Welcome to the Fund This column, where we look at a planned web series or other online video project currently in search of funding on crowdfunding sites. We’ll tell you what the series is all about and explain why it is worth your money. Do you have a project that’s currently being crowdfunded? Contact us to let us know and we may feature it in upcoming installments. Check out previous installments right here.
Project name: The Last Blockbuster
Asking for: $20,000
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Amount raised thus far (at time of post): $4,682
Days remaining in campaign (at time of post): 33
Description: If you didn’t know there’s still a bona fide, functioning Blockbuster shop open in the U.S., you’re probably like most people. But the folks of Bend, Ore., know the last Blockbuster well — it’s their local store.
In this Kickstarter, documentary filmmaker Taylor Morden and writer/producer Zeke Kamm are seeking funding to help complete their film, which they say will be a “lighthearted, family friendly documentary” about the Bend store, the history of Blockbuster, and the people involved in some of the few Blockbusters that lasted into the 2010s. Two of those stores were located in Alaska and recently closed, leaving Bend as one of only six Blockbusters in the world; the other five are in Australia.
Creator bio: Morden successfully ran one of Kickstarter’s most backed music documentary projects to complete his second film, Pick It Up! Ska in the 90s; Kamm is a longtime Hollywood writer, producer, and developer who’s worked on shows you probably rented at Blockbuster, including The Powerpuff Girls and Dexter’s Laboratory.
Best perk: Literally any level, because any backing level comes with an actual Blockbuster membership card (with member account, of course) sent to you from the Bend store. However, the $250 level is worth a peek too, because at that level, you’ll get a swath of reward items that includes a VHS copy of The Last Blockbuster.
Why you should fund it: Nostalgia. Curiosity. Respect for the folks in Bend who are still calling up customers and asking them to please, please, just come in and pay their late fees.
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