Kristen Bell in orbit over Veronica Mars movie
Call it the curious case of the business of show, or how Veronica Mars survived a certain death by cancellation. The solution was almost six years in the making. Here is a breakdown of the mystery solved:
Clue 1:
Veronica Mars show runner Rob Thomas felt he had some unfi nished creative stuff to resolve when the cult series about the teen private eye was cancelled in 2007 after three seasons. How about a movie? It made sense to more than a few people including Kristen Bell who played the kid detective. “Rob would keep me updated on the progress of the movie regularly, so that was always a positive for me,” Bell said recently.
Clue 2:
It came down to the fun in funding. Initially, the studio folks who owned the rights to the show weren’t so sure a fi lm was the way to go for next steps. They ran some numbers and didn’t like the bottom line. So, Thomas ran to the online site Kickstarter for support and apparently he had lots, mainly from the Mars followers. More than 91,000 contributors forked over a combined $ 5.7 million US so they could continue the Veronica Mars adventure in a cinematic format.
Clue 3:
All involved were optimistic the narrative would age well. Thomas, who directed the whodunit comedy and cowrote the script, has Bell’s grown- up but still caustic Veronica returning to her hometown of Neptune, Calif., for a high school reunion. Naturally, she ends up involved in a murder mystery.
Clue 4:
There was nothing fancy about the shoot in Los Angeles last summer. Filming wrapped after less than a month, but Thomas and Bell ( who’s an executive producer) reconnected easily and effi ciently. “Rob and I had and have such a great working relationship,” Bell said.
Clue 5:
Get it while it’s hot. The fi lm’s funding is unique, and so is its release schedule. Veronica Mars opens Friday in a limited number of North American theatres and should be available digitally to buy and rent at the same time. But the movie wasn’t made with just the hopelessly devoted in mind. “It was of the utmost importance to not alienate our super fans but we are also hopefully welcoming new fans,” Bell said.