Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk turns to Kickstarter to finance his new movie

Chuck Palahniuk has never written the most adaption-friendly novels, so it probably shouldn't come as a surprise that he's turning to Kickstarter to help, um, kickstart an adaptation of his 2002 novel Lullaby. The novel centers around a crime reporter that's investigating the deaths of a series of infants (including his own), who discovers that a common thread appears to be a magical lullaby — known as a "culling song" in the novel — that kills whoever hears it.

As part of the Kickstarter campaign, Palahniuk and his collaborators — producer Josh Leake and director Andy Mingo, who previously tackled Palahniuk's material with the short film Romance — are seeking $250,000 for a micro-budget version of Lullaby, with additional funds going toward scaled-up versions of the movie. Of course, it wouldn't be a Kickstarter project without rewards, and those interested can get everything from a digital "library card" or signed artwork, all the way up to a $25,000 package that includes a phone call with the director, a visit to the set, and a customized director's chair. (Although if you're contributing 10 percent of the budget, it might be best to just contact Leake directly and work out an arrangement to get a better return on your investment.)

If you've got $25K handy, you might just want to call the producer directly

The big hook that Lullaby is using to lure in potential Kickstarter backers, however, is a role it's calling "virtual producer." Those donating $40 or more will be able to "vote on various aspects of the movie during the production stages." It's certainly an interesting idea, but given that the filmmakers state in their video that creative control is one of the main reasons they're starting with Kickstarter, I wouldn't imagine that the virtual producers will have a say in anything truly substantial.

Leake and Mingo hope to being shooting Lullaby this October, with a release to follow sometime in 2018, after what they hope will be a successful film festival run. If you're interested, the campaign is live until June 16th.

• SourceLullaby (Kickstarter)