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Zach Braff's crowdfunded 'Wish I Was Here' reportedly bought for $2.75 million

Zach Braff's crowdfunded 'Wish I Was Here' reportedly bought for $2.75 million

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According to Variety, the distribution rights to Wish I Was Here — the second film written and directed by actor Zach Braff after 2004's Garden State — have been purchased by Focus Features in a deal worth $2.75 million. Deadline reports the comedy drama will reach 500 screens on its theatrical release in the US.

The movie, co-written by Braff's brother Adam, was partially funded by Kickstarter. Braff took to the crowdfunding site in April last year with a goal of raising $2 million. That money, he said, would help him retain creative control of the picture, but his project received criticism from people who felt celebrities with Braff's wealth and connections should stick with traditional funding models rather than use the ostensibly democratic crowdfunding model. Kickstarter themselves weighed in on the debate, saying that famous people were fully entitled to pitch their projects. Wish I Was Here went on to earn $3.1 million of its $5 million budget through the site.

The movie was reportedly purchased by Focus Features for $2.75 million

Filming and production on Wish I Was Here is already complete. It stars Kate Hudson and Jim Parsons, with the multi-talented Braff playing actor, husband, and father Aidan Bloom, attempting to home-school his children and find meaning in life at the age of 35 after his own father is struck down by illness. The movie premiered at Sundance Film Festival last weekend, and received mixed reviews. Many were positive — The Hollywood Reporter called it a "more mature work" than the sometimes-mawkish Garden State — but others felt the movie would've benefited from a stricter editing process.