Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on March 24, 2014 at 02:19:03

My wife and I attended the Hollywood premiere of VM last week at the TCI Chinese Theater followed by an after party for supporters who helped fund the film through Kickstarter. We met writer/director Rob Thomas and most of the actors in the production and had a genuinely great time. Note: My wife snapped the above shot of yours truly in front of the theater just before her cell phone's battery died (...undoubtably this image contributed to the battery's demise).

Background: Veronica Mars has been a groundbreaking project in many ways. The unique pledge-drive funding and limited release model could be a test market for future modestly budgeted productions with a strong fan base. Bolstered by studio matching funds, the film was released on VOD while simultaneously opening on over 270 screens in the U.S. and Canada. It's too early to tell whether VM will succeed given the unorthodox marketing strategy, but the per-screen tallies for the first week were strong.

Of course, theater chains greatly prefer licensing films on a structured schedule that delays home entertainment access, but if VM demonstrates enough per screen profitability, chains may be more open to this idea in the future. Consensus-wise, the reviews from Rotten Tomatoes have been quite good and you won't be reading anything different from me here. Veronica Mars provides a solid story that is both accessible to fans of the much revered TV series as well as those who missed it when originally aired. The acting is dead-on and the pacing is perfect. Bottom line: Worth catching in the cinema or on VOD if unavailable in your area.

Cheers ...and two thumbs-up,
AuPh

Edits: 03/24/14