It wouldn’t be long before a great filmmaker took on crowd-funding. Although this still-young process has taken some time — Paul Schrader‘s was more of an experiment; Charlie Kaufman is more a screenwriter, for one thing; Zach Braff and Rob Thomas don’t count, natch — the day is now here: Spike Lee has launched a campaign for his upcoming, untitled project, which the site’s page (and obligatory promotional video) only promises to center on “[h]uman beings who are addicted to blood,” complete with “a lot of sex.” (We’re assured that it is not Blacula, thankfully.) To help steer through this “motherfucking tough business,” the man who brought us Do the Right Thing is asking for our help — $1.25 million-worth, to be exact.
Some will scoff at the notion of a respected director requesting financial assistance from regular folk — especially when he has a studio project arriving in three months’ time — but, as was the case with last year’s self-financed Red Hook Summer, some titles don’t excite those who write the big checks; there are only so many of these films Lee can fund for himself, too. (Hence separating him from the Scrubs actor.) “Super Heroes, Comic Books, 3D Special EFX, Blowing up the Planet Nine Times and Fly through the Air while Transforming is not my Thang,” the filmmaker says in a lengthy note — so why not help a living legend pipe up some more? Personally, I look forward to throwing a few dollars the man’s way.
Watch the video below and see the Kickstarter progress: