Zach Braff Uses Kickstarter to Raise Over $2 Million for Film Project

Posted on April 28, 2013

Zach Braff has used Kickstarter to raise over $2 million in just three days for a new film project. Braff will use the money to make Wish I Was Here, a screenplay he wrote with his brother, Adam, into a film.

Braff says a big reason he has not made a new film since Garden State is because of the difficulty in raising money. He says there are people willing to finance films, the financiers tend to want to change your story. Braff explains that the money people get the final cut in the movie industry and not the director. Braff says, "'Final Cut' is the industry term for who has the final say on how the movie will be edited. A lot of financing deals require that the final cut go to the money people, NOT the director."

Braff says most films today are screened in front of test audiences. He says this can be helpful, but adds that it can be destructive if the people funding the movie have the final say and use notes from the audience to require changes the film.

Braff says, "However, it can also be destructive, as a financier with final cut may use a note from the test audience to force you to make changes to the film that go against your gut. You ultimately have no right to fight against these changes because you have signed away those rights in order to get your money. As a film-lover myself, I always want to see exactly what the filmmaker intended."

Braff says financiers also limit your casting choices. Braff was inspired to use Kickstarter following the success Rob Thomas had in raising money for a Veronica Mars film.

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