Should Spike Lee be kicked off Kickstarter?
theGRIO REPORT - Independent filmmakers speak out against Spike Lee’s Kickstarter campaign and weigh in on whether or not it's fair for Lee to use crowdfunding...
Lee’s the latest in a Hollywood trend
Both Peyton and Candis point out that Lee’s not the first Hollywood star to utilize the outlet, nor has he been the only one to reap negative feedback. He may, however, be receiving the brunt of it.
Those behind the TV series Veronica Mars were the initial Hollywood entity to capitalize on Kickstarter’s abilities, raising $5.7 million to turn the show into a movie.
In May, actor Zach Braff similarly launched a campaign to fund his independent feature and raised over $2 million. His defense was that studios wouldn’t make the film without asserting creative control over his ideas.
For Peyton, these superstar crusades distract from the little guys who need the help most of all. He says the Veronica Mars team may get a “pass,” as they were the first to try it out and might not have seen the consequences, but everyone else needs to be booted.
“If you look at Zach Braff’s video [created to support the Kickstarter campaign], everything was extremely produced,” Peyton points out. “The amount of money he probably spent on the video is insulting to an independent filmmaker or somebody’s who trying to be one because they can’t afford to put the money into a video.”
Peyton used Kickstarter to fund his own project recently, a feature film starring Entourage lead Adrian Grenier and actress Mamie Gummer, daughter of Meryl Streep.
While Peyton was able to raise $30,000 through the site, the total wasn’t close to his goal of $110,000, and he had to find additional sources of financing.
He feels the platform should be utilized more in the style of Lindsay Lohan’s latest movie, The Canyons, which was funded in part by director Paul Schraeder’s Kickstarter campaign that raised around $150,000.
From Peyton’s standpoint, those like Lee hurt his cause.
“My project failed because of the backlash with Veronica Mars and Zach Braff,” Peyton believes. “People won’t donate to it because they assume it’s the same situation with a celebrity involved and a huge social presence, but I’m not anywhere close to that…The story of my film, it came together organically, and was a shot in a million that we got these people attached.”
The truth of the matter…
In an interview with theGrio last week, Lee admitted that he began his Kickstarter project in part because he isn’t favorable to the Hollywood system.
Referencing top filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, and Martin Scorsese, he commented that they could use Kickstarter, but it would be unnecessary because they are “beloved by the studios.”
Speaking with Bloomberg News on Wednesday, Lee further defended his decision, telling the outlet, “You don’t know how much money I have,” and, “You’ve never seen me before in your life.”
Regardless, says Candis, Lee needs to face the reality of the hole he’s dug.
“You want to be happy for them, and it’s great fans are getting behind and helping them make their film, but they shouldn’t be in this space because this is where us true indie filmmakers,” he says. “I feel like Spike needs to be called on his bullsh*t.”
Peyton concurs, deeming campaigns like Lee’s, Braff’s and Veronica Mars’ more publicity stunts.
“If they were just honest and said they were doing this as a PR thing, I get it,” he remarks. “Put a dollar up there, don’t put a goal up there, you get what you get. But because they’re actually putting a goal up there, it’s contradicting. They’re just not in the same category as striving independent filmmakers.”
He adds, “When you start a business, you invest in it. Spike Lee employs primarily African-Americans. If he wants to do something beneficial put your own money into paying people to make your film.”
Follow Courtney Garcia on Twitter at @CourtGarcia
