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Tag Archives: Kickstarter
Former Kickstarter Junkie VIII: The Final Reward
March 9, 2018 By Randall A. Golden in Misc. Media, TV/DVD Tags: accountability, crowdfunding, documentaries, end credits, end credits scene, entertainment, Fight for Space, Kickstarter, space, space race, spaceflight	Leave a comment
Me explaining to people why crowdfunding is no longer my thing.
Hi, My name is Randy. It's been five years and two months since the last time I pledged money to a Kickstarter campaign. This week I achieved closure on that chapter in my hobbyist life at last.
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Former Kickstarter Junkie VII: An Oscar Would've Been Nice
November 18, 2016 By Randall A. Golden in Misc. Media, Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: accountability, animation, Anomalisa, Charlie Kaufman, crowdfunding, entertainment, Fight for Space, Kickstarter, movies, streaming media	Leave a comment
Belated news for the record: the long-awaited code for my digital download of Charlie Kaufman's stop-motion animated drama Anomalisa hit my email on March 15, 2016, forty-four months after its Kickstarter campaign was launched and thirty-four months after the original promised delivery date to backers who pledged at my level. Part of the delay was due to its expansion from the original proposed short to a full-length feature film. Part of it was because stop-motion is just really hard, probably. Part of it was because the subsequent, unexpected distribution deal with Paramount Pictures threw in a contractual complication that meant many of us had to wait till closer to the home video release date before our technically preordered goods would be distributed.
But it happened at last, and the thing really exists. They followed the wording of the pledge to the letter and delivered on their promises on their schedule. Unfortunately for me, the reward came with a catch. That's why this follow-up was delayed.
Former Kickstarter Junkie VI: Reboot MST3K? You Do It, I'm Bitter
November 11, 2015 By Randall A. Golden in Misc. Media, Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: accountability, Anomalisa, crowdfunding, entertainment, Fight for Space, Joel Hodgson, Kickstarter, MST3K, Mystery Science Theater 3000, television	4 Comments
If you've never seen an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, I'm really sorry that you've been deprived of the pleasure. I missed the first several seasons of its basic-cable run, but the Rhino Home Video releases began in May 1996 at exactly the right moment in my life when, more than any other, I needed powerful reasons to laugh, to overlook emotional pain, and to appreciate sci-fi puppetry. Joel, Mike, Crow, Tom Servo, and the rest of their motley crew were like a shining, snarky beacon through so much real-world darkness. I snapped up every episode as it was released and filled up a few shelves. When I could afford basic cable again circa 1998, I caught up to speed with the Sci-Fi Channel reruns, and the rest is a great time in history for this latecomer MSTie.
Some of its funniest fans were among the first online citizens I met when I discovered the wild world of Internets. My wife and I met several of those odd-fellows in person and quite a few cast members over the past fifteen years — at a St. Louis convention on our 2000 road trip, at Indy Pop Con 2014, and at C2E2 2015. It's been kind of a wild ride.
Today news broke out across my social circles that MST3K creator Joel Hodgson, with the assistance of the good Samaritans at Shout! Factory (the show's home-video distributor for the last several years), has obtained the rights clearance to pursue a full-on revival with the same puppets but probably an all-new cast — a bit like the Sci-Fi years in a sense, so some of us are bound to fret and complain till we get used to Tom Servo's new voice. Rather than rely on modern studio executives to come to their senses and right the wrongs committed by their soulless ancestors, Hodgson has launched an ambitious Kickstarter campaign that will allow fans, newcomers, and hopefully kindhearted deep-pocketed investors to determine whether or not the world's greatest Cowtown puppet show deserves another chance to live and riff.
As a fan, I hope it succeeds and I wish I could help. I also wish there were a way to do it without Kickstarter.
Right this way for more MST3K info! And for an update on this regretful ongoing MCC series!
Former Kickstarter Junkie V: Praise Lord and Gimme My Movies
May 15, 2015 By Randall A. Golden in Misc. Media, Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: accountability, Anomalisa, Atomic Robo, Backstreet Angels, crowdfunding, entertainment, Fight for Space, Kickstarter, Mary Lou Lord, movies, music	Leave a comment
Let it be known for the record that my copy of Mary Lou Lord's long-delayed next album Backstreet Angels landed in my mailbox on April 23, 2015. This delivery came forty-five months after its Kickstarter campaign was launched and forty-one months after the original promised delivery date. Some of the delays in the last year or so were for totally understandable, disastrous reasons. Some of the delays in the first year or so, not really so much from our Peanut Gallery's perspective.
But it's here at last, it's a thing that really exists, I can stop fuming about it, and it's mostly kinda pretty if I skip the one song with the F-bomb on it. Sixteen tracks of pleasant jangle-pop that are a mixture of covers and collaborations, with song/writing credits including the likes of the Replacements' Paul Westerberg, Beat Happening, the Green Pajamas, Nick Saloman from the Bevis Frond (with whom she was hoping to tour for this album at one point), and an ostensible up-'n'-comer named Matt Minigell, with whom she was really, really excited to co-write and duet.
The first single, "My Buddy Valentine", is up on YouTube and available on MP3 through Amazon, but I'm partial to her cover of Peter Bruntnell's "By the Time My Head Gets to Phoenix". The album itself has no wide-release date and no Amazon listing of its own yet. One of Lord's last Kickstarter memos indicated this may end up being her last album ever, but as of yet I've seen no concrete plans to offer it beyond the disgruntled Kickstarter base.
And that wasn't the only pokey Kickstarter project to deliver since my last update. Relatively speaking, it's been a generous half-year for their zero-accountability site.
Hi. My name is Randy. It's been thirty months since I last gave a single dime to a Kickstarter project.
Former Kickstarter Junkie IV: Here, YOU Save Spaceflight
January 13, 2015 By Randall A. Golden in Misc. Media Tags: accountability, Atomic Robo, crowdfunding, documentaries, entertainment, Fight for Space, Kickstarter, longreads, space program, space race	5 Comments
Moviemaking is like spaceflight. Dream big. Aim high. Don't look down. Curse the budget issues.
Paul Hildebrandt needs your help. For over two years the director and his crew have been conducting dozens of interviews, sifting through countless hours of archival footage, knocking at closed D.C. backrooms, stumping for truth, analyzing the facts, looking for root causes, and working hard to bring you Fight for Space, an ambitious documentary about the sorry state of America's position in the international space race, where things went wrong, why they're still off track today, and what barriers still stand between humanity and our return to the stars.
I previously wrote about Hildebrandt's project in July 2012 when I signed on as a backer to his official Kickstarter campaign. His quest succeeded and exceeded his formidable funding goal of $65,000.00, with pledges totaling over $105,000.00. For the next year-plus, Hildebrandt pursued more interviews, hit roadblocks in several areas (including any and all inquiries into Elon Musk's SpaceX program, which availed him naught), wrapped filming, began post-production, and updated us once every few months when properly badgered.
Then the money ran out. Hildebrandt was taken aback and humbled by the process, but he means to finish what he started. To that end, he's just launched a second Kickstarter campaign to raise more funds so he can afford to complete his work as he envisions it.
Hildebrandt needs your help, and so do I. You can make a difference and help this important project finish happening, in hopes that it could shed new light on a touchy subject and change minds nationwide. Also, if there aren't enough backers in this second round of donations, I'm guessing the whole thing collapses and I'll never see the rewards I'm still owed from his first Kickstarter campaign. I was kind of hoping to have those in hand before I die.
Hi. My name is Randy. It's been 25 months since I last gave a single dime to a Kickstarter project…
Former Kickstarter Junkie III: the Former and the Furious
June 22, 2014 By Randall A. Golden in Comics/Lit, Misc. Media Tags: accountability, Anomalisa, Atomic Robo, comics, crowdfunding, entertainment, Fight for Space, Jamal Igle, Kickstarter, Mary Lou Lord, Molly Danger, wplongform	2 Comments
Behold two panels from the cool thing that landed in my mailbox last week: Jamal Igle's graphic novel Molly Danger. This forty-eight page tale about the responsibilities and hardships of a government-allied teen super-hero is spunky, dynamic, written from the heart, suitable for all ages, and highly recommended for anyone who could use a break from comics about white guys by white guys.
This first volume was made possible through a Kickstarter project that was launched in August 2012. My local comic shop had a copy on the shelf in November 2013. As one of the 1,240 backers whose pledges helped make the project possible, my copy just now arrived, seven months after retailers could sell it and nine months after the original, estimated delivery date of September 2013. Unfortunately for everyone, U.S. Postal Service rates skyrocketed sometime between project launch and project completion, which means shipping/handling costs exceeded what he'd expected. Once the books were printed, Igle mailed out backers' copies a few at a time whenever he could afford to do so.
It's a great book and I look forward to seeing future Molly Danger projects, but this aspect of the experience didn't turn out quite like anyone had hoped.
Igle's story is ultimately understandable and pretty benign compared to others I've faced. Am still facing, in fact.
Hang out at any geek-news site, wait a week or two, and you're likely to see the latest headline about a Kickstarter fiasco whose broken commitments ended in teeth-gnashing and garment-rending. Here's a link to a recent one in which things have turned so grim and sour that the Washington State Attorney General's Office is involved. Since Kickstarter assumes no accountability or liability for its users' inaction or delinquency, it was only a matter of time before someone began channeling consumer rage into legal threats.
Hi. My name is Randy. It's been eighteen months since I last gave a single dime to a Kickstarter project.
Right this way for never-ending status updates…
Please Crowdfund My Awesome New Project So I Can Pretend to Make Cool Stuff
March 21, 2014 By Randall A. Golden in Misc. Media Tags: caveat emptor, crowdfunding, freebies, humor, Internet, Kickstarter, Kickstarter sucks, satire, scams, wplongform	6 Comments
Every good campaign has a catchy slogan. Pretend this is one.
Finally, after minutes of brainstorming ways to make a difference in this broken world, leave a lasting legacy, and accept money from strangers in exchange for pleasant-sounding promises, something has popped into my head that's hopefully the magic bullet everyone needs, and by "everyone" I mean my bill collectors and I. I hope you'll hear me out and then shower me with gifts so I can make my brand new dream come true if I work hard enough, the stars align, miracles happen, and no one stops to think anything through.
The Premise:
We can be certain of few things in life, but three of those things are these:
1. People want to kill fewer trees.
2. People will always be sloppy eaters.
3. People want phone apps to do everything for them.
The man who figures out how to combine those three arbitrarily chosen certainties will be the next man to rule the world. I agree with the puzzled look on your face that my path to world domination and self-esteem is littered with several obstacles, including but not limited to the laws of physics.
Intrigued so far? What do you mean no? Click here and learn more about it anyway!
Yes, There's a Scene (and an Easter Egg) During the "Veronica Mars" End Credits
March 18, 2014 By Randall A. Golden in Movies/Films/Flicks Tags: end credits, end credits scene, entertainment, Kickstarter, Kristen Bell, movies, nostalgia, relaunch, reviews, Ryan Hansen, Veronica Mars	5 Comments
Just think: those poor, carefully cultivated flowers would've had no screen time at all if this had been shot as a made-for-TV movie.
My wife and I were impressed by the first two seasons of Veronica Mars and jilted into a mutual depression spiral by season three. When creator/writer/director Rob Thomas launched the famous Kickstarter project to bring back the infamous detective for an unlikely feature film, I had mixed emotions. Surprise that yet another well-written but mercilessly treated series was taking the Firefly route to a post-cancellation revival. Disappointment that the campaign occurred during my still-in-effect Kickstarter moratorium and would therefore receive no pre-production dollars from me, through no fault of its own. Good cheer when the campaign succeeded without me. Skepticism at some of the clunky lines in the trailer. A tinge of geek entitlement because someone still owed me reparations for season three.
Unlike five other Kickstarter campaigns that have yet to keep their promises to me, the Veronica Mars project has borne fruit within a month of its original stated deadline, resulting in a finished product that opened in nearly 300 theaters this past weekend and is simultaneously available for rental via Google Play. At last the lingering question was answered: did anything positive ever happen in Veronica's life again after that dreary series finale?
A long time ago, we used to be friends…
Former Kickstarter Junkie II: Even Formerer
October 4, 2013 By Randall A. Golden in Comics/Lit, Misc. Media Tags: accountability, Alex DeCampi, Ashes, comics, crowdfunding, entertainment, Kickstarter, lists, Mary Lou Lord	1 Comment
The Smoke/Ashes two-in-one limited hardcover edition was made possible through Kickstarter and conscientious perseverance. Art by Tomer Hanuka.
My copy of the new hardcover graphic novel Ashes arrived in my mailbox this week. When I first put up my money for the project, it was a sequel to a well-received IDW miniseries called Smoke. During the production process, creator Alex DeCampi announced it wouldn't be a stretch for her to include both stories in a single volume. I'm certainly not one to turn down a value-added bonus.
This fabulous package was the result of a Kickstarter campaign that was launched in October 2011, successfully funded in December 2011, announced with a delivery date of December 2012, and plagued by setbacks too numerous to recount. Through frequent updates composed with above-and-beyond personal candor, DeCampi kept in touch throughout the process, provided backers with access to a digital version months ago, and generally gave the impression that she had every intention of fulfilling her commitments, no matter how much it would end up costing her in the long run, all without passing the budget overruns on to us. Congress should be so conscientious.
More than a few Kickstarter projects out there can't say the same.
The following entry is a sequel to a previous entry…
My Former Life as a Kickstarter Junkie
March 24, 2013 By Randall A. Golden in Comics/Lit, Misc. Media Tags: budget, comic books, comics, crowdfunding, entertainment, Kickstarter, musings, overspending, philanthropy	Leave a comment
Top to bottom: Ashes (art by Richard Pace); Jamal Igle's Molly Danger; Neil DeGrasse Tyson, interviewee from Fight for Space; and Great Pacific (art by Martin Morazzo).
When Kickstarter was relatively new and not yet a household name, it took a while before I warmed up to the concept. Once I dipped my toe into the pool, I had a hard time convincing myself to come up for air.
I loved the idea of artists, writer, musicians, inventors, designers, and other makers of stuff bypassing the corporate processes that normally rule their respective fields and obtaining the necessary funding to self-publish, self-release, or otherwise bring their works to life through the magic of crowdfunding, which in most cases works a lot like pre-ordering an item except you're also adding a generous tip.
At the end of 2012 I drew a line because I realized I'd gone overboard. I have disposable income set aside each month for doing fun things such as comics and movies, but Kickstarter was devouring more than its fair share and compromising my hobbies. With my son preparing to start college this coming fall, the time has come to batten down the hatches, tighten the belts, and find ways to slash our budget, unless some wealthy benefactor wants to start donating enormous sums in care of this humble blog.
Consequently, one of the first extravagances on the chopping block was my Kickstarter patronage. I like philanthropy. I like helping creators create. I like watching success stories in action. But other priorities have come a-callin'. My last pledge was in December 2012 (a Bob Mould tribute concert film); I can't swear it'll be my final use of the site, but any future contributions will have to be severely limited, judiciously selected, frugally committed, and wildly recompensed with endless freebies.
Thus I bid farewell-for-now to my active Kickstarter status with a look back at our history together thus far. The following are past campaigns about which I've posted here previously, with updates about their subsequent progress:
* Rich Burlew's phenomenal Order of the Stick reprint drive. A year after the fact, Burlew is still working hard to fulfill the remaining supporter perks that were delayed due to a severe hand injury. I've already received everything I was expecting and then some. (The OotS notepad used for a previous MCC entry was made possible by Kickstarter.)
* The Fight for Space documentary, about mankind's retreat from the stars. Project mastermind Paul Hildebrandt wisely set a distant but realistic delivery date of December 2013; as of January 2013 his team was still conducting interviews with relevant parties in Washington D.C., making the most of their surplus funding.
* Jamal Igle's Molly Danger graphic novel. Counting down to the release date later this year, Igle has provided backers with frequent updates and exclusive preview materials, including a heads-up that an eleven-page preview that will appear in Action Lab's Free Comic Book Day 2013 sampler.
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Previously on MCC:
Evergreen Wisdom from a Feathery Yogurt Head
2020 at the Movies at My House
My 2020 at the Movies, All Four of Them
My 2020 Reading Stacks #13: The Finale
2020 Makes 20 Years
Midlife Crisis Crossover 2020 in Review Before We All Agree Never to Speak of 2020 Again
Yes, There's a Moment after the "Soul" End Credits
Merry Christmas from MCC!
A Quiet Christmastime Sunday Brunch Masked Getaway
How Many Talented and/or Famous People Have You Unfairly Outlived?
The MCC Rerun Smiley!
Click the Rerun Smiley for an Oldie from the MCC Archive!
Let Google Translate MCC!
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Copyright Notice and Creative Commons License
Midlife Crisis Crossover by Randall A. Golden is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. All text-based material published as Midlife Crisis Crossover is © 2012-2021 Randall A. Golden. Except where otherwise attributed or excerpted for entertainment purposes under Fair Use, all other photographs are © 2012-2021 Randall and Anne Golden. All rights reserved, except where granted under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. If your act of sharing results in tangible benefits, it'd be awfully decent of you to PayPal me a cut.