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Digital Entertainment Network Starts Production on First-Ever Episodic
Internet Television Program
ENCINO, Calif.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 19, 1998--
Chad's World in Production on Six Half-Hour Episodes
Directed by James Hickox
After two years of market research and program development, Encino-based Digital Entertainment Network (DEN) has begun production on its first Internet entertainment series, Chad's World.
Six half-hour episodes have gone into production in the San Fernando Valley. The series will begin broad and narrowcast distribution on the World Wide Web mid May 1998. Viewers can tune in for advance information on DEN by visiting www.den.net.
Chad's World stars newcomer Brian Stark as Chad, a teenager who watches his best friend Paul kill himself after telling his parents, played by Thad Geer (Robert Altman's HUSTLE, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART IV, The Young And The Restless) and Andrea Dieso (The Equalizer, Santa Barbara), that he is gay. Chad's parents ask his brother Kevin, played by Dan Thiel (SPARROW, Seventh Heaven), to take Chad to keep him away from Paul's right-wing family. Chad starts a new life with Kevin and his partner Jim, played by Seann William Scott (Sweet Valley High, Something So Right) in their fabulous mansion in California. Subsequent episodes depict Chad making friends and exploring his own feelings -- of sexuality, of growing up, and of charting his course in the world. Other cast members include Daniel Steger (VR Troopers), Alison Lohman and Marissa Fedele as Chad's friends; Casey Gray as Kevin's assistant; Phillip Glasser, Justin Carroll and L.B. Fisher. Former Dodger Jay Johnstone does a turn as a Midwestern Sheriff. Working with Los Angeles attorney Susan Grode, Executive Producer Marc Collins-Rector and DEN also pioneered the first SAG agreement for these Internet television actors.
The production credits for Chad's World represent a wide range of talent. Actor-turned producer Brock Pierce (FIRST KID, MIGHTY DUCKS 1 & 2, THREE WISHES), who turns 18 this year, is Hollywood's youngest active producer. Director James Hickox has a film -- THE GARDENER -- currently locking international distribution. Other feature directing and second unit credits include CHILDREN OF THE CORN III, WAY TO OZ and PRINCE VALIANT. Editor Matthew Booth's credits include FACE/OFF, HEAT, THE CROW, THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS and THE LAST BOY SCOUT. David Fox is director of photography; Chad's World's teleplay is by Marc Collins-Rector and Matt Odgers. Internet pioneer Marc Collins-Rector, whose company Concentric Network Corp. was the nation's first TC/PIP Internet service provider, is serving as executive producer.
Digital Entertainment Network promises to offer the first programming of its kind in any entertainment medium -- not just television. "Chad's World frankly but faithfully and fairly deals with difficult issues facing teens -- all teens, not just gay teens -- in modern society. And the Internet gives us considerable freedom to address these and other sensitive issues in ways that television cannot," says Rector. Rector also takes pride in the realism he strives for in DEN programming. "We deal with real issues that our audiences actually experience."
How does it work? Viewers will first tune in to the show on the net. For subsequent episodes, after visiting the web site, www.den.net, DEN's ftp site will send a "smart engine" to the viewer's computer. It will launch the application and "push" the show -- a 150 megabyte mpeg file will download to their computer overnight, ready for viewing at their leisure at half-screen size at 30 frames per second -- the same speed as broadcast television. The ftp site will restart the download in sequence if the signal is interrupted. New compression technology is expected to significantly decrease file sizes and download times as the network evolves. Viewers with cable modems can access the show in real time.
Will people sit in front of their computers to watch TV? "People said the same thing to me six years ago as we launched the first dial-up (Internet) network," Rector replies. "Will people sit behind their computers and surf the web? The answer has changed the nature of communications, and the answer to this question will change the nature of entertainment." Rector's business models expect his programming to make a profit with an audience of only 50,000 viewers, a number too minuscule for major networks and cable to concern themselves with.
"What the Internet has lacked up until now is entertainment based on the television model -- episodic, linear programming with advertising," Rector continues. Each show will feature 22 minutes of programming and up to 16 30-second advertising spots. Other elements enable a great deal of flexibility for both viewers and advertisers. For product placements, each branded element of an actor's clothing will be bitmapped. Click on it, and viewers can visit the designer's homepage and order the products right over the net. Product placements include Big Star Jeans, Replay, and Diesel apparel, and Oliver Peoples and Luxor eyewear. All soundtrack music viewers hear on the show can be sampled and purchased. Viewers can also order DVD, VHS video or CD-ROM copies of their favorite shows.
Chad's World goes on the net in early May, with the six episodes airing once every two weeks through the summer. DEN expects to launch seven new programs by the end of the year. "We're going to where there are well-established virtual communities already in place, and we're going after them quickly," Rector explains. "DEN's next five shows will directly address those audiences -- Latin and Asian teens, Asian professionals, college students and gay adults. The last, a show aimed at sci-fi fans, will be the first in our programming mix that addresses psychographics instead of demographics. Obviously, sci-fi has very well defined fan bases -- anime, manga, superheroes -- and all are very brand loyal and very dedicated." If all goes well, he plans to bring DEN to a 24-hour programming schedule within three years.
DEN, founded in 1996 by Marc Collins-Rector and his partner Chad Shackley (also the founders of Concentric), plans to become one of the world's most successful entertainment companies in the world within ten years. How? "The online world has developed at ten times the speed of broadcast media," Rector concludes. "In one year, we'll be ten years old -- the equivalent of taking us from the dawn of television to its golden age. There's that much potential for explosive growth."
--30--AMP/se
CONTACT:
BWR Public Relations
Henry Eshelman, 310/550-7776, ext. 309
heshelman@bwr-la.com
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