At the time of writing, the Joan Didion documentary We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live, is fully funded, with $15,000 extra.* Even though the campaign is only in its second day, with tweets like this it’s no wonder it’s received such backing :

We clearly didn’t realize how badly we wanted a documentary about Didion, or how we really needed a chance at getting her sunglasses for a cool $2,500 (at the time of writing, two pairs are still available).

Crowdfunding websites like Kickstarter have allowed fans a chance to get involved with projects of creatives that they love. The trend arguably began in March 2013 with the campaign to make the Veronica Mars movie. The fan response was tremendous and went $500,000 over its $2m goal in the first day. This was quickly followed by Zach Braff’s pet project Wish I Was Here, and Spike Lee’s untitled film project, “about humans who are addicted to blood.” For each campaign, fans contributed to work of a filmmaker they loved and with their pledge could claim some level of ‘involvement’ in the project, even if they just had an exclusive T-shirt to show for it.

In the case of the campaign for We Tell Ourselves Stories in Order to Live, it reveals the desire of the public (or at least, Joan Didion’s very devoted fan base) to connect with Didion, the intensely private person behind the books and essays, through the documentary and pledge rewards.

Tell us:

We want to hear from our readers: Who (or what) is next? Who should be the subject of the next great crowd-funded documentary? What rewards or perks would entice you to empty out your savings?

Share with us in the comments below and we’ll feature our favorite responses.

*Full disclosure: I pledged a contribution for the Joan Didion documentary