[nonchalance]

This is a terrible analysis that fails to understand why veronica mars was so successful.

As discussed here when the VM kickstarter succeeded, there was a very loyal fanbase to the series and there hadn't been a new show or movie in years (since 2007). There was a ton of latent demand for a product.

If I were doing this analysis, I'd try to separate established brands from new concepts. Bell's project to a great extent was driven by the brand and Braff's project leveraged Garden State. Since Spike Lee's project was entirely driven by his name, I'd look at his with a different lens

The best part of this article is the quote "Judging a trend from 3 data points isn’t the wisest thing to do"

[thibautdavoult]

That's a fair point on VM's loyal fanbase that was lingering since 2007. But Braff's project leveraged Garden State as much as Lee's Leveraged Malcolm X and others of his past films. Your argument is biting its own tail: You're saying Lee's project was entirely driven by his name, but that's because Lee made it so. He could have made a more convincing video or written a better text giving more info (just like Braff did) but he didn't. My point is that he could have been more successful if he had put in more effort.

That's the whole point: Spike Lee's past films should outweigh Braff's effort with Garden State when it comes to convincing people about their respective ability to make good films, but it didn't.

[nonchalance]

Braff pitched "Wish I Was Here" as a spiritual successor to Garden State:

> I was about to sign a typical financing deal in order to get the money to make "Wish I Was Here," my follow up to “Garden State.” It would have involved making a lot of sacrifices I think would have ultimately hurt the film.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1869987317/wish-i-was-he...

Spike Lee isn't pitching the latest project as a continuation of Malcolm X

[thibautdavoult]

Maybe it's a language thing on my part, but for me "my follow up" means "my next project after", which doesn't imply any continuation when it comes to the movies' contents. (It's possible I got that wrong but at least you know where I'm coming from)