We reported a few days ago that BuzzFeed was opening a new Motion Pictures division, hoping to make both large and small-length movies for the public to enjoy. However, there could be a greater success that lies beyond this business model, according to Pulp Fiction producer Michael Shamberg.
Shamberg recently joined BuzzFeed to serve as its advisor in the Motion Pictures division, and their efforts could easily translate over to either television or the big-screen, instead of just staying viral on the Internet.
Speaking with the Hollywood Reporter, Shamberg explained that the new kinds of content are worth getting amped up about. “You work in film and TV and the business model is chiseled in stone,” he adds. “Here, it’s all an experiment to find out what the future is. And what’s more exiting than feeling like you actually have a chance to invent the future ”
The new business model will certainly be a test for the company, and Shamberg has wasted no time getting involved with it. “I don’t think there’s ever been a Hollywood R&D model like we have here,” says Shamberg, who has been spending about two days a week at BuzzFeed’s 100-plus person Hollywood campus.
The team is currently in the process of hiring in-house team writers and building a devoted sound stage with fixed sets to help keep development costs from overflowing, but having a Hollywood player like Shamberg on board certainly doesn’t help when it comes to balancing those costs.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, “BFMP will consist of three divisions: BuzzFeed Video for short-form content, BuzzFeed Live Development for mid-length serialized projects and Future of Fiction for developing long-form film, television and transmedia efforts. The company plans to use its short- and mid-length videos to create characters, develop plots and test casting with online audiences. Projects with potential could move into full-length series or films,” the site reported.
However, Shamberg’s tie-in with the deal isn’t just Hollywood related. Said BFMP president Ze Frank, “We sit on opposite sides of the business, but it immediately became apparent that the way that Michael thinks about media overall is very experimental.”
Frank believe that Shamberg “has so much depth and insight into the traditional business but is also really interested in the ways that both development and distribution are changing right now.”
An interview with Ze on the process of hiring Shamberg – and how the business model of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures will play out – can be found here.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
