We reported on the Tony Hawk game documentary, Pretending I'm a Superman, when its crowdfunding campaign launched last month. Well, now it's over, and it's come up short of its funding goal. However, if you were hoping to see the documentary one day, then you're in luck. The team has released a statement, saying that production will continue.
Pretending I'm a Superman: The Tony Hawk Game Story looks to cover the entire game series' history, from Hawk himself pitching the game to the ultimate rise and fall of the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise. The documentary is also going to explore how the games helped skateboarding surge in popularity during the late '90s and early 2000s. You can check out the Indiegogo trailer here.
It was hoping to raise $75,000 with its crowdfunding campaign, but it only brought in 23 percent of that: $17,409 from 291 backers. The production team stated that it won't relaunch or extend the campaign, instead opting to collect the full amount the documentary has raised and move on with production.
"Our plan was never to entirely rely on an Indiegogo campaign," reads the statement, which was posted on Twitter. "If we could have received the full sum, the process of making the documentary may have gone faster, but we are in it for the long or short haul regardless. Multiple sponsors have shown great interest and because of that we'll be able to continue."
Crowdfunding campaigns receiving help from publishers, sponsors, or other sources isn't an unusual thing. Several crowdfunded games, including Mighty No. 9 and Bloodstained, have worked with publishers after their successful campaigns ended. As for unsuccessful campaigns, Citizens of Earth worked with Atlus to finish the Earthbound-like RPG and release it on several platforms. However, the difference here is that Citizens of Earth didn't collect any of its crowd-sourced funding.
On the documentary's Indiegogo page, it shows a pie chart of how the funds would be used. The different sections include pre-production, shooting, and music licensing. However, the documentary didn't reach the full funding target, so it's unclear how the crowdfunded money will be used. We've contacted producer Ralph D'Amato about this and whether the production will still accept donations from fans who wish to support the documentary. We'll update this article if we hear back.
Update: D'amato and director Ludvig Gur responded to my request for comment, letting me know that the crowdfunded money will mostly go towards "shooting permits, camera rentals, [and] paying the crew," among other things. They also told me they'll be launching a website where fans can donate money to the project.
