I gave this interview for the film “PressPausePlay” a couple of years back. It premiered at SxSW earlier this year. I would say it a bit differently today, but the sentiment and bullet points remain the same. I must admit I am a bit surprised, but how much I still say is exactly the same today.
We are still looking for an audience-friendly term for immersive transmedia cross-platform creation. I remain restless to abandon this single product impulse-buy centered entertainment economy.
It’s a short clip. I rev up as it goes on, so give it the time to reach the end. I feel it grows quite hopeful. Good work will come out of today’s problems.
I look forward to watching all the PressPausePlay clips they have put on YouTube.
Prescreen was featured on our MUST READ list of the New Platforms. Sheri Candler also did an overview for the community on this site. Now they are launching. Their press release is below, but to understand just what they are doing, watch this short video before.
Are you excited? I’m excited.
Prescreen Debuts as a Social Movie Discovery Platform
Prescreen will embrace a curated daily email service to leverage the social web to give movies blockbuster exposure on an indie budget
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – September 14th, 2011 — Prescreen, an innovative movie marketing and distribution platform, will officially launch today to give filmmakers and distributors an alternative to traditional advertising and distribution channels – through the mass marketing of curated content that is then shared by users through social media.
Prescreen offers users the ability to subscribe to a daily email alert, view trailers and rent movies to stream on demand, as well as earn rewards and discounts for sharing movie information on their social networks. Their daily email service highlights one movie per day, enabling their featured films to reach a wide audience.
Prescreen also delivers a Prescreen Performance Report to each filmmaker and distributor whose movie is featured on Prescreen. The report offers aggregated analytics and demographics about the audience for each featured film.
How it Works:
• Consumer subscribers receive an email alert featuring one new movie each day.
• Users watch the movie trailer for free and can purchase a rental to view the entire movie to stream on demand for up to 60 days.
• Users can earn discounts and rewards by sharing the film through their social networks using Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Prescreen aggregates the purchasing data, protecting the privacy of each user, and delivers valuable demographic and analytic information back to filmmakers and distributors for future marketing and distribution efforts.
Prescreen’s intuitive marketing report includes all of the relevant information from the purchasers, allowing the content owner to use the detailed information to make informed decisions about continued distribution and marketing efforts. Prescreen allows content owners to maximize profits by marketing and selling via the Prescreen platform.
“Movie goers are increasingly consuming premium content through new digital channels including downloads, streaming, and video on demand (VOD), generating new revenue streams for the movie industry,” said Shawn Bercuson, CEO and Founder of Prescreen. “Prescreen will help movies of all shapes and sizes receive the love they deserve by leveraging the social tools that exist today to market and distribute movies more efficiently.”
One of Prescreen’s first films will be Kino Lorber’s “The Robber;” a story of a champion marathoner who leads a double life as a serial bank robber, sprinting between heists and escaping from police in epic chase sequences. The film was directed by Austrian director Benjamin Heisenberg and features a riveting central performance by Andreas Lust (Revanche).
“Prescreen has developed an exciting and innovative digital platform for film distribution, and we are happy to be one of their first content providers,” said Richard Lorber, CEO of Kino Lorber. “We have one of the largest, most essential libraries in the United States and with Prescreen’s curatorial team so committed to high quality cinema it was a natural fit. In this rapidly changing digital distribution landscape, increasing market penetration means thinking outside the box –which is exactly why we’re working with them.”
Prescreen is now accepting full-length feature film applications on a variety of topics and genres. To submit, visit: prescreen.com/submit. To sign up for the daily email service, visit: prescreen.com
About Prescreen
Prescreen is a movie marketing and distribution platform that helps filmmakers and distributors efficiently reach audiences they otherwise would not have the ability to reach, and identify which audiences would provide maximum opportunity for continued growth and revenue. Prescreen offers users the ability to subscribe to email alerts, view trailers and stream movies on demand, as well as earn rewards for sharing movie information on their social networks. Visit prescreen.com for more information.
It’s pretty crazy how fast everything moves these days. We are able to leap countries and time to find what we missed continents away.
Today DARK HORSE has it’s press and industry screening in Toronto. Tomorrow is the North American Premiere. But I know how to make you feel like you are with us. Let me take you to Venice…
My flight out of Venice was evidently the only one that left for the United States on Tuesday. Our film DARK HORSE premiered there to a very nice standing ovation the night before. I arrive here to find interviews and press conference clips already up online. Check it out (and of course I rant a little bit). You even get to see the photo call and a NEW clip at the end!
Want more press conference? More Todd? There’s a bit of a spoiler in this one, although it is more philosophical spoiler than actual content.
You really should have been with us on the red carpet. I couldn’t resist photographing a smooch with my wife there, and well, “they” caught it:
Even our entrance at the screening is posted.
If it is specifics you want, here’s Selma Blair talking about working with Todd:
Jordan Gelber offers up his view of the collaboration with Mr. Solondz (6.5 min) and then Selma adds a bit more of her perspective (6 min.):
I am sure there is more to find. But I have to say there’s a particular pleasure getting to relive your pleasures moments after you’ve had them.
A little while ago I got to participate in a great discussion at Google, centered around Frank Rose’s must-read book The Art Of Immersion. Joining Frank and I were Chris Di Cesare, Director of Creative Programming at Google Creative Lab, i Paul Woolmington, Founding Partner of Naked Communications, and Susan Bonds of 42 Entertainment. If you want to know where it is all headed, I suggest you read Frank’s book and listen to our talk, posted below.
Christine Vachon recently had a talk with Anthony Kaufman at the NewFest Visionary Award presentation and had many interesting things to say about her career, producing, and indie film — all that plus a lovely impression of yours truly.
The interview is a wealth of good advice. Add this video to your film school curriculum. Scott Macauley has selected some of his favorite quotes for you. And IW’s own, Anthony Kaufman — who moderated the event, gave a nice brief of the discussion, here.
Spike, Lisa, and I got to have a great conversation at The Cleveland Public Library early this year, and a great crowd came. An official video was shot of the proceedings and hopefully will be available shortly, but this one came from the crowd, and is a nice little nugget to wet your appetite.
