JeffreyKatzenberg
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Steven Spielberg is writing a horror show you can only stream at night
Mobile streaming service Quibi has locked down a number of intriguing projects ahead of its launch next year, including a revival of MTV's Punk'd and a semi-fictionalized account of the story behind Snap. Steven Spielberg is working on a Quibi show too -- he's writing a horror series you'll only be able to watch after the sun goes down.
Steven Spielberg denies campaign to stop Netflix from winning Oscars
Steven Spielberg is no fan of streaming services winning Oscars when they only have tiny presences in theaters, but is he really campaigning to change the rules? Not necessarily. Movie industry veteran Jeffrey Katzenberg told Hollywood Reporter in a chat that Spielberg "absolutely did not" say he was pushing for longer theatrical release requirements or otherwise trying to prevent services like Netflix from qualifying for awards. Katzenberg claimed instead that IndieWire "heard a rumor" and, when it received a statement from Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, "twisted it around."
Media giants invest $1 billion in former Dreamworks exec’s ‘NewTV’
Former Dreamworks executive Jeffrey Katzenberg first touted his video startup idea, NewTV, a year ago, citing ambitious plans to secure as much as $2 billion in funding to get the idea off the ground. Just over 12 months later and he's halfway there, with the company confirming it's closed on a billion in a new funding round, thanks to heavyweight investors such as Disney, 21st Century Fox and Warner Bros.
Former Dreamworks exec's 'New TV' pitch: 10 minute episodes
Over the years Jeffrey Katzenberg has gotten behind ideas big (Dreamworks 3D animated movies) and small (AwesomenessTV, an online video company backed by Dreamworks and Engadget parent company Verizon), but his next idea combines the two. As profiled by a Variety feature story, the idea for "New TV" (working title), appears to be: put Hollywood budgets behind short-form videos ready to be digested in 10 minutes-or-less chunks. The kind of money we're talking about is $125,000 per minute, more than 10x what's usually spent on mobile. While Katzenberg's own firm is incubating the idea, he's apparently looking to secure as much as $2 billion in funding to get the idea off of the ground. Everything's still up in the air (maybe these videos are intended for mobile, maybe VR, maybe some other new catchy thing), but so far it's mostly talk. Of course, with the executive's track record, it's possible the talk will turn into something real, soon.
YouTube wants you to make a music video for Elton John
Like many legendary musicians, Elton John didn't get music videos for some of his best-known songs -- they simply came too soon for the likes of MTV. Thanks to the internet, however, he's getting a second chance. YouTube is backing a competition, Elton John: The Cut, that challenges you to brainstorm an official music video treatment for "Bennie and the Jets," "Rocket Man," or "Tiny Dancer." There will definitely be some tall hurdles to clear. A trio of YouTube creators will screen the initial entries, and the resulting finalists will face scrutiny by John as well as long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin, DreamWorks' Jeffrey Katzenberg, music video director Melina Matsoukas and Moonlight director Barry Jenkins.
Comcast is reportedly in talks to buy DreamWorks Animation
In the past Dreamworks Animation has been mentioned as a possible purchase for companies including Fox, Hasbro and Softbank, but now reports say it's in talks with Comcast. The Wall Street Journal first reported the discussions, claiming Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg is courting an offer from the cable behemoth of over $3 billion. The live action arm of Dreamworks, now renamed Amblin Studios, is distributed by Comcast's Universal Pictures which could bring the two back together in a way after the animation arm spun off on its own in 2004. Also, as The Hollywood Reporter mentions, Universal is already home to Illumination Entertainment, which created Despicable Me and Minions, and sees the two as a competitor to Disney/Pixar.
DreamWorks CEO envisions an internet with more animation, fewer words
Is the internet on the cusp of a post-text era? Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg certainly thinks so. Speaking at the Techonomy conference in Tucson yesterday, Katzenberg confirmed that his company is already working on expanding 3D animation to the realm of social media, as part of a collaboration with Intel. As Technology Review reports, the two companies have been working on the project for the better part of four years, developing 12-core chips and software capable of delivering real-time photographic animation. Katzenberg didn't offer many details beyond that, but seemed confident that his company's new technology could radically alter the way users share and engage with online content by transcending the boundaries of traditional text. "Text is a learned process but what we do [at Dreamworks] is intuitive and instinctual and you do it from the moment you are born," he said, "We're trying to see if we can move many of these things we can do today in text but moving up to video and audio... with sight and sound." The exec went on to cite Apple's Siri personal assistant as proof that this transition is already underway: "Whether we do it or somebody else does it, we will move from a text world into a audio visual one." Intriguing claims, to be sure, but we'll know more next year, when Dreamworks' new campaign gets underway.
NYT: Netflix strikes deal with Dreamworks, will begin streaming movies, TV specials in 2013
It looks like those rumors of a streaming deal between Netflix and Dreamworks Animation were as good as advertised. Details are still fuzzy at this point, but the New York Times is reporting that the two parties have reached an agreement to stream Dreamworks' movies and TV projects, as part of a deal worth an estimated $30 million. Under the contract, which replaces a similar pay TV pact between Dreamworks and HBO, Netflix will begin offering exclusive access to the studio's new films in 2013, with Antz, Kung Fu Panda and other titles from its library slated to become available for streaming sometime thereafter. The company won't be confined to selling digital copies of Dreamworks' movies within a specific period, either, drawing a major distinction between itself and HBO, which requires studio partners to halt digital sales outside of an exclusive window. HBO probably isn't too thrilled to see Netflix strike what Dreamworks chief exec Jeffrey Katzenberg called a "game-changing deal," but it also has a new partnership of its own with Summit Studios, which it brought on board after letting Dreamworks out of its contract a full two years early. We're still waiting for official confirmation of Netflix's latest deal, but we'll let you know as soon as we get it. Update: Now with the official press release, included after the break.
CE-Oh no he didn't!: Katzenberg says 'beautifully styled' 3D glasses won't make you look like a dweeb
Another day, another CEO with more lip gloss than brain matter. Jeffrey Katzenberg has been talking to USA Today on what seems to be his favorite topic these days, 3D, and telling us that the glasses ain't no big deal. After all, "many many many people" wear glasses -- that's three lots of many for those keeping count at home -- and the new and improved 3D appendages are so "beautifully styled" that he expects them to start popping up at your local optometrist right next to the sunglasses and designer eyewear isles. In fact, this dude's sipping the corporate firewater so hard, we half-expect him to tell us that 3D offers "very high value" for money or ... wait, he said that too? Alright, we give up.
Paramount & Dreamworks HD DVD support ends March 4
We don't know if Jeffrey Katzenberg got a text message, fax, e-mail or smoke signal indicating the format war was over, but Video Business has confirmed Paramount and Dreamworks Animation will (rather abruptly) to stop releasing HD DVDs after next week. If you were looking forward to Bee Movie on March 11, Sweeney Todd on April 1 or the just announced There Will Be Blood, those are cancelled. Into the Wild and the appropriately-named Things We Lost in the Fire will be Paramount's last reminders of its exclusive agreement. Not specifically mentioned was Star Trek: TOS Season 2, but don't hold your breath. Blu-ray release plans are still up in the air but we wouldn't be surprised to hear something soon. As far as HD DVD movies still scheduled, that leaves two from Universal (for now) and twelve from Warner Bros, who may have been the first to leave red, but will apparently be the last major studio out the door.Read - Video BusinessRead - High-Def Digest
