Spike Lee hits his $1.25-million Kickstarter goal for new film
Following Zach Braff and “Veronica Mars,” Spike Lee has reached his online fundraising goal of $1.25 million for a new film.
Lee, best known for directing films such as “Do the Right Thing” and “Malcolm X,” took to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter last month to ask fans to donate money to the project.
He reached his goal Friday with four days remaining in the 30-day campaign. If he had not generated the total amount, he would have recieved none of the funds.
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As of this writing, he has raised more than $1.29 million with more than 5,400 backers. In a post thanking supporters, he encouraged people to continue contributing. “Let’s keep going,” he said. “Why stop now? Thank you to all of our Backers that made this happen. We wouldn’t have gotten here without you.”
Lee hasn’t disclosed many details of the film, or even a title, instead labeling his Kickstarter page as “The Newest Hottest Spike Lee Joint” and describing it as “funny, sexy and bloody” and “a new kind of love story.” It will be a thriller, he said.
However, he reassured visitors to the page, it will not be a remake of “Blacula,” the 1972 horror blaxploitation film about an African prince-turned-vampire who terrorizes modern Los Angeles.
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“I’m doing a semi-genre film about addiction,” he wrote. “These people are addicted to blood. Yet, however, they are not vampires. It’s going to be sexy, humorous and bloody. To me that’s a unique combination.
Like the Braff campaign, which raised more than $3 million, Lee’s effort has received considerable backlash on social media sites, though it has recieved donations from Steven Soderbergh and Neil Gaiman.
Lee’s fund has received more than 35 pledges of $10,000 or more.
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