Thursday 16 May 2013

Star of Pitch Perfect and Twilight, Anna Kendrick, is another name Zach Braff can add to the cast of his immensely successful Kickstarter project, Wish I was here. Braff's follow up feature to his 2004 indie hit, Garden State, has attracted a lot of attention since he released his first Kickstarter video. Inspired by the success of the Veronica Mars film that successfully raised over $4 million. And it didnt take long until the $2 million dollar mark was hit with Scrubs and Garden State fans backing their own hard earned cash in order to see Braff return to our screens. Yet the project hit the news when it was revealed that Worldview Entertainment backed the independently funded film with a healthy $8 million, pushing the total budget up to just over $10 million. CEO of Worldview Entertainment said at Cannes Film Festival this week: "Zach has proven again that he is a creative force in independent film, and we were immediately drawn to his powerful and unique story." With film-makers, some as acclaimed as Charlie Kaufman, using sites like Kickstarter in order to avoid more traditional funding, it could just start becoming a place for rich financial backers to poach the best new films.

Despite the controversy around Braff's new project, with a cast including Braff himself, Kendrick and Mandy Patinkin it surely will delight the fans that have generously backed it. Kendrick's popularity has grown since starting out as part of the supporting cast of the Twilight films and has managed to successfully leave the franchise behind her to accumulate a mass fan base through starring in the likes of Up in the Air alongside George Clooney, touching comedy 50/50 and winter hit, Pitch Perfect. Penned by Braff and his brother, Adam Braff, Wish I was here carries on the same themes as Garden State just a decade further down the line but don't be mistaken, it is not a sequel. Set to see Braff play a struggling actor/father, it surely will delight those who funded it as well as quench our first for more Braff after his nine year hiatus from directing.  

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