“Reach Me” star Sylvester Stallone, director John Herzfeld and producer Cassian Elwes have successfully reached their Kickstarter goal of raising an additional $250,000 to finish the independent movie, TheWrap has learned.
The trio were left scrambling for funds when one of the film’s backers fell out of the project and turned to Kickstarter for help.
“Reach Me” boasts a star-studded ensemble for an independent film, with Stallone joined by HBO veterans Thomas Jane (“Hung”), Kevin Connolly (“Entourage”), Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood”) and Terry Crews (“The Newsroom”), as well as Kelsey Grammer, Kyra Sedgwick, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo and rapper Nelly.
Elwes and Rebekah Chaney produced the movie, which follows a group of characters who are brought together by a self-help book written by an anonymous author.
The “Reach Me” campaign started Aug. 20 and had 30 days to meet its $250,000 goal before Sept. 19.
Interestingly, the film has needed only 251 backers to raise $264,339, which breaks down to an average contribution of $1,053.
Brett Ratner was one of the celebrities who donated to the film, though Stallone may have needed a few superheroes to save the campaign. Recent contributors this past week include Grammer and Jane’s past characters Hank “Beast” McCoy and Frank “The Punisher” Castle, as well as aliases Peter “Spider-Man” Parker, Charles “Professor” Xavier, Scott “Cyclops” Summers, Bruce “The Hulk” Banner, Eddie “Venom” Brock and Steve “Captain America” Rogers.
Kickstarter contributors were offered script coverage from Herzfeld for a donation of $1500, a sparring session with former MMA champ Urijah Faber for $2000 and a song of their choosing included in the film for $10,000.
Stallone is the latest celebrity to launch a successful Kickstarter campaign, following Zach Braff, Spike Lee and “Veronica Mars” creator Rob Thomas, all of whom used Kickstarter to fund movies that the studio system turned its collective back on.
