For those who haven't been following along, earlier this year Robert Rodriguez launched his crowdfunding project out of a new Production banner "Brass Knuckle FIlms" to create movies at his Austin based studio. His team set out to crowdfund a movie to be made this year, brought to us by fans. With an initial goal of $1.5 million, RR & co. hit their goal this week, then subsequently opened up another $500k to be invested, only to reach $2 million investment within 24 hours.
The whole experiment has been interesting to watch. From every investor, all 2K+ getting to submit a written movie pitch to Rodriguez, to how it all came together ahead of the fundraising deadline, then how with a few key marketing plays, they were able to even expand the investment so quickly. The hype has grown tremendously and it'll be exciting to see how the next steps play out as it moves into production.
In tandem with Eli Roth's The Horror Section fundraising a $5M goal ongoing right now. It presents a VERY interesting opportunity for name directors with production infrastructure in place to get fans involved and make new movies in a relatively fast pipeline. Chime in if you invested or are following along as well. Would love to hear your thoughts from what you've researched/are seeing!
Only famous people can do this, and 2 million is not a lot of money for making a feature film that will travel. Most serious studio projects start at 20.
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I’d have loved to invest in this project and see where it leads, but unfortunately, Brass Knuckle Films isn’t accepting investments from certain countries, including France.
That said, opening projects to a fanbase—whether through crowdfunding or, even better, investment opportunities—definitely seems to be gaining momentum.
I’ve crowdfunded two projects in the past, but I won’t do it again. What I’m looking is the ability to invest, earn a return, and grow my investment capacity for future films.
Maybe I’m wrong, as I’ve just started in the film industry and still have a lot to learn, but from my point of view, a project like Brass Knuckle Films is a brilliant idea. It allows fans to become investors and take a small part in the films they love.
Most of the time, movie investments are only open to accredited investors, and the entry ticket is way too high for most people. With a model like BKF, they were able to reach many more investors—and hit their funding goal fast!
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Willem Elzenga i definitely agree with you that only famous filmmakers can do this at a large scale. i think the interesting thing is how these "A-List" filmmakers like Rodriguez and Roth have resorted to this model in an attempt to maintain more control over their projects, while getting the chance to continue experimenting and also working with audiences who love what they do and using that fanbase as fuel for creating/expanding their own mini-studio capabilities. It's an intriguing experiment. Not something you or I could do tomorrow, but perhaps a move that spells the future of filmmaking?
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Stephanie Heden i love how Brass Knuckle lets anyone who invests - over 2K people(!!) - pitch an idea for the movie they're going to make. I personally can't wait to submit my written pitch to them and started drafting it the night I invested! It's a fun, interactive experience for film fans that I've never seen before and an exciting experiment!