NEW YORK (Reuters) - A veteran Hollywood producer and a digital entrepreneur have teamed up to create a new movie experience for college-age adults, with a clear invitation to keep their cell phones on during the feature presentation.
The venture, called Blowtorch, has raised $50 million in funding to produce or purchase video entertainment, including six-to-eight movies per year. The first film is expected to debut in April, with the company aiming for distribution on 600 movie screens across the United States.
Kelly Rodriques, a digital advertising executive and venture capital partner, is a co-founder of the company and its chief executive. Paul Schiff, producer of such films as “Rushmore,” “Date Movie” and “My Cousin Vinny,” is a member of the board and producing its first feature.
In an interview in New York, the two said they plan to combine theatrical releases in major college markets with DVD sales, paid television, Web downloads and mobile video, as well as building events and outings around its films.
In addition to ticket sales, Blowtorch will bring in advertisers keen to reach an audience of 18 to 24 year-olds.
“What we do contemplate is to give our audience the ability to be involved,” Schiff told Reuters. “Our audience is fragmented and less reliable, harder to find.”
A key element is to bring viewers into the process by soliciting video clips or production ideas that have a chance of appearing on the big screen and by asking the audience to share their reactions on movies.
Its creators hope to tap into the energy fueling popular Web video site YouTube or social network MySpace.
“We want to create a hybrid of a content distribution or media business with ... a place where opinions are valued,” Rodriques said.
Audience participation could include voting on supporting cast members for a production, helping select costumes or even sharing thoughts on a film while in the theater, he said.
“We ask you to turn your phone on,” Rodriques said. “We want to encourage you to potentially communicate with people in the theater.”
Blowtorch is in talks with movie theater chains and advertisers. The company has reached a deal with Vivendi Visual Entertainment to sell DVD versions of its movies.
Investors include venture capital firm Ignition Partners. Renetta McCann, CEO of Publicis. Media agency Starcom MediaVest Group also sits on the board.
Asked whether viewer-created video could eventually produce a real feature film, Schiff was skeptical.
“I don’t think there is a digital democracy to the movie making process that’s going to be watchable,” he said.
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