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Kickstarter crowdfunded, Zach Braff’s latest film is loved by many, not including critics.
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TV Star turned director Zach Braff has written and directed Wish I Was here, to be released only in New York and Los Angeles July 18. The movie will then be go into wide release a week later.
Braff himself stars as Aidan Bloom, an actor and family man having somewhat of an early midlife crisis at 35. Kate Hudson plays his wife Sarah, and Mandy Patinkin plays his ailing father Saul.
Braff will also be reunited with his Scrubs co-star Donald Faison. The script was co-written by Braff’s older brother Adam, who is known more for his work in the art department of television programs and movies such as Spanglish. This marks only his third writing credit.
An independent movie, the production was financed through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign that was started in April 2013. The producers set a goal of $2 million, which they reached in only three days and eventually spent an estimated $6 million on the project which took only 25 days to film. Braff spent some of his own money on it.
Wish I was Here was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January. Since then it has been received less than favorably by the critics. The website Rotten Tomatoes gives it a meager 36% rating based on a survey of reviews from publications such as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. But it also gives the picture an 89% audience rating. These numbers are subject to change once the movie is released.
Zach Braff, 39, was born and raised in New Jersey. He graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in film. He also attended the performing arts school Stagedoor Manor where Natalie Portman also studied. Braff’s father was born Jewish and his mother converted when she married him. The actor has said that while he had a Conservative Jewish upbringing, he himself is not interested in religion.
