The future of Hollywood: Make fans do it

The most enigmatic role in Hollywood is that of a movie producer, whose contributions to filmmaking are important and undefinable.

A director’s chair with “YOU” written on it and a film set in the background.

But you don’t really need to know what they do to become one.

Hooray for crowdfunding

Twelve years ago, Veronica Mars became the most-backed campaign in Kickstarter’s history, surpassing its goal of $2m to reach a $5.7m budget.

But today’s filmmakers are moving away from Kickstarter’s “give us money” model.

Instead, they’re giving fans a say in a project’s development and even equity in its success.

  • That’s how production company Legion M works, with crowdfund contributors getting a cut if a film does well at the box office or gets bought by a distributor.
  • Contributors can also peek behind the scenes, potentially getting more invested in a project’s success (pun intended).

Investment platform Republic and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez (of Sin City and Spy Kids) are launching something similar with Brass Knuckle Films, a studio dedicated to fan-backed action movies, per Fast Company.

  • Rodriguez says there’s an insatiable appetite for action movies, no matter who makes them.
  • Why not let fans fund the movies, profit from them, get involved in the production, and even pitch their ideas?

The key gimmick…

… with Brass Knuckle is that every investor can submit a movie idea.

  • Rodriguez will pick the top 10.
  • The finalists will pitch their movies, “Shark Tank”-style, and Rodriguez will pick one to actually make.
  • In theory, everyone involved will then be invested (pun intended, again) in the film being a hit.

Financial specifics, including whether the original creator gets a larger cut or whether unchosen creators retain the rights to their pitches, remain to be seen.

Maybe check on that before submitting your dream idea about a retired assassin who comes back for one last job.

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Topics: Investing Music

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