But, she did. And poor, pathetic Piz had the misfortune of committing the ultimate sin: He got in the way of Logan and Veronica’s epic, continent-spanning, life-ruining LoVe. That is something a true Marshmallow could never forgive.  Plus, the series ended infuriatingly ambiguously. Reason would suggest that she stayed with Piz, but the shipper brain is a crafty thing. There have to be some others out there who assumed that she eventually got back with Logan.

Predictably, when word got out that the movie would pick up with Piz and Veronica still together, the fans raged. I was right there with them. How could they do that us? How could they not know that all we want to see is Veronica and Logan make out again (and banter and smolder and whatnot). At least $3 million of that Kickstarter money was probably shipper cash. Even Lowell understood his place as the “lesser” boyfriend so poignantly that he was truly shocked there was a role for him. At Thursday’s PaleyFest reunion, he even said: “Honestly, I got this email from Rob, I knew about the Kickstarter video, and I legitimately had come to a place where I was ready to accept that I would not be in the film.”  You can imagine how surprised I was to find out that, eight years later, Piz is just fantastic and probably, controversially, the right choice for Ms. Mars.
[SECOND WARNING: Major Veronica Mars movie spoilers below]

In the movie, we meet up with Piz at his office. He works at This American Life. Ira Glass stops by to chat him up. His hair is better, his clothes are better, and he’s got something else-  the confidence of an adult.  A man. He is a hipster-lite dream guy, and Veronica’s got him. They snark and sass with each other and have clearly made a life together since we left them. He’s seen her through massive, life-changing decisions not least of which was her (off-screen) choice to deny her lifelong passion by eschewing the FBI, transferring to a different school, and picking the law as a career. You get the sense that their life is neither boring, nor passionless. It just sounds nice.  He even lets Veronica go back to Neptune to help Logan when everyone suspects that her ex has murdered his pop star girlfriend. What a champ! Has he seen Logan lately? What guy would do that? Someone who trusts his longtime love, apparently.
And it all works out fine at first. Sure, Veronica might passively pine for Logan throughout the first half of the movie, but she knows she’s in a relationship. V.Mars does not cheat. You even kind of suspect that she thinks she’s made the right choice. Logan might have calmed down, but he’s still violent and volatile.  It wasn’t till Piz was finally in the same space as Veronica and Logan that I started to care. When he arrives at Veronica’s 10-year high school reunion, she’s nowhere to be found. She’s out back, talking with Logan. Had this happened in season 3, there’s no doubt I would have been annoyed that Piz was about to interrupt this moment. But now I wanted him to interrupt. I wanted him to go out and get his girlfriend and just smile- no insults or witticisms needed. Piz has won after all. He and Veronica have a life together, they have fun together, and they can laugh and joke along when their sex tape starts playing for all to see at the reunion. His dancing at Gia’s (Krysten Ritter) after-party was just icing. Amazing, psychotic, charmingly silly icing. These two are perfect together.  Logan might still look great. He might be the first one to jump in and throw some punches when that sex tape gets going. But Logan isn’t her life. Logan is just nostalgia.

Alas, Veronica pushes Piz’s understanding ways too far. She delays her return to New York time and time again as she descends back into her obsessions (Logan and her investigative work). The final straw comes when Piz realizes that she would not be coming back to meet his parents, who’d flown to the city just to meet her. He breaks up with her over a cell phone, on the chaotic Manhattan streets as his parents linger in the background - fresh out of a cab, suitcases in tow, and waiting to find out when they’d be meeting this girl whom their son has been dating for seven years. “That loyalty, or friendship, or whatever it is that made you have to stay in Neptune…I wish that same feeling made you get on the plane,” he says, perfectly. “I have to go let my mother off the hook. She’s very concerned that her blow-out is going to flatten before you get here.” Exit: Piz.
Poorly played, Veronica.  I will admit that it was exciting to see Veronica and Logan hook up, once more, for old-times sake. That chemistry is definitely still there. But LoVe is not love. She picked the wrong guy.  It’s a common story, really. Everyone knew an alluring high school or college bad boy and their goofy, but nice counterpart who paled in comparison. Hopefully everyone even had a chance to have both types of guys pine after them. But high school and college end and so does the fascination with the dreamy but troubled one. Piz might have started out the underdog, but he’s also the guy who grew into himself and ended up on top. Because…minor dating inconveniences in an otherwise extremely privileged life build personality, probably. Logan just stayed Logan. In other (pop culture) words, at 20, the quiet beauties like Troy Dyer or Jordan Catalano might be your guy, but at 30, Michael Grates and Brian Krawkow are suddenly not only the more rational options, but probably the better one all around. Sorry, I’m old.  Anyway, I’m sure Piz is already dating someone awesome. As for Veronica and Logan? It’s not the worst thing, but it’ll never reach the swoony heights that it did nearly a decade ago.



Veronica Mars (2014) Movie Review
(By Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Mar 2014)

Limited Release: Mar 14, 2014; Rated: PG-13; Length: 108 minutes; Genres: Comedy, Crime;

With: Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni, Percy Daggs III,Jason Dohring and Krysten Ritter; Distributor: Warner Bros.
 
It's easy to claim that Mad Men or Breaking Bador The Wire is superior as art to almost anything you're likely to encounter in a movie theater. But when justifying the notion that ''TV is better,'' that's almost too easy. How about a brightly written, tartly formulaic, good-but-not-great cult show like Veronica Mars? Where does it stack up on the quality totem pole of big-versus-small-screen aesthetics? The shrewd, corny, enjoyable film version of Veronica Mars offers a clue. By letting us see a beloved but hardly prestigious TV show on the big screen (as well as on VOD), the film gets us to see, in a new way, the strengths and weaknesses of weekly series television that viewers too often take for granted.

Funded by a Kickstarter campaign that drew on its rabid fan base, Veronica Mars updates but preserves the smartly insular, Nancy Drew–meets–Buffy–meets–Emma Peel spirit of the teen-private-eye series. The film is set nine years after the show ended, and it takes the young sleuth played by Kristen Bell as a perky but alienated straight shooter and turns her into a full-fledged adult who must decide if her heart is still in the game of unsolved mysteries. Of course it is. Veronica has a job waiting for her at a money-minting New York law firm, but when a high school classmate–turned–rock star is found dead in the bathtub — and the death is ruled a homicide, and the suspect is Veronica's old flame Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), who was found on a sex tape with the rock star the day she died — you'd better believe Veronica will put that offer on hold and return to the cozy-but-corrupt hamlet of Neptune, Calif., where biker gangs roam the bad side of town.
I never really bought the plot of the Veronica Mars movie. Her investigation into a murder that has grabbed global headlines hinges on all these people she knows? And even intersects with her 10th high school reunion? There's something impossibly small-screen quaint about it all. Yet as directed by series creator Rob Thomas, the movie, like the show, is entertainingly fast-talking in a tidy, faux-serious way. Kristen Bell, if anything, has only gained in appeal: She's alluringly fixated, with eyes like heat-seeking missiles and a dry-martini delivery of lines like ''Kudos for rockin' the 'stache till it came back in style!'' Bell and Thomas take us back to the hard-boiled-gumshoe Hollywood of the '40s. Veronica will solve that crime, because she's got something in common with whoever did it: She's addicted to the dark side. Grade: B