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Comment by zeemonkee | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if there is a germ of an idea here. Crowdfunded TV shows (or movies). Somebody proposes an idea for a TV show, gets some talent on board who sign up if it gets X amount of cash, people vote with cash donations (maybe with signed merchandise and other goodies).

Maybe Kickstarter could do it, if not might be a startup in there.

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Already happening. The Guild[1] (a sitcom about the screwed up real lives of a MMORPG fantasy guild) is the most successful example that I'm aware of --- four seasons to date --- but there are others that may be worth following. (Pioneer One[2], about government agents investigating the weird, is just getting started, but looks good so far.)

It helps to have talent with pro chops, of course; The Guild was created by Felicia Day, who's also one of the acting leads; Wil Wheaton is a repeating guest star.

[1] http://www.watchtheguild.com/

[2] http://www.pioneerone.tv/

Any script in a world with a significant existing fan base could pre-sell dvd copies of movies before production, to generate capital and provide proof-of-support-of-concept. Why don't franchises like Marvel or Star Trek do this? Or do they already?

In a sense, Star Trek did - it was a franchise rescued from obscurity after being cancelled by its huge fanbase, and went on to make the series of movies, TNG and so on.

There may be earlier examples, but it's the first case I'm aware of where the fanbase had a direct influence on the resuscitation of a show.

Main issue is that the amount of capitol needed for a movie is insane. $10 million is a drop in the bucket, and that would require pre-selling 500k DVDs or so.

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