December 29, 2007

Why The Hollywood Writer's Strike Is A Good Thing: Web Video/TV Moving Forward With Actual Hollywood Talent

From the very beginning, we've found the Hollywood Writer's Strike to be extremely exciting for one reason: its potential to move internet video forward, rapidly, and with genuine Hollywood talent. Some of the internet videos created by striking writers uploaded the web, featuring big names such as Eva Longoria have attracted huge numbers of viewers, and that seems to have helped them see the light. While studios and writers battle over internet revenues, the writers are beginning to be attracted to the more egalitarian, open-source business approach of Silicon Valley venture capitalists. Contrary to the top-down, control-oriented approach of the studios, Silicon Valley is helping writers' see that the 21st century offers all kinds of opportunities for Hollywood types in a free and open environment far removed from what they've been used to for the majority of the last century.

It's rumored that seven independent groups of A-list writers including screenwriter Aaron Mendelsohn (Kindred: The Embraced, upcoming Cat Tale, Air Bud) are all developing companies that hope to challenge the dominance of the studios by creating television and movie content and distributing via the web. Some writers have even announced that once their respective contracts run out, they'll move the internet entirely, not re-signing with the studios at all.

One move to the Silicon Valley model of film distribution has been made by director and writer George Hickenlooper who has teamed up with Prince of Persia videogame creator Jordan Mechner to make a feature film that will be released in daily segments on the web. They will be using A-list names in the movie and the plans are to release the movie over either a month or 50 days and then release it on DVD in its entirety.

Hopefully this transition will continue and 2008 will be a revolutionary year for web video.

Via The Guardian