YouTube in talks for new Hollywood movies
YouTube appears poised to enter the movie rental business, offering streams of current Hollywood movies at the going rate.
The Wall Street Journal web site broke the news that Google’s amateur video giant has been in talks with Sony, Warner Bros., MGM and Lionsgate for full-length Hollywood fare.
At least some of the video rentals would be day and date with DVDs and Blu-rays’ arrival at Blockbuster and other traditional outlets, several sources said.
YouTube has been pushing the studios for a free, ad-driven model, but Hollywood seeks rental fees such as those on Amazon’s Video On Demand service and the iTunes Store. The studios apparently remain resistant to closing the online release window to match DVD availability.
YouTube recently created a “Shows” section for professional video, embraced widescreen ratios and is offering what passes for HD on the Internet. The Google property also made first-step deals for clips and trailers from DIsney/ABC and Time Warner.
YouTube said in a statement: “While we don’t comment on rumor and speculation, we hope to expand both on our great relationships with movie studios and on the selection and types of videos we offer our community.”
Google’s video sites (YouTube, basically) streamed 8.9 million files in July, accounting for 42 percent of all videos viewed online, according to comScore.
‘Home’ video debuts on YouTube
The Luc Besson-produced visual feast “Home” opens Friday in theaters across the U.S. and Europe, in celebration of World Environmental Day.
Best to catch this “stunning visual portrayal of Earth” on the biggest screen you can find, but there’s a quick, easy and free way to see the film as June 5 dawns.
YouTube is set for a one-day-only streaming of “Home,” which was directed by French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand. (Update: The movie started streaming on schedule. YouTube’s presentation is in widescreen with the viewer option for what it calls HD.)
The production claims the title of first simultaneous online and offline premiere for a major film. The 90-minute feature is narrated by Glenn Close.
The ambitious and well-executed YouTube channel for “Home” includes the making-of extras we’ll probably see on the Blu-ray and DVD, as well as short videos about shooting locations. There’s also a stash of press conference videos. Google France worked with the producers to create five map “layers” with interactive and dynamic content.
The film is available in English, French, German and Spanish. Some international viewers are reporting messages that the stream is not available in their countries.
Director Arthus-Bertrand’s eco-friendly canned quote says, “The message in this film is incredibly important since it underscores the question of survival. It needs powerful and accessible platforms like YouTube and Google Maps to reach the largest audience.” Besson, of course, is known for visually driven movies such as “The Big Blue” and “The Fifth Element.”
“Home” also will screen in outdoor settings around the planet, such as Central Park, and on some TV networks.
Previous filmmakers debuting their works online include Michael Moore (“Sicko” on BlipTV) and Wayne Wang (“The Princess of Nebraska” on YouTube).
YouTube turns pro with team of losers
YouTube just unveiled its premium content redesign, bringing viewers a motley assortment of TV shows and feature films.
The user-generated-content giant announced the move as it trotted out previously reported content deals with Sony and MGM, as well as a few lesser pacts.
In a week in which YouTube showed its strength and great worth — with the newsmaking videos of the disgusting duo from Domino’s and the delightful spinster singer from Scotland — you hate to see the online video giant lower itself with this stinky serving of Hollywood leftovers.
As anticipated, the TV offerings come on a page called Shows and films can be found under Movies.
Shortly after the redesign went live, the movie page was featuring “Carrie,” “St. Elmo’s Fire
and “Slacker.” Mostly, these are movies you couldn’t sell for a quarter at a flea market. And they have ads.
To view movies with R-rated content, viewers were told to log in via YouTube or Google. Once done, they then were required to link their Yahoo and Google accounts. Yuck and suck. Show of hands, please, for those who need more Google in their lives.
The Shows page had “Married With Children,” the current CBS series “Harper’s Island,” “The Addams Family” and “The Dana Carvey Show.”
YouTube’s move to integrate full-length professional content makes sense for financial and viewership reasons, but to premiere the service with such a half-assed library just screams: “We can’t even begin to compete with Hulu.”
Susan Boyle: They all laughed
Let’s hear it for Susan Boyle, the spinster from Scotland who blew away Simon Cowell and the other judges on “Britain’s Got Talent.”
The plump and disheveled Boyle took the stage Saturday to eye rolling from the “American Idol”-like show’s judges. Hoots and jeers from the audience. The 47-year-old said she wanted to be like British musical theater goddess Elaine Paige, bringing on another chorus of abuse. Then Susan Boyle opened her mouth to sing …
There are several versions of the segment on YouTube — all blocked from embedding so view the Susan Boyle video here (HQ). This appears to be a monster YouTube event, with millions upon millions of views so far (did I actually count 20 million?).
Did it all really go down like that, with the judges truly stunned and their jaws dropping and all? I want to believe. But even if not, this is extraordinary online video, as viral as it comes. Too bad we can only see it for the first time once.
YouTube flirting with Sony Pictures
YouTube’s quest for real Hollywood content continues. Ongoing talks with Sony Pictures could result in full-length streaming movies for the site — a big improvement over the watery content deal reached the other day for short-form content from Disney/ABC/ESPN.
Of course, Sony won’t be giving up its latest boxoffice hits. The studio’s film showcase crackle.com serves up fare such as “Groundhog Day,” “Shakes the Clown” and “St. Elmo’s Fire.” While we wouldn’t mind revisiting “Shakes” or “Neighbors,” there’s little but moldy catalog stuff on the Sony site. That’s what would come to YouTube, probably in limited numbers and perhaps unspooled on a branded Sony player.
Still, this seems reason enough for YouTube to get excited. The user-posted-video site, which spent years alienating Hollywood’s suits, is finding it tough getting anything of value out of would-be premium partners such as Sony. YouTube’s upcoming redesign prominently features movie and TV content.
YouTube hasn’t been able to monetize its endless user-generated content — beloved by the public but considered trash by the ad buyers — and is desperate to do something about its money-losing ways. Credit Suisse analysts just projected an annual YouTube loss of $470 million.