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From the "Biz" Archives:
by Eugene Hernandez /indieWIRE
>> Revolution Greenlights MediaTrip's "Pimp" for The Big Screen; Site Seen Shifting, Cuts Three in Preparation for "Major Growth Phase"
(indieWIRE/ 8.10.00) -- Ultimate Hollywood animated feature high-concept:
Nine-year kid is a pimp. Executive note: Comedy ensues. Greenlight.
One week after Showtime Networks nabbed an Icebox.com series for their cable channel, MediaTrip.com has upped the ante announcing a deal that will take
one of its online properties to the big screen. MediaTrip.com's majority
owner Revolution Studios, a new company from former Disney chief Joe Roth, will create a feature-length movie based on the webisodic series. According
to Variety, the movie could be the first theatrical feature to be created
using Macromedia's Flash software. The program was created by Peter Gilstrap and Mark Brooks who are on board for the movie. It will most likely be distributed by Columbia Pictures.
The news came yesterday amid a report that the company has decided to
lay-off three employees and fine tune its business plan.
In a conversation with indieWIRE yesterday, MediaTrip.com Austin Harrison
explained that the layoffs are not the harbinger of larger cuts to come. He
confirmed that the site is about to hire a number of new employees as it
enters a "major growth phase" and alters the sort of content that it
creates.
"We are focusing more on interactive entertainment, rather than creating linear entertainment," Harrison explained. As an example, Harrison explained that the company might create games attached to episodic projects, "creating non-linear experiences with
everything that we do."
MediaTrip.com currently attracts an 18 - 34 audience demographic, skewing
male, according to Harrison. He indicated that the site will soon develop
sites "targeting other demographic groups." [Eugene Hernandez]
>> BRIEFLY: IFILM's "405" Hits Million Mark
(indieWIRE/ 8.10.00) -- Bruce Branit and Jeremy Hunt's "405 The Movie," a hit on IFILM, has crossed the million-viewer mark, the site announed
yesterday. Through the use of special effects, the movie depicts a
jumbo-jet landing on L.A.'s 405 freeway in rush-hour traffic. The film was
immediate success after debuting on the site in June, it shot to the top of
IFILM's most watched & highest rated lists and the filmmakers quickly signed
with CAA.
"Jeremy and Bruce have achieved what we believe is an historic first in
broadband Internet entertainment," commented IFILM CEO Kevin Wendle in a
prepared statement. "With more than one million views, '405' has been seen
by more viewers than many prime time cable television programs. We are not
aware of any other single short film that has achieved this important
Internet milestone."
IFILM's news comes a month after AtomFilms announced the same achievement
for its "Angry Kid," a new series created by Aardman Animations.
[Eugene Hernandez]
>> BRIEFLY: Toronto Adds More Pix
(indieWIRE/ 8.10.00) -- A handful of additional movies have been added to
the lineup for the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival. Among the
titles are gala presentations of Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,"
Patrice Leconte's "La Veuve de Saint-Pierre" and George Tillman, Jr.'s "Men
of Honor," as well as special presentations of Bruce Paltrow's "Duets,"
E. Elias Merhige's "Shadow of the Vampire," and David Mamet's "State and Main." [Eugene Hernandez]
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