Legion M attracts fans, investors to make movies

Now fans can get a real return on their investment.

“I think a lot of people look at equity crowdfunding as a different way to raise money,” said Anison, co-founder and president of Legion M. “It’s a different way to fund your company or a different way to fund your movie. And we look at that as a fundamentally different way to build a fundamentally different type of business.”

Legion M launched in 2016 as a result of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups, or JOBS, Act, which lowered barriers to entry for raising capital and allowed companies to access funding in ways previously prohibited by securities regulations .

While crowdfunding isn’t a new concept, Legion M takes it to the next level – giving ordinary moviegoers a seat at the Hollywood table.

In less than a decade, the studio has worked with a number of Hollywood stars, including Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis for 2016’s Colossal, and Simon Pegg and Minnie Driver in 2023’s Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.

The company also funded the recently released cryptocurrency documentary This Is Not Financial Advice.

Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, GoFundMe, and Indiegogo have long allowed creators to tap into their most ardent fans to create content.

In the past, Kickstarter backers generated $3.1 million for Zach Braff’s 2014 film Wish I Was Here, $5.7 million for Rob Thomas’ 2014 film Veronica Mars, and a record 11.3 million dollars for Critical Role’s animated Legend of Vox Machina series, which was later picked up by Amazon Prime Video.

However, Kickstarter does not allow campaign creators to offer those who donate any financial gain.

That’s what sets Legion M apart. If a movie or TV project does well at the box office or is bought by a distributor, those who invested get a cut.

“For the William Shatner documentary, we actually replaced the role of one financier writing that check with 1,200 small financiers writing smaller checks,” Annison said.

The minimum investment for the documentary was $100.

Investors can also purchase a stake in Legion M itself for just $40. The company says it has more than 45,000 investors.

For Legion M’s My Dead Friend Zoe, the company raised funds from Legion M investors and from larger, more traditional Hollywood financiers, including Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce.

Legion M offers creators access to its fanbase, something independent filmmaker Chris Temple, co-director of This Is Not Financial Advice, found complimentary for his documentary. His film focuses on several retail investors navigating the peaks and valleys of the crypto world.

He said working with Legion M “felt very natural from the first call.”

“It’s a simple film about investors finally getting access to markets they couldn’t access and people taking control of their own finances,” he said, noting the parallels with Legion M’s work.

Legion M is not alone in this space. Angel Studios made headlines after its crowdfunded “Sound of Freedom” took in about $250 million at the global box office on a budget of just $14.5 million.

While Angel Studios advertises itself as a production studio that brings “light” to entertainment, much of its focus is on bringing cult titles to the mainstream. Legion M’s focus is the Comic Con audience, though it’s diversifying its portfolio to include comedies, thrillers, murder mysteries, dramas, sci-fi action and documentaries.

“What’s nice about what Legion M is doing is that we’re creating a built-in audience,” said Scanlan, the company’s co-founder and CEO.

The company’s logo, an “M” with a bar above representing the Roman numeral for one million, is a nod to Legion M’s goal of attracting one million fans as shareholders.

“Imagine an entertainment company or a studio that has millions of fans who are literally financially invested in the movies that come out, but also emotionally invested in the movies,” Anison said. “Because they’ve been hanging around since day one and they get a chance to go behind the scenes and hear the director formulate their story and their vision of what the movie is going to be.”

One of those fans is Matt Conkling, who made his first investment in the company in 2019, attracted by how Legion M offers investors a chance not only to give money, but also to participate in productions.

Soon after his first investment, Conkling saw a post from the company asking for a number of props, including neon signs and cars, for his mystery thriller film Archenemy, starring True Blood’s Joe Manganiello.

“I raised my hand,” said Conkling, who volunteered his 1975 Chevy El Camino. Two days later, Conkling got a call to help drive the car around the set.

“That’s how it went from ‘Here are my keys’ to a huge crash course in the film industry,” he said. “Then I got carried away.”

Conkling previously tried to get in on the ground floor of a film project from another production company, which he prefers not to name, but failed to meet the minimum investment amount of $25,000.

“How often do regular everyday people get a chance to potentially invest in something at a low dollar amount?” he said.

For Conkling, Legion M became more than a casual investment, it became a career, sort of. Although he continues to finance individual film projects the company promotes — and has said he eventually wants to invest enough to own 1 percent of the company — by volunteering his car to one production, he’s managed to find his niche in Hollywood. .

After “Archenemy,” Conkling was tapped to source the titular white van for Legion M’s “The Man in the White Van,” a crime thriller based on actual events that took place in the 1970s. This concert spurred another in Dennis Quaid’s film The Long Game, which was shot in Texas. And it doesn’t stop there: Conkling can even be spotted playing dead in the background of Netflix’s The Gray Man.

“Legion M is the gift that keeps on giving,” Conkling said.