Zach Braff Didn't Really Need Your Money
Today in show business: Zach Braff's Kickstarter movie just got some real funding, two non-singers are joining the Into the Woods cast, and Bradley Cooper is headed to the kitchen.
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News comes today from Cannes that Zach Braff has found financing for his new movie, Wish I Was Here. "Wait... what?" you may ask, "Didn't his film already get its financing from the Kickstarter campaign I donated to?" Well, yes, the $2.6 million that Kickstarter contributors gave to Braff helped, but Worldview Entertainment, a film financing company — you know, the one that will make a profit if the movie makes a profit — has chipped in the rest. The film is budgeted at under $10 million. (Garden State was made for $2.5 million.) Oh, and, there's this: "With Worldview on board, a small percentage of the money raised will be returned in the form of a fee to Kickstarter, according to insiders." Not returned to the people who gave it, of course, but to Kickstarter. So lots of people who love Zach Braff movies basically just gave their money to Kickstarter and saved a couple mil for Worldview Entertainment. Kickstarter normally charges a fee on successful campaigns, and of course movie financing is complicated and none of this is all that surprising, but it does shed some light on the fact that the whole crowdfunding thing isn't exactly as pure speaking-power-to-art process as it's sometimes represented to be. Anyway, I know Kickstarter sour grapes are getting boring, but this seemed worth mentioning. Carry on, Braffians. [The Hollywood Reporter]
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Oh, one more thing about the Zach Braff movie? Josh Gad has joined the cast. You made that happen! Well done, you. [Deadline]
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Hm. More Into the Woods casting news. It seems that Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Pine, neither exactly known for their singing, might be joining the cast, playing the two princes who sing "Agony" together. I don't know. Whatever. I'm done being upset that this movie is happening. Those aren't huge parts, so it's not that big of a deal. They probably can't sing, but what can you do? This is the world, folks. And the fact is we have very little control over anything, even parts of our own lives, so why get mad about the annoying celebrity casting of Into the Woods. Who cares. Just so long as they don't cast Anne Hathaway as the Baker's Wife. Please don't do that, Rob Marshall. Then something might have to be done. [The Hollywood Reporter]
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Would you like Bradley Cooper to cook you dinner? Well, you will get closer to that fantasy soon enough. He's just signed on to star in the John Wells drama Chef, playing a chef "who destroys his wunderkind status in a blaze of decadence and out of control behavior. He cleans up and returns to Paris sober, determined to redeem himself by spearheading a top restaurant that can gain three Michelin stars." That sounds intriguing! I guess the whole foodie craze has finally reached Hollywood, as this production has just issued a cease and desist to another movie called Chef, this one directed by Jon Favreau, a comedy about a failed chef who tries to revive his career by opening a food truck. Food trucks! Very trendy. Anyway, Bradley Cooper in a white coat making beautiful food in Paris. Sounds fine, right? [Deadline]
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Michelle Williams and Joel Edgerton have signed on to star in a remake of the Italian thriller The Double Hour, to be directed by Joshua Marston, who did Maria Full of Grace. Meanwhile, James van der Beek's sitcom Friends with Better Lives has been picked up for midseason by CBS. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Here's a trailer for Riddick, the third movie featuring Vin Diesel's iconic Riddick character. Everyone loves Riddick. They're always talking about Riddick. It's always Riddick this, Riddick that. People naming their kids Riddick. The nation has Riddick fever. I mean, right? Why else would there be a third Riddick movie? It's got to be that everybody loves Riddick.
