Written by Liz Gannes
Posted Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 12:54 PM PT

Swingers Director to Launch New Media Co

Doug Liman, director of Swingers and The Bourne Identity and an executive producer of The O.C., is the latest Hollywood talent to start a digital production company. Launching with an agreement to use striking writers from the WGA, the company, called Jackson Bites, will create content for the Internet, set-top boxes, mobile phones and other non-traditional methods, according to an emailed press release.

“If the last strike is best remembered for the studios attempting to show they could create programming without writers, this could be the strike where the writers show they can do it without the studios,” Liman said in the release, which stated that he would “not direct or produce any of the content in the new company,” but did not explain why. The company’s investment is from unnamed “new media and business investors.”

NewTeeVee writer Jackson West will be happy to know that the company is named after Liman’s 11-year-old sheep dog.

Jackson Bites joins a growing group of startups trying to use established talent and evade television, such as Virtual Artists and 60Frames.

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Topic: Startups

Comments (2)

There hasn’t been much news on the writers strike this week, and the WGA still has control.

The general consensus is that the Studios and the WGA are likely to agree a deal, but I think they are both arguing at the expense of the most important person in all of this mess, the Viewer.

What the WGA and all the other unions should realise is that by renegotiating, all they are doing is messing around while the towers they and the Studios have built are crumbling down.

The new value systems, enabled by cheap production and almost zero-cost internet distribution will enable all Talent to thrive. With the right financing models, it will give them;

A) creative and storytelling freedom

B) an opportunity to co-own media and to see significant return of value from their efforts

C) protection from needing to pursue alternative employment, i.e., a viable long term career opportunity

Most producers, actors, directors, make-up artists, writers, THE TALENT, have a huge opportunity at their feet.

The problem is, all the new players like Film 7, 60Frames, Jackson Bites, and Virtual Artists, are just trying to recreate the Studio model for the internet. These nouveau Studios still cover the financial risk so inherently, the TALENT will still be dominated by these new firms, the firms will centralise and hold control of decision making, investment and allocation of people to projects.

This is a model that we all want to move away from, it cannot and does not scale. Unfortunately it looks like TV 2.0 will be more like TV 1.1

Gordon Mattey — 1:59 PM on February 1, 2008 Reply
There is sooo much room for up and coming writers, audiences are growing wise and film of yester-year dont make the cut anymore. Exciting times. Good post.

matt — 5:45 AM on May 9, 2008 Reply

Linkbacks (4)

[...] Link. [...]

Eat Our Brains » Blog Archive »… — 10:17 PM on January 18, 2008
[...] Swingers Director to Launch New Media Co « NewTeeVee “If the last strike is best remembered for the studios attempting to show they could create programming without writers, this could be the strike where the writers show they can do it without the studios,” Liman said in the release. [...]

M1K3¥’s b-log » Blog Archive »… — 9:08 PM on January 19, 2008
[...] is yet, but with so many web production shops opening for business (see Film 7, Virtual Artists, Jackson Bites, Blowtorch Entertainment, and 60Frames), the honeymoon could last for a [...]

TubeMogul Launches Premium Video Stats «… — 1:52 PM on January 28, 2008
[...] problem is, all the new players like Film 7, 60Frames, Jackson Bites, and Virtual Artists, are just trying to recreate the Studio model for the internet. These nouveau [...]

Opportunities for talent in TV2.0 «… — 1:58 PM on February 1, 2008