While he nonetheless hopes to make “Uncle Stan,” “The Office” star Leslie David Baker is responding to criticism of the spinoff’s lengthy growth course of by refunding Kickstarter backers.
Uncle Stan, the deliberate sequence that may have seen Leslie David Baker (kinda/sorta) return to the function of The Office‘s Stanley Hudson, seems to be functionally useless. Baker advised Variety this week that whereas he nonetheless hopes to finish the undertaking, he plans to refund cash to backers who supported the undertaking on Kickstarter in 2020, when the undertaking made greater than $300,000. In the time since, there have been nearly no updates as to the standing of the undertaking, which obtained off to a sluggish begin because of COVID-19 lockdowns. According to a press release, Baker has been engaged on the undertaking all alongside, and simply not sharing progress updates with the general public.
The refunds, then, are extra a gesture of fine religion — in any case, $300,000 is rather a lot, nevertheless it was doubtless by no means sufficient to make a sequence, particularly one starring a bunch of identified actors — than an admission that the undertaking is useless. Still, for some the dearth of updates had lengthy since given the impression the undertaking would by no means materialize.
“We apologize about the delay in updates,” Baker wrote in a press release. “We have been working behind the scenes to get everything on track and rewards fulfilled. We are just as excited as all of you to get this project out and truly appreciate all of your patience and support. The project took longer than anticipated due to circumstances beyond our control.”
Baker additionally claims that, whereas the undertaking earned $336,450.53, he truly solely acquired a hair over $110,000, after Kickstarter platform charges and failed or uncollected pledges. That would characterize an astonishing 2/3 of the price range that was by no means truly collected, signaling an enormous variety of failed transactions. Broadly talking, the platform’s fee and fee processing charges ought to price lower than 10% (on this case, round $34,000). There are much less dependable numbers on how continuously client funds fail, however anecdotally, this author has run two profitable campaigns within the final 3 years, elevating a complete of round $14,000, and solely about $400 value of funds (considerably lower than 10%) failed.
“Initial delays were caused because of the COVID lockdowns and pushed us back further than expected,” Baker added. “As things started returning to normal and we commenced reward fulfillment and preproduction, the WGA strike was announced causing us to put things on hold again. As you are all aware, SAG is now on strike and we will continue to be on hold indefinitely until an agreement is reached. We stand in solidarity with those in the entertainment industry and will do our part in supporting WGA and SAG during these times.”
Created by Sardar Khan, Uncle Stan was not an officially-licensed The Office spinoff, which some critics thought on the time might trigger Baker issues. Instead, it centered on a retired “Uncle Stan,” residing in a tropical paradise that is interrupted by the sudden arrival of his nephew.
You can try the official synopsis for Uncle Stan right here: “When Lucky picks up his uncle at LAX in a motorcycle with a sidecar laden with flowers and no room for his luggage, Uncle Stan knows that he will be in for quite the adventure and challenge. With his unique personality and business acumen that he has acquired over decades, Stan is sure to clash once or twice with the wild personalities that Lucky has working in the shop. With his lady friend and soon-to-be fiancée completely in the dark, Uncle Stan must take swift action to make sure that not only his nephew comes out on top, but that he is able to maintain some semblance of his previously comfortable lifestyle moving forward.”
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