Archive for March 18th, 2008

Peter Berg is attached to direct a bigscreen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel “Dune” for Paramount Pictures.Kevin Misher, who spent the past year obtaining the book rights from the Herbert estate, will produce via his Par-based shingle.

Herbert’s 1965 novel is a sweeping, futuristic tale set on the remote desert planet Arrakis, which produces the interstellar empire’s sole source of the spice Melange — used for distant space travel. An empirewide power struggle ensues over the control of the spice. Berg would be the latest helmer to take a crack at the property, which spawned a 1984 David Lynch film as well as a 2000 Sci Fi Channel miniseries starring William Hurt.

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View videos and shop at the same time. That’s the premise behind an innovative advertising and entertainment branding program launched by GET Interactive.

By way of GET Interactive’s Ad-Venture technology, viewers watching a video on the Internet or a mobile phone will be offered the option of opening a new window to browse through still images and shop for products tagged with a GET Shop Spot.

Launching live later this month with Knockout Entertainment/DEJA34/Koch artist Ray J’s “Sexy Can I” video, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based GET Interactive has signed content deals with Universal Music Group and Sega of America. The company is also in discussions with Epic Records.

GET Interactive CEO Rick Harrison sees the company becoming a partner with record labels to help generate more revenue and cover the cost of production on video shoots.

“We’re not trying to force a banner ad, streaming ad or another ad form in consumers’ faces,” he says. “Our opt-in platform really opens up the door for brands to deliver compelling brand interaction with a very targeted consumer.”

Harrison says the sky is the limit in terms of the types of products that can be flagged. Apparel, accessories and cosmetics are popular choices. But cars, packaged goods or electronics can also be targeted. Beyond being linked to a purchase page, consumers could click to get a coupon, play a branded videogame, enter a sweepstakes or watch a special ad about a product category.

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It should come as no real surprise, but this fall’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be released in IMAX theatres along with the regular-old screens at your local multiplex. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix did the same thing last summer, and as we all remember, made a boatload of cash in the process. The IMAX press release, over at ComingSoon.net, also talks about the plans for The Dark Knight in IMAX.

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HOPING TO LURE BIG-SPENDING AUTO advertisers, NBC Universal has acquired a 35% stake in Car content company driverTV.

DriverTV produces and distributes content for car shoppers and enthusiasts online, as well as across cable TV and video-on-demand platforms. Building on that model, NBCU now plans to expand driverTV’s distribution to include NBC.com and MySpace, among other destinations.

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LAST WEEK’S RESEARCH DROP FROM Nielsen Mobile found that 23% of mobile users say they have seen ads on their phone in the last 30 days. About half of them responded to one or more of these commercial messages. I guess this is good news, if the experience of engaging ads on mobile is in any way rewarding to consumers. Otherwise, we risk turning users off to the mobile marketing model altogether. My own experience continues to be mixed, but the other night I spent a couple of hours simply browsing for the most recent mobile ads across three carriers and devices. Yeah, I know, that sounds kind of pathetic, but it is my so-called life. And there is only so much you can do when your daughter has kidnapped the TV for an evening of Halo 3.

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Weren’t able to trek out to Hollywood for this year’s Paley Fest? No worries, I’ve got you covered. For the next eight days, I’ll be bringing you all the highlights from the annual festival via (almost) daily dispatches here in the Ausiello Report. Our camera crew will also be joining me on select days (Buffy! Friday Night Lights! Gossip Girl!), so keep close tabs on the TVGuide.com video player this week for red-carpet interviews with the likes of Spike, Coach Taylor, S, B, N and D.

Officially speaking, Paley ‘08 kicked off Friday evening at the Cinerama Dome with what I’m sure was a very educational Elvis retrospective. But as far as this TV junkie is concerned, the tube-apalooza really got started Saturday night with the Pushing Daisies panel. Herewith are the highlights…

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The country’s third-largest advertiser is getting ready to shift fully half of its $3 billion budget into digital and one-to-one marketing within the next three years. And as GM goes, so goes the entire automotive industry — the leading advertising category that pumped some $9.42 billion into the ad economy last year.

The goal is to go well beyond the banner — GM spent $197 million in online ads last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence — to encompass gaming, search, mobile and a broad array of interactive applications, according to several executives close to the automaker. In the last few years GM has shifted several hundred million dollars from TV and print to digital and one-to-one, and that trend will accelerate, said the executives.

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NextMedium, Inc., developer of the first technology platform for buying and selling brand integration, and BET Networks jointly announced today that the cable network has selected NextMedium’s solution and will be using its Embed platform to manage and monetize its brand integration inventory.“We chose NextMedium to maximize the integration opportunities for our clients. The Embed platform gives us complete inventory control and quick access to relevant advertisers,” said Alvin Bowles, Senior Vice President, Integrated Marketing, BET Networks.

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George Lucas is working on a new live-action Star Wars series for television that is being described as Deadwood meets The Sopranos in outer space, the New York Post reported today (Monday), citing a report that appeared on the sci-fi website collider.com. Lucas’s primary Star Wars characters, including Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Darth Vader, will not appear in the series, the newspaper said. The Post said that Lucas has held talks with HBO about carrying the series and has also approached at least one broadcast network, but he has yet to make a deal. The newspaper did not explain the reasons for the broadcast and cable networks’ reluctance, especially since the Star Wars movies represent the most successful film franchise in history. Lucas is also working on an animated TV series, The Clone Wars, which is also based on the Star Wars tales.

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We cast Jamal Woolard in the role of B.I.G.. Although Jamal has a bit of history of his own in the music industry, he is still relatively unknown, which we thought was an integral element in filling the role. Jamal, a Brooklyn native, has been working hard to capture the spirit of Christopher’s character, the soul of the man. We are extremely excited about our choice of casting, his natural charm and charismatic demeanor is very reminiscent of B.I.G and we look forward to sharing this ride with him..

Im gonna sign off now, but will return soon..

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