Entertainment
‘The Guild: Ren Faire’d’: Felicia Day on Kickstarter Movie
Do not cite the deep magic to Felicia Day, internet. She was there when it was written.
For over three decades, Day has been working as an actor, filmmaker, host, producer, Twitch streamer, author, and more in the geekiest corners of the web (including founding the multimedia company Geek & Sundry, where “Critical Role” got its start). She was among the early pioneers of scripted series on YouTube and has seen the creative landscape outside Hollywood’s permission structures change for better and worse since 2007.
It seems like a good portent for everybody who enjoys innovative, web-native storytelling (and/or the independent films spinning off from them this year) that Day launched a Kickstarter campaign for a film follow-up to her six-season web series, “The Guild.” She’s already been first on the ground so many times as the internet has changed.
That short-form streaming comedy — even if nobody knew to call it that yet in 2007 — centered around an anxious gamer (Day) addicted to a “World of Warcraft” style MMO who suddenly finds herself having to deal with the people she plays with in real life, not just their online avatars. The film — which will feature original cast members Sandeep Parikh, Amy Okuda, Jeff Lewis, Robin Thorsen, Vince Caso, and Wil Wheaton — reunites the Guildies, 13 years after the end of the series, at a Ren Faire.
Surely only reasonable decisions and mild enjoyment of turkey legs will ensue.
Whatever the plot, the promise of a “Guild” movie has been enough to propel the project into being the second-most-funded Kickstarter for a narrative film of all time. “The Guild: Ren Faire’d” has handily trounced Zac Braff’s and Spike Lee’s projects on the platform; and, as of this writing, it sits within striking distance of topping “The Veronica Mars Movie’s” $5.7 million crowd fund.
The cult web series still has three days to raise under half a million dollars to beat the record set by “Veronica Mars.” They’re well on track to do that, given how the last 48 hours of Kickstarter projects tend to fall as backers choose to commit or to increase their pledges. Even if “The Guild” tops out at its current $5.2 million raise as of this writing, that still represents five “Obsession” budgets.
It also represents months of preparation, a team of 12 developing a merch store to drive backer pledges, and the creation of a “The Guild” RPG and a card-game-based dating sim, “Swords & Sweethearts.” Available to backers, the sim features a murderer’s row of romanceable geek luminaries — from Day and “The Guild” cast members to Nathan Fillion, Misha Collins, and Erika Ishii.
“We started with me and my producer Ryan. We added John, our Kickstarter manager, and now we have at least a dozen people working on the campaign, and we could use another dozen, to be honest with you,” Day told IndieWire.
But the merch store approach felt like the fairest way to ask fans to donate at higher spending levels than they did back when Day added a PayPal button to the “Guild” website in 2008. “ Nowadays, people see videos that they love made for nothing every day, and the scale [of a film] is just, it’s a lot to ask for, and I totally get the psychological resistance to being able to continuously support what is going to be a very low-budget movie,” Day said.
In fact, the team’s estimate for the film’s end budget, after merchandising costs and fees, is essentially the same as one first-season episode of a half-hour comedy on a streaming network. But to get there, “The Guild” will have to successfully raid a series of bosses (and/or meet a series of logistical requirements that are more intense for a film production than a web series).
Insurance requirements and union contracts for film are different from the New Media ones that govern SAG day rates on web series or podcasts, for instance. Then, there’s the bureaucratic nightmare of trying to secure tax credits in Los Angeles. ”To me, any movie under $10 million should automatically get a tax credit, and the reality is that only 5% of the money goes to movies under $10 million,” Day said. These are but some of the costs for trying to do things beyond the Wall of Hollywood, where life has gotten harder and colder since Day came up on YouTube.
It wasn’t just that the internet had less AI slop coursing through its veins, but also more interest from the industry in supporting web-native creators on their terms. “ The last time we shot was 2012. We had free stage access from YouTube. We had cameras. We had other facilities. There was a lot more help,” Day said. “We were sponsored by Sprint for four years. And then advertisers realized they could just as easily advertise against a hamster on a wheel or one vlogger in their house in Topeka, Kansas, for free. And it’s smart. Like, why would I invest $200,000 in a show when I could advertise against something that’s free?”
“The Guild” Kickstarter itself, perhaps, provides the answer to that. With respect for all hamster wheel videos everywhere, millions of people still remember watching “The Guild” — including this writer, alas and alack, back in high school — or are still discovering it for the first time. The I.P., which Day has kept creative control over, hasn’t gone stale. Plus, it’s worth millions of dollars, even if establishment tastemakers haven’t necessarily been smart enough to realize it.
”There is a sort of a snobbery to it, like the word ‘content.’ And I think it’s sad that there is a snobbery there. You know, you have people make $20 million movies that five people see, and then when I tried to shop some of my shows around that got a million views, I was looked at with contempt because that’s not their demographic. They don’t understand that content,” Day said. “About a year ago, an executive called [me] and wanted to reboot the show and recast the actors. It was a very upsetting call because I was finally excited that someone was acknowledging me and interested in my work, finally, but then it was like, ‘Nope, they aren’t. That’s not what Hollywood does with you, Felicia.’”
That call lit a fire in Day to actually write the movie script, commit to doing something big for the show’s 20th anniversary, and take it to the fans to help realize. “It could be one movie, it could be four. Who knows? But the value of this I.P. that I created, that I own still, lasts longer than the moment. So I’m hoping that with Markiplier and ‘Obsession’ and ‘Backrooms’ and all these sort of web native filmmakers coming out and raising the bar in sophistication and originality — most importantly, in being different — I hope that this is what everyone thought that the web was going to be in 2007 through 2011,” Day said. “In collapse, there’s always opportunity, and I really do hope that diverse voices from not just one place in the world are going to be able to tell their stories and break out.”
If Hollywood’s Age of Bronze is indeed collapsing to make way for more web native storytellers, it won’t be complete without Day and “The Guild” as part of it. That’s also because the internet we have today is full of people either nurtured or inspired by the indie creator community that Day was so essential in building.
“It’s been very gratifying to see so many people come out from places I never knew they were — I had lost touch — to say how much the show meant to them, especially in their formative years,” Day said. “Nobody ever presented themselves as caring for the show as much as I did, and so to have everybody come out and be excited for a new story? I could never have imagined this outpouring of love, and it kind of confirms all the things I’ve done over the years.”
“The Guild: Ren Faire’d” is crowdfunding on Kickstarter. “The Guild” web series is available on YouTube.
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EXCLUSIVE: It’s that time in the comedy calendar when SNL begins taking major focus, with casting for the next season shaping up.
Up to this point, all that’s been announced for Season 52 is Chloe Fineman‘s exit after seven seasons as she shifts focus toward acting and other opportunities. But Tuesday, the SNL team wrapped their fifth and final showcase, with an eye out for talent for the upcoming fall season.
As is customary, staffers hit three big markets: Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Flying under the radar as the “Characters Showcase,” the first took place in L.A. on August 6th. Chicago showcases took place at Annoyance Theatre and The iO Theater on the 10th and 11th, respectively. Last but not least, there were the NY showcases, which we’re told took place at UCB on the 17th and 18th.
So who were the standouts? Names that emerged from L.A. included Trent Mason, Kaba Hues, Chase Rosenberg, and April Rock.
Peyton Ruddy, a 2026 JFL New Face, “dominated” in Chicago, per our sources. Meanwhile, everyone in New York was said to be “raving” about Joey Welsh. Other New York talents highlighted included Allisha Edwards, Amber Singletary, and Saidah Belo-Osagie, to name a few.
As far as big-picture thoughts behind the scenes, the sense is that there’s been a desire to to address the cast’s lack of Black female representation since Ego Nwodim’s departure in 2025 after seven seasons.
Something that’s been widely discussed among reps since last year, this seems to be reflected by the standouts our sources shared with us: Hues, Rock, Edwards, Singletary, and Belo-Osagie are all female performers of color.
Other names that caught our eye out of the showcases included Ismael Loutfi, who made our list of Stand-Ups to Keep an Eye on in 2026, as well as Ethan Edenburg, Eric Jackowitz, and Tom McGovern — the three members of well known comedy rock band Wolves of Glendale.)
Next up in the casting process: Screen tests — we’re told that as of the last hour, calls to talent advancing to the next stage have begun going out.
Sources cautioned that our lists below should be taken with a grain of salt: there’s always a chance of omissions, and even a comedian who didn’t showcase may be asked to test. Also of note is the fact that two names — Leo Gonzalez and Megan Ramsey — came up on lists for both Chicago and New York, for reasons that remain unclear.
Reps for SNL didn’t respond to requests for comment. We’ll chronicle further developments as they happen.
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Paramount‘s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery could be devastating for California and the entertainment industry, costing the state 4,500 film and TV production jobs and putting at risk $1.26 billion in wages, according to a new report commissioned by Los Angeles County.
The assessment comes from CVL Economics, which notes that the union of the two entertainment conglomerates will force the companies to cut costs aggressively as they try to pay down nearly $80 billion in debt. The study’s authors estimate that the merger could have a much wider impact across the state, putting at risk 10,360 jobs, ranging from producers and agents to people who rent sound equipment. The study notes that tax incentives in states like Georgia and New Jersey, as well as foreign countries like the United Kingdom have already led to an exodus of production out of California, costing the state 52,000 jobs over the last four years.
In a statement to Variety, a spokesperson for Paramount said the job defections make the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery more pressing. Paramount has promised to produce 30 movies a year between the two studios, dwarfing the output of any other legacy studio, and to adhere to a longer theatrical window. It also has pledged to invest $30 billion annually in production.
““L.A. County’s own economic report underscores what we have been saying all along: our industry is in decline, production is down and jobs are being lost — and lost for good if we don’t act,” a Paramount spokesperson said.
Paramount’s spokesperson added that its plan means “more production that supports more jobs over time, and ultimately, a stronger, more durable entertainment industry for generations to come.”
While the bulk of the research centers on macroeconomic issues and the constriction in the major studio space, the study also provides a sobering look at what ails the indie film sector. It notes that even as more companies released movies in theaters, there are more films being self-distributed than ever. Instead of finding an established buyer, in many cases, producers financed a theatrical run themselves.
The share of U.S. theatrical releases reaching screens without being acquired rose from 4.7% in 2021 to 21% in 2025, the report said. It noted that at Sundance, the number of films acquired and subsequently released theatrically fell from 104 in 2019 to 53 in 2025. At the same time, the number of companies releasing films in theaters increased from 308 in 2015 to 365 in 2025, as streamers began to embrace cinemas. Yet, the number of these companies acquiring films produced by others declined from 166 to 149.
“Independent films are still reaching theaters, but producers are increasingly doing so without a buyer assuming the cost and risk of release,” the study’s authors note. “A smaller acquisition market means fewer opportunities to sell a completed film and transfer that risk to a distributor—making independent production a more difficult and financially exposed pathway.”
Now, that said, neither Warner Bros. nor Paramount have acquired many independently produced films, at least of the completed variety, of late. Years ago, Warner Bros./New Line bought “Blinded by the Light” at Sundance and Paramount shelled out for “Top Five” at TIFF, but today most indie films are snapped up by speciality labels, if they are purchased at all. After folding its arthouse label, Warner Independent Pictures in 2008, Warner Bros. got back into the business last year with the launch of Clockwork. As for Paramount, it turned out the lights on its prestige arm, Paramount Vantage, in 2013. But that was when the Redstones ran things.
So, as bad as the merger could be for the entertainment industry, as devastating as it may prove to the California economy, it’s a stretch to pin the blame for the indie sector’s nosedive on David Ellison.
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Shortly after reports surfaced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle plan to move back to the United Kingdom this month, critics on both sides of the pond weighed in on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision.
Piers Morgan, one of the duchess’ most prominent and vocal critics, took to X on Wednesday amid the news, initially sharing a hand-on-face emoji. He then followed up his post with a quip, writing, “May have to emigrate to the U.S.”
Morgan’s response was particularly noteworthy given his complicated relationship with the former royal couple. Namely, Morgan left his role on “Good Morning Britain” in 2021 after questioning Markle’s claims about suicidal ideation during her interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Yet, Morgan wasn’t the only media figure to offer up a strong reaction to the Sussex’s relocation plan. Meghan McCain, a U.S. conservative commentator, took aim at Harry and Meghan in her own response on X, writing, “One thing about Americans is we can see through bulls–t and we don’t like entitled grifters.”
“They could never hack it here and truly no one gives a s–t about d list royals,” she added. “Good luck to our friends in the U.K., they’re your problem now.”
Similarly, British columnist Allison Pearson questioned what the duke and duchess’ return would mean for their position in the royal family.
“Ye gods. Who wants Harry and Meghan back in the U.K.? How is it supposed to work?” she wrote. “Are they planning on making quasi-Royal visits – in which case they undermine the Prince and Princess of Wales who cordially loathe them.”
As Pearson went on, she called out the couple for their prior criticisms of the U.K., adding, “What happened to Britain being a ghastly, racist country Madam couldn’t stand living in? Are they expecting to spend Christmas at Sandringham, welcomed back into the bosom of the family they trashed? That will work well.”
Meanwhile, Kelvin MacKenzie, an English media executive, speculated that “all the pots of money (Netflix, etc.) have been drained in the U.S. and therefore Harry and Meghan sought pastures.” MacKenzie was likely referring to their Archewell Productions’ deal with the streamer, which saw the original $100 million overall pact with Netflix scaled down into a first-look deal.
In reality, reports have indicated that the Sussexes are moving back to the U.K., as their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, are set to begin school there. It’s said the couple will keep their residence in Montecito, Calif., but plan to move into a non-royal home based in the U.K. Harry and Meghan’s status as private members of the royal family is not expected to change following the move.
For a full roundup of reactions, keep reading.
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