Spike Lee wants to make an indy film and he’s turning to the public to help fund the venture. Like in the case of Veronica Mars fans who donated a cool $5 million to bring the defunct T.V. show to the silver screen, the Brooklyn native has started his own Kickstarter fundraising page.
Lee has a history of shunning Hollywood and funding his own films, but pointed to Mars and canceled doctor’s comedy Scrubs, which also shared in the multi-million generosity of fans and/or investors.
On the page, he shares the joys of filmmaking which is fulfilling no matter the monetary gain.”When you Love what you do it’s not a job, it’s something you would do for free because it brings True Joy to your Heart and Soul,” he writes.
But like anything else, money is an issue:
The catch is Filmmaking is an Artform that costs M-O-N-E-Y. That is why I’m appealing to the Kindness in your Hearts, to the Faithful who have given me the much needed Love and Support over my 3 decades of Spike Lee Joints.
With the current climate in The Hollywood Studio System it’s not an encouraging look for Independent Filmmakers. I’m not hating, just stating the facts. Super Heroes, Comic Books, 3D Special EFX, Blowing up the Planet Nine Times and Fly through the Air while Transforming is not my Thang.
I have a different vision of what Cinema can be, a different vision of what some under-served Audiences might want to see. That is why I am here on KICKSTARTER, to raise the Funds for The New Spike Lee Joint, to get this BAD BOY financed. Nothing in Life is Free and if you want something you got to pay for it. If you have liked any of my Films in the past, this is the price it costs to see another one (which can be less than the cost of one Movie Ticket). We feel the different levels on contributions make it affordable for everyone to GET DOWN FOR THE CAUSE.
Gothamist points out however, that Lee (like others in film) can afford the $1.25 million price tag and could use to money to fund a student film:
According to this website that figures out celebrity net worths, Spike Lee is worth about $40 million. Even if that’s off by tens of millions, it’s safe to say that established filmmaker Spike Lee has a lot of money, and possibly even more connections. Also, corporate synergy. And even without all of that, he managed to bring his first films to life on on tight budgets, presumably in a way that didn’t take away from his vision. So why does Spike Lee need your $1.25 million to make his new film? Well, because other famous people did it so why not—he explains in his Kickstarter video:
“Last week one of my [NYU] students told me about two big developments with Kickstarter. There was a tv show called Veronica Mars that was cancelled, they raised FIVE MILLION DOLLARS on Kickstarter… And then Zach Braff from Scrubs, he raised THREE MILLION DOLLARS for his film. So I heard about that, I said, ‘Oh snap.’ It’s a very different climate now, the only way to ensure as an independent filmmaker that your vision gets on screen is if you bring the money to the table.”
Below, you can watch his pitch—towards the end you can see him pointing out the long list of films he’s successfully created without our help, on a huge plaque that’s outside of his tony Fort Greene offices.
Spike, why not use the money to fund one of your student’s projects?
As mentioned by the site, yes there’s a video involved. So far Lee has raised nearly $18,000 and he’s got 29 more days to go.
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Photo: Kickstarter
