Did Fans Ruin ‘Veronica Mars’ For The Rest Of Us?

When Veronica Mars took to Kickstarter last year, the most unlikely rebirth of a cult favorite TV show took place. But with tepid reviews of the movie and mixed fan reactions, some people are left wondering, did the fans of Veronica Mars ruin the movie for those that never watched a single clip when it was on TV?

Time asked that very question in a recent review of the Veronica Mars movie, starring Kristen Bell. Because the fans were directly responsible for the movie’s production in the first place, the article pondered if the producers were able to balance the delicate act of fan recognition with those who’d never been to Neptune, California – the fictional home for Bell’s character – a day in their life:

“For the movie to succeed on a level beyond nostalgia, it has to be more than the punchline to old jokes that half the audience has never heard before — but will those who put the money up for the movie in the first place settle for that?”

Wired.com also posed that same quandry recently, blatantly blaming fans for ruining the movie for outsiders:

“Amidst both the excitement over the release of Veronica Mars last weekend and the upset amongst Kickstarter backers over the lack of a downloadable digital version of the movie, one small aspect may have gone under-reported. Namely, that Veronica Mars is not actually a very good movie, taken on its own merits.”

But Kickstarter CEO Yancey Strickler had a completely different take on the Kristen Bell led Veronica Mars movie. In an article posted to EW.com, Kickstarter CEO Yancey Strickler called the Veronica Mars movie “one of the great fan stories of all time” and was completely overwhelmed by how the fans took to Kickstarter to rejuvenate this cult fave:

“I’ve been constantly refreshing my Twitter search for Veronica Mars. It’s been especially exciting seeing all of the fans talking about how many people in their screening were wearing their Veronica Mars Kickstarter T-shirts and how this is one of the most amazing days of their lives to be able to see this thing actually happen.”

What’s further, the success of Veronica Mars, middling reviews aside, could signal a shift in how movies of this size get made in the future:

“Something like 300 Kickstarter films have opened theatrically, one has won an Oscar [2013 Best Documentary Short winner Inocente], over a thousand have played at major festivals. Ten percent of Sundance, Cannes, Tribeca, and SXSW have been Kickstarter-funded films in the last couple years. But Hollywood-scale movies? That has been new ground for Kickstarter, and it’s certainly one that I expect to continue.”