Connected, wealthy filmmaker points to own plaque featuring his body of work

According to this website that figures out celebrity net worths, Spike Lee is worth about $40 million. Even if that's off by tens of millions, it's safe to say that established filmmaker Spike Lee has a lot of money, and possibly even more connections. Also, corporate synergy. And even without all of that, he managed to bring his first films to life on on tight budgets, presumably in a way that didn't take away from his vision. So why does Spike Lee need your $1.25 million to make his new film? Well, because other famous people did it so why not—he explains in his Kickstarter video:

"Last week one of my [NYU] students told me about two big developments with Kickstarter. There was a tv show called Veronica Mars that was cancelled, they raised FIVE MILLION DOLLARS on Kickstarter... And then Zach Braff from Scrubs, he raised THREE MILLION DOLLARS for his film. So I heard about that, I said, 'Oh snap.' It's a very different climate now, the only way to ensure as an independent filmmaker that your vision gets on screen is if you bring the money to the table."

Below, you can watch his pitch—towards the end you can see him pointing out the long list of films he's successfully created without our help, on a huge plaque that's outside of his tony Fort Greene offices.

Here, again, is Kevin Smith's "PSA":

"As for funding the flick—we nearly Kickstarted the budget back in November (talked about at great length here). But now I'm feeling like that's not fair to real indie filmmakers who need the help. Unlike back when I made CLERKS in '91, I've GOT access to money now—so I should use that money and not suck any loot out of the crowd-funding marketplace that might otherwise go to some first-timer who can really use it. So if I can get away with it, I'm gonna try to pay for CLERKS III myself. As much as I love the crowd-funding model, that's an advancement in indie film that belongs to the next generation of artists. I started on my own dime, and if I'm allowed, I should finish on my own dime."

Spike, why not use the money to fund one of your student's projects?