I don't like seeing Kickstarter as a celebrity offering plate . I also find the "rewards" to be incredibly self-aggrandizing: "For just $250, I will take 15 full seconds out of my day to acknowledge you as a human being and utter a phrase of your choosing into a microphone. Or, for $10K, I'll give you the incredible privilege of working for me." Gee, thanks.
Not to mention that Garden State was basically an hour and a half of me rolling my eyes from how obsessively hard Braff tries to be 'original'. I'll pass.
In my opinion, the beauty of Kickstarter is that it's a democratic platform. If you don't think the rewards or the project itself are worth backing, then don't back it. If you do, back it.
I think that's a little cynical. Kickstarter is basically a way for the audience to act as patrons of the Arts: the rewards in this case are just a bonus. I think many people would support a project like this with no reward at all other than seeing the final product.
Garden State was not a perfect movie. But it was a very good one, and I didn't find it as self-conscious as you did.
Meanwhile, I think your read on the rewards is wrong—-they are meant to be a bit tongue-in-cheek. There are less personal rewards he could have offered, with less work involved. I think it would be more off-putting for him to not interact with his fans and supporters.
In the end, that's the power of Kickstarter. Neither you nor I are in charge of greenlighting this film.
Not to mention that Garden State was basically an hour and a half of me rolling my eyes from how obsessively hard Braff tries to be 'original'. I'll pass.