Comedy Pilot Kickstarter Unveils Stretch Goals, From an In-Person Schmoedown Tournament to a Live Event

Our Kickstarter for the scripted comedy pilot has hit its goal, and now I'm laying out the stretch goals, headlined by a guarantee that the 16-person Schmoedown tournament gets shot in person if we reach $250,000. Hit $300,000 and we unlock a live event on top of it.

I still have to get the official stats, but we are one of the fastest, if not the fastest, 30-minute scripted comedy pilots in Kickstarter history to reach our goal.

Hitting the Goal Means We Can Make Something, Not the Full Version

One question kept coming up: is the show already funded? The campaign is funded in the sense that we hit our goal, but making the real version is why the stretch goals exist. To put it in perspective, a Boardwalk Pictures pilot, something like The Bear, runs anywhere between $1.5 million and $3 million. We're not aiming for that. We asked what budget could get us the cast we need, with an amazing casting director and an amazing producer and director.

Around $340,000 to $350,000 was realistic for good people and a good director of photography, and we set $200,000 as the floor because Kickstarter takes its share and we have the sneakers to make. I think if around 5,500 people put in $25, we make the Boardwalk Pictures version. Boardwalk is on the hook too, and they don't want us shooting at a loss. What we're doing for television now is what a lot of projects did for movies, and backers aren't charged until the campaign ends.

Stretch Goals Run From a Music Playlist to an In-Person Tournament

Originally, the 16-person tournament depended on funding in day one, but I saw so much interest from competitors that I extended it to seven days, and we hit it. A full season isn't feasible because of what it costs to run, but the tournament is locked in. Smaller goals come first: I said the full music playlist I used to write and set the tone would arrive at $210,000, and character backstories and descriptions at $220,000. The graphic Craig made lists $215,000 and $230,000, and I think I said less than that earlier.

At $250,000 we guarantee shooting in person rather than digitally, plus 10 exclusive add-on tickets to the tapings. At $275,000 come exclusive tickets to see the matches early and raw, not necessarily live but once they're ready. At $300,000 we guarantee a live event after the tournament wraps, on the West Coast because that's where everybody is. I promised 15 matches, and with the live event it would be 17.

Where the Money Goes on a Pilot Like This

Simplified, crew, equipment and location are a big cost all on their own. Then wardrobe, makeup, a director of photography, script supervisors, editors, cast and music. Say we want a particular actor. If we can offer $2,000, the agent tells us to come back when we have more; if we can offer $20,000, it's a different conversation. If we match a top director of photography's rate, we might have nothing left for cast or location. We want it to look like it's been on one of these streaming services for a long time.

Asked whether studios would get a say once we shop it, Andrew Freed and I want the right partner. The dream is raising $350,000, making something special, getting buzz, then weighing offers. There are so many scenarios that you just don't know yet.

A Roughly $2,000 Drop Shows Why a Cushion Matters

We were around $202,669 and about 300 dollars from my next reveal when the total fell to roughly $201,134. I'm not sure what went down; nothing is charged yet, so someone probably scaled back or second guessed it. It shows why you need a cushion, because that's going to happen again. Stumbles are stumbles, movement is movement, and we started crawling back up.

Secret Wars Delay Reports Leave Me Torn, but I Think the Russos Can Make It

Multiple social media scoopers are reporting that Avengers: Secret Wars won't begin shooting until next January, raising concerns about its December 2027 date. I'm torn: if it's not ready, you shouldn't rush it, but putting Black Panther 3 and Ghost Rider first doesn't make sense if they follow Secret Wars in the timeline. Moving up to May from December is not unheard of, and I remember Star Wars went from May to December for The Force Awakens.

My co-host hopes they can, but said that with an interconnected slate, "what can go wrong will go wrong," and noted Marvel's VFX layoffs mean working with freelancers and outside offices. She thinks if it would compromise the narrative, they need to push the whole slate. I think it'll still come out on its date, because the Russos could have shot some Secret Wars scenes during the Doomsday reshoots. My co-host agreed that made sense, since many actors sign multi-film contracts.

K-pop Demon Hunters 2 Going to Theaters First Is a Smart Move

Ted Sarandos has confirmed the sequel will get a broad global theatrical release, according to the report, which also notes Del Toro's Frankenstein was in cinemas for six months in total. Sarandos is doing things right; to me he's the best executive working today, and it would be moronic not to put this in theaters. I think this is a no-brainer.

Chris Carr went to one of the sing-alongs and pointed to the 24.3 million dollars domestic from that five-day run, Golden reaching number one, and merchandising. In her words, "it would be irresponsible if they didn't." My daughter even has a poster in her room.

A sequel probably costs around 120 million dollars to make, and I think it would earn that production budget back internationally on its opening weekend. A run of 30 or 40 days would make Netflix money and set more of a precedent for theatrical releases than it has now. If Netflix eventually does buy Paramount and Warner Bros. in five years, after a possible Paramount bankruptcy, it could turn around and say it made all these movies. Paramount has a lot to do. We'll see.

VisionQuest Looks Intense, and Terry Matalas Is the Right Choice

VisionQuest is the newest Marvel series, continuing from WandaVision and Agatha, and the trailer announces a two episode premiere. I recently went through all of an earlier series of his over three or four months, and I have a strong appreciation for the way Terry Matalas tells stories. You can tell the dynamic between Ultron and Vision is going to carry this show, and the trailer teases another showdown between the two, which I think was one of the best things in Age of Ultron.

I like the visuals, and I like that they're building it as a full trilogy. I wonder how they're going to close this chapter out, but I think it looks intense and emotional, and I'm on board. I think they got the right person by bringing Terry Matalas in.

Chris Carr said she loves how stylized everything is: the glitchy technology, things phasing in and out like Vision's powers, and the humanoid alter egos. She wants to read VisionQuest and Tom King's run on The Vision, and said she's heard there's another comic storyline that's a big source they're pulling from narratively. "This feels like just that epic conclusion already just from the trailer," she said, adding, "this is some Marvel stuff that I'm really pumped for."

A Judge Clears Paramount's 111 Billion Dollar Warner Bros Deal

According to the report, US District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín signed off on a settlement allowing Paramount to close its 111 billion dollar deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, entering a consent decree agreed to by Paramount, the states and the Writers Guild of America. The deal was expected to close on October 6, ending a month-long stalemate and removing the last obstacle to David Ellison merging the two studios.

The combined company must release at least 30 theatrical films a year for the first two years and 32 for the following three, maintain minimum numbers of wide and independent releases, and produce or co-produce at least half of them. Missing the quota brings a 30 million dollar penalty per film. Also locked in are 45-day theatrical windows and a 90-day SVOD holdback for qualifying films. Failure to comply could force the studio to divest stakes in companies like Miramax, VH1 and Comedy Central.

This was inevitable. When people with money want deals to happen, they happen. Will they hit 30 movies? I think they will. I don't think cheat the system is the right word, but I think they're going to buy a whole bunch of festival films and keep them ready. If you buy and market something the right way, you still might lose less than you would by not putting those movies out. They could debut extras on Paramount Plus or HBO Max, or hold them until next year. And if they miss one, they can cover the 30 million.

Chris Carr Fears a Less Diverse Slate and 30,000 Layoffs

Chris said she had hopes because the attorney general seemed to be pushing hard, but once they folded, and some unions including hers folded citing concessions, she knew it would go through. She thinks Warner Bros. has shown it's willing to take a bath on things, and could simply eat a 30 million dollar loss rather than release a film costing 50 or 60.

Her bigger worry is that the contracts lack concrete structure on diversifying the slate. A merged studio inheriting so much debt will be more cautious about what it greenlights. She called K-Pop Demon Hunters an apples and oranges comparison, and cited circulating reports that a Disney Pixar film was canceled because executives thought young boys wouldn't relate to two female best friends. If audiences don't show up for original stories, she said, studios get the message to make more of the same. She also expects streaming prices to rise and an estimated 30,000 layoffs, calling the whole thing "in my mind a big bummer." She hopes the 30 film requirement might push them toward shoestring festival discoveries like this year's horror hits, but she's leaning pessimistic.

I get it; they have to prove it. When Disney bought Fox, Fox kept operating as its own company. Warner Bros. will run as a separate company on a separate lot, but still part of Paramount. At least it keeps the name and the legacy, which I think was important.

Warner Bros Fell From 21 Percent to 6 Percent of the Box Office

According to Variety, Warner Bros.' box office share fell from 21 percent in 2025 to just 6 percent this year, even before Digger opened, while Paramount sits seventh in 2026 with 5 percent. Last year brought Minecraft, Sinners, Final Destination Bloodlines, F1, Superman, Weapons and The Conjuring: Last Rites, plus misfires like Mickey 17 and The Alto Knights, and One Battle After Another, which won at the Oscars even as the studio reportedly lost 100 million dollars on it theatrically.

This year, The Bride lost nearly 100 million, Supergirl 80 million, Practical Magic 2 34 million and The End of Oak Street 25 to 40 million. I thought Practical Magic 2 was going to do really well; I guess the reviews hurt it. Wuthering Heights led the winners with a 40 million dollar gain, and Mortal Kombat II and Lee Cronin's The Mummy are expected to make about 10 million each. That's good, but not enough to cover the losses. With Digger looking like a major misfire and Clayface a niche thing, attention turns to 2027: Man of Tomorrow, Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and an untitled Ocean's 11 prequel.

They are poised to do well. It's the stinkers in between that hurt. Who was The Bride for? Jessie Buckley is great in it, and you have Christian Bale, but I don't think studios have a gauge on what audiences will pay to see. Chris said Warner Bros. seemed not to understand its own movies, marketing Wuthering Heights as the greatest love story of all time when it's about horrifically toxic people, and that The Bride was narratively all over the place. I saw Digger, and without spoiling it, it's not the movie you see in the trailer.

Union Lawsuits Are Coming, Though I Don't Think Much Will Come of Them

One audience member argued there isn't a single labor protection in the agreement. I agree, and they very well might move operations out of California for tax benefits. Lawsuits from unions are coming too, I have no doubt, though I don't think much of it is going to come. Chris noted SAG supported the merger, but said most of its members are not on board.

Will Warner Bros. bounce back in 2027?