TORONTO — Zach Braff said Monday his new movie Wish I Was Here would not have been made if not for the power of the people.
“We couldn’t get financing from the normal routes and I was about to stick it on a shelf,” the former Scrubs star recalled during an appearance on Global’s The Morning Show.
Braff, who co-wrote and directed the movie, turned to the crowd-funding site Kickstarter and managed to raise $3.1 million in a month.
“This film was funded by 47,000 of my fans, many of whom live in Canada.”
The 39-year-old actor, whose previous directorial effort was the acclaimed 2004 film Garden State, used his day off from appearing in Bullets Over Broadway in New York to screen Wish I Was Here for an audience of Kickstarter backers.
Braff said he set out to make a movie about being a 30-something man dealing with children, aging parents and the search for spirituality “but in a funny and heartwarming way.”
And, although he plays a struggling actor in the movie, he believes audiences will relate.
“How long can you go after your dream? We all have something we want to do. The things we want to accomplish in our life,” said Braff. “I told my personal story and hopefully people can insert their own dream.”
Wish I Was Here boasts co-stars like Kate Hudson, Mandy Patinkin and Josh Gad but isn’t likely to be a threat to summer blockbusters.
“This is … for people who like these smaller, indie films that tell a personal film,” he admitted. “There is a whole market for that.”
Asked on which side of the camera he prefers to be, Braff was quick to respond.
“I don’t want to choose if I don’t have to,” he said. “I just love trying to entertain people and trying to make people laugh.
“Every and all. I just love doing it all.”
Wish I Was Here opens July 18.
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