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.
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.
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
|
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 #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)
- 50 pairs of tickets to the LA Premiere
($750)
- 50 pairs of tickets to the NYC
Premiere ($750)
- 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.
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!)
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.
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.
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).
- 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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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
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!
___
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.
• 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.
• 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
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.
• 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.
• 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:
- Part 1: Donut Run
- Part 2: The Official Panel
- Part 3: Meeting Fans
- Part 4: Fan Event & Afterparty
- Part 5: Behind The Scenes
(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.
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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...
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...
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.
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.
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.
1. AMC has
released a list of theaters where Veronica Mars will be shown in the
USA.
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:
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.
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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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.
- We raised $2.5 million dollars in less than 24 hours.
- We raised $5.7 million dollars in
one month, setting several new records.
- We finished a first draft of the script before the Kickstarter even
ended.
- We got our entire cast signed in time to start shooting in June.
- We got Ryan so excited that he made a music video for you.
- We shot our entire movie in just 23
days, starting June 17 and wrapping on July 23.
- We returned to Comic-Con for a packed Hall H panel and shared our first footage.
- We launched a private website so that we could share more content
with you.
- We posted behind-the-scenes photos
from every single day of
primary production.
- We spent several months editing the movie, adding in music, and mixing the sound.
- We managed to produce and ship more
than 80,000 t-shirts as Kickstarter rewards.
- We got the chance to screen not just
in a handful of theaters, but all over the United States.
- We released our official poster and our official theatrical trailer.
- We announced the track list for the
upcoming official soundtrack album.
- We got onto the cover of Entertainment Weekly.
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.
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
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