When creator/writer Rob Thomas announced that he and his cast were going to raise the funds to make a Veronica Mars movie on Kickstarter, the response was decidedly mixed.  The experiment was an enormous success, with the total topping out at over $5 million, but some were uneasy about the fact that Warner Bros. was essentially making fans assume all the risk by funding a film that they would in turn distribute.  Many wondered what this meant for independent financing going forward, and now another major star is turning to the fundraising service to get his next film made: Zach Braff.

Though Braff hasn’t directed a feature film since 2004’s Garden State, he’s hoping to secure financing for his follow-up Wish I Was Here with an eye towards a Sundance 2014 debut.  Unlike Veronica Mars, though, Braff’s Kickstarter is 100% independent with no studio involved.  Hit the jump for much more. 

It looks like a Veronica Mars movie will be coming to a theaters near you in 2014.  After a record-breaking month of Kickstarter donations, the feature adaptation of Rob Thomas’ (Party Down) beloved cult TV series has the funding to go into production.  The original goal of $2 million was surpassed in just the first day, but Thomas himself had a personal hope that they would reach $5 million by the end of the month.  While not everyone was fully behind the idea of using Kickstarter to fund the film, it is undeniable that this project shows the power of the fans and viewers.  If there is a dedicated following behind a TV show or film, they would be willing to move mountains and open up their wallets to see unfinished stories get that last chapter.

The Veronica Mars movie has commitments from stars Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring, but hopefully we can also see other cast members such as Enrico Colantoni, Percy Daggs III, Francis Capra, Ryan Hansen, and Tina Majorino in the mix.  Hit the jump for more on the project. 

I’ve patiently waited for the opportunity to include Veronica Mars in the Top 5. As one of my favorite pop culture artifacts, I’m thrilled that this past week has finally afforded me the chance. That said, I’ll reserve any and all debate regarding the impact and merit of its now famed Kickstarter campaign for after the jump. For now, I’ll just say that, as much as I loved the show, I didn’t feel shortchanged by its somewhat abrupt finale. Moreover, I never felt like I needed a movie to bring some sort of closure to that world and its characters. Don’t get me wrong, by series end I wanted more VM in my life. But maybe that’s a good thing. Looking back I’d much prefer a series leave me wanting more than continually ask me back every week when it can barely muster even a shadow of its former self (cough…The Office…cough).

In addition to more Mars talk, this week’s collection also includes our G.I. Joe: Retaliation set visit, the first red-band trailer for Kick-Ass 2, Jurassic Park 4 naming its director, and all of our SXSW 2013 coverage to date. Keep reading for a brief recap and link to each.

The crowd-funded Veronica Mars movie campaign launched on Kickstarter has achieved overnight financial success along with a heaping help of speculation as to what this means for other fan-favorite projects moving forward.  Joss Whedon (The Avengers) already fielded questions about a possible Firefly/Serenity resurrection and now attention has turned to a number of other properties.  Among them are Bryan Fuller’s dark comedy (ironically about resurrection) Pushing Daisies, Chris Fedak and Josh Schwartz’s relatively long-running NBC comedy Chuck and Ted Griffin’s short-lived Terriers.  Hit the jump to see that status of each of these projects and their possible future with Kickstarter.

When the Veronica Mars movie reached its $2 million fundraising goal on Kickstarter in just 10 hours, devoted fans began to imagine what other cancelled shows could seize this financing opportunity.  The first series that came up, repeatedly and emphatically: Firefly.  After all, no one can mobilize his core fanbase like Firefly creator Joss Whedon.  And Whedon admits that his first reaction to the unqualified success was “unfettered joy” because he feels like this is “a real game-changer.”

But before you get your hopes up, Whedon went on to explain why this will not lead to another Firefly movie anytime soon.  Read what he had to say after the jump.

The story around Veronica Mars series creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell’s Kickstarter campaign continues to evolve.  Yesterday morning we reported that the duo had launched the fundraising effort to raise $2 million in order for Warner Bros., the rights-holding studio, to give the okay on a feature version of the sleuth series.  They raised the funds in 10 hours and continue to bring in more pledges even now.  Though the campaign reached its goal, it wasn’t clear whether or now Warner Bros. had greenlit the project or just how they would be involved if and when they did.  Hit the jump to see the latest on the Veronica Mars movie.

This year we will see, quite possibly, the final two films from one of the most fascinating and innovative filmmakers of our time: Steven Soderbergh.  The director first burst onto the scene in 1989 with Sex, Lies, and Videotape, and in the following years he became a pioneer of independent cinema.  His filmography is one of joyous variety, and he’s proven skilled at everything from big commercial hits (the Ocean’s trilogy), to serious dramas (Traffic), to comedies (The Informant!), and even small-budget experimental films (Bubble).

Steve recently sat down with Soderbergh for a 45-minute interview in anticipation of his upcoming psychological thriller Side Effects.  As the conversation is both lengthy and absorbing, we’ll be sharing a small portion of the interview each day this week before unveiling the full thing on Friday.  Appropriately, we’re kicking things off with the filmmaker’s thoughts on his preferred digital camera, his thoughts on 48 frames-per-second, whether digital can ever match IMAX quality, what Kickstarter means for today’s burgeoning filmmakers, and more.  Hit the jump to read on.

This is what Kickstarter is meant for.  Community creator Dan Harmon encountered trouble working within the system, so he has turned to the public to fund a very exciting new project, Anomalisa. Charlie Kaufman scripted the stop-motion animated film about a motivational speaker who travels the country, but his life has become meaningless: “Suddenly one day, a girl’s voice pierces through the veil of nothingness. She fills him with such a rush of ‘aliveness’, he’s willing to abandon everything and everyone, including his own family, and escape with her to a better life.”

As if Harmon and Kaufman weren’t enough, Dino Stamatopoulos is also producing.  You may know him best as Starburns on Community, but Stamatopoulos is also the authority on iconoclastic stop-motion animation.  He helped Harmon write the Community stop-motion Christmas special and created Moral Orel and Mary Shelley’s Frankenhole, two gems in the Adult Swim catalog.  Duke Johnson of Starburns Industries will direct and executive produce alongside Harmon and Stamatopolous.  Hit the jump for the full synopsis and a pitch trailer.