It’s at (refreshes screen) $198,440 . Looks like some addictions non-profit is going to be $200,000 richer! Follow along at home here.
UPDATE: 1:48 p.m.: $198,642!
UPDATE 1:56 p.m.: Goaaaaal! And there it is, $200,246.
FINAL UPDATE: The closing tally is $251,254. Gawker editor John Cook posts about it:
The Crackstarter is now closed to further donations. We pulled in a total of $201,254 from 8,388 people. I haven’t contacted Indiegogo, the service that hosted the campaign, yet to investigate precisely when we get the money, in what format, etc. (As I write this, the Indiegogo web site is not cooperating with my attempts to get that info.) I do know that Indiegogo and PayPal extract certain fees before turning the proceeds over to us; we will post an update announcing the total amount that has been released to us as soon as we get it.
As for the purchase: We are working on it. As we noted before the campaign concluded, we lost contact with the people who have custody of the video. I updated the Indiegogo campaign site yesterday morning to reiterate that there had been no movement on that front, and am repeating it here right now. You won’t hear anything more from us about our attempts to get the video for some time. This will be a very delicate transaction. If the people who are in possession of the video are reading this: Please get in touch with our mutual friend, or with me at john@gawker.com. We did what you asked.
Full thing here. And there’s more here. I like how Ford’s head has ignited in the graphic.
