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Veronica Mars movie fund-raiser passes $1 million mark in four hours

Veronica Mars, a TV teenage detective, could be back as a movie. A Kickstarter Veronica Mars fund-raising effort is setting records and aims to collect $2 million by April 12.

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Michael Desmond/AP
Kristin Bell may star in the (possible) Veronica Mars movie.

Rob Thomas, the head writer of "Veronica Mars," started a Kickstarter campaign Wednesday that needed $2 million dollars. Within 6 hours it had reached $1.3 million.

That's the fastest any Kickstarter campaign has ever reached the halfway mark, according to Mashable.com.

Kickstarter is a website where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas and can create a public fund with a time limit. If they receive enough donations within a given time frame, they will receive the pledged money, and may continue their project. In this case, the Veronica Mars donations must be made by April 12.

The show was essentially an updated Nancy Drew for TV with more of a noir feel. Kristin Bell played the title role, a high school-aged girl who moonlights as a P.I. under the tutelage of her father. "Veronica Mars" ran from 2004 - 2007, and many of its fans felt that it was cancelled too early.

Mr. Thomas has tried pretty much every other avenue to get this movie made. Warner Bros. told him that the show was not popular enough to warrant a movie. It's been nearly 6 years since the show went off the air, but apparently Veronica Mars fans haven't forgotten.

Warner Bros. reportedly told Thomas that they'd back the film – if he raises $2 million – and have agreed to cover all marketing and distribution costs.

Thomas writes: "Of course, Warner Bros. still owns Veronica Mars and we would need their blessing and cooperation to pull this off. Kristen and I met with the Warner Bros. brass, and they agreed to allow us to take this shot. They were extremely cool about it, as a matter of fact. Their reaction was, if you can show there’s enough fan interest to warrant a movie, we’re on board. So this is it. This is our shot. I believe it's the only one we've got."

The Kickstarter page has a series of prizes for each level of donation. For example, if you had pledged $600 or more (they're all out of these), Kristen Bell will record a 20-second personalized message for you. If you had been the one to pledge $10,000 (out of this one, too), you would be given a speaking role in the movie. 

Some have expressed worry that if the campaign is successful, it might open the floodgates for similar campaigns, and may raise from the dead projects that should have stayed in the grave (current project excluded, of course). Others are just happy that "Veronica Mars" may see the light of day again. Either way, a successful campaign could inspire others to try. So far, they have almost 21,000 backers. Will you be one?

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