This is incredible -- a huge demonstration of what Kickstarter can do, and an eye-opener about how movies are made or not made.<p>Imagine, the writer, cast, and crew all ready and eager to make the movie, missing only a $2-10 million check. Meanwhile, there are fans collectively willing to pay that much <i>just to see it made instead of not made</i> (plus some fan goodies).<p>In a brilliant stroke of efficiency (in the market sense), Kickstarter provides a way for people to make something happen that wouldn't otherwise happen for lack of $N, by providing $N. I don't believe people are in it for the perks in a case like this; I think they will pay purely to influence the decision of whether the thing ever exists. And sometimes, a movie is just missing a check. Saying it's "now or never" probably helps people feel they are contributing to the decision node of whether the movie gets to exist.<p>Of course, many ingredients of this particular case are important, including the low technical risk -- given that the original writer, cast, and crew are on board -- and low market risk, certainly from the point of view of a fan (vs. Warner Bros. apparently), compared to, say, some random movie that's not tied to a successful TV show.<p>All in all, I'm very excited about the future of funding content creation with crowds as patrons. (Disclaimer: I'm not an expert; feel free to tell me if I'm hopelessly naive.)