Zach Braff on funding Wish I Was Here via Kickstarter
Braff – who directed, stars in and wrote the film – describes what $3.1 million bought
When onetime Scrubs star and Garden State directer Zach Braff turned to Kickstarter to fund his new movie Wish I Was Here there's no way he could have predicted the windfall that followed.
Not only did fans satisfy his original goal of $2 million in the first 48-hours, they eventually packed the filmmaker's coffers with $3.1 million. That's quite a head start on the film's overall budget of about $5 million.
For Braff – who not only produced the movie but wrote, directed and stars in it– money meant freedom
"This movie would not exist in any way I'd be proud of if it was not made this way," he told CBC News.
"The financiers who wanted to make it were trying to dictate another cast."
Braff heads the comedic drama as a struggling actor who is forced to pull his two kids (Joey King and Pierce Gagnon) from private school when his father (Mandy Patinkin) becomes sick. Kate Hudson co-stars as his patient wife.
Braff says he owes the entire film to his fans. Now the box office will tell if his fans think it was worth it.
In the above video, he explains what crowdfunding means for creative control.