Technicolor announced that The King’s Speech on Blu-ray Disc (BD) from the Weinstein Company will be the first feature film to employ Technicolor’s MediaEcho second-screen App.
For more information visit: www.technicolor.com
Unedited press release follows:
Technicolor Teams with The Weinstein Company to Revolutionize Second Screen Viewing Experience for ‘The King’s Speech’
28 November 2011
Paris (France) & Hollywood (California) – November 28, 2011 – Technicolor (Euronext Paris: TCH) today announces that The Weinstein Company’s Academy Award® winner for Best Picture, The King’s Speech will be the first feature film to deploy Technicolor’s MediaEcho second-screen App.
“The key benefit of MediaEcho as a second screen application is to offer consumers content that is synchronized and relevant to what they are watching on the TV screen,” said Lew Rothman, Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Technology Officer, The Weinstein Company. “We are excited about the new level of interactivity and the second screen experience and are confident that consumers will value this App and want to watch content in this way moving forward. We look forward to working with Technicolor to bring the MediaEcho app to future Weinstein Company releases.”
Developed in-house by Technicolor, MediaEcho is an App (application) that delivers an interactive second-screen experience to viewers using a Blu-ray Disc player with BD-Live (Internet connectivity) and a tablet device, without disrupting the primary content on the main screen. Content displayed on the tablet can be played in sync with the on-screen feature or viewed later. MediaEcho uniquely utilizes BD-Live technology to enable a true two-way communication between any Internet connected Blu-ray Disc player and tablet device, providing users with a wealth of additional content, including:
• Bonus streaming audio and video content delivered from the Cloud
• Audio commentary excerpts
• Movie and historical trivia
• Behind the scenes information
• Social media integration allowing users to post comments, share content and connect during their movie-watching experience
• Actor/cast profiles, connecting to IMDB and other online databases
• E-commerce
“Technicolor presented the MediaEcho App concept for The King’s Speech to The Weinstein Company to deliver a true second screen experience that greatly enhances the movie-watching experience,” said Lanny Raimondo, head of Technicolor’s Entertainment Services businesses. “MediaEcho significantly increases the value of the Blu-ray Disc format by delivering immersive and social experiences to home entertainment fans.”
The King’s Speech App is currently available for download at the Apple iTunes Store.
ABOUT TECHNICOLOR
Technicolor is home to industry-leading creative and technology professionals committed to the creation, management and delivery of entertainment content to consumers around the world. Propelled by a culture of innovation and underpinned by a dedicated research organization, the company’s thriving licensing business possesses an extensive intellectual property portfolio focused on imaging and sound technologies. Serving motion picture, television, and other media clients, the company is a leading provider of high-end visual effects, animation, and postproduction services. In support of network service providers and broadcasters globally, Technicolor ranks among the worlds’ leading suppliers of digital content delivery services and home access devices, including set-top boxes and gateways. The company also remains a large physical media service provider, being one of the world’s largest film processors and independent manufacturers and distributors of DVDs and Blu-ray™ discs.
Euronext Paris: TCH •• www.technicolor.com
ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY
The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979. TWC also encompasses Dimension Films, the genre label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein, which has released such popular franchises as SCREAM, SPY KIDS and SCARY MOVIE. Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes, including Tom Hooper’s THE KING’S SPEECH, winner of four 2011 Academy Awards®, including Best Picture.
Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as GRINDHOUSE; I’M NOT THERE; THE GREAT DEBATERS; VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; THE ROAD; HALLOWEEN; THE PAT TILLMAN STORY; PIRANHA 3D; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; A SINGLE MAN; BLUE VALENTINE; THE COMPANY MEN; MIRAL; SCRE4M; and SUBMARINE. Currently in release are DIRTY GIRL; I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT; OUR IDIOT BROTHER; APOLLO 18; SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN 4D; and SARAH’S KEY. Upcoming releases include MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, PIRANHA 3DD; THE ARTIST; W.E.; and THE IRON LADY.
TWC is also active in television production, with credits including the Emmy® nominated and Peabody Award winning reality series Project Runway, the VH1 reality series Mob Wives, and the critically acclaimed HBO comedy/crime series The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency which also received a Peabody Award. The company is currently producing After The Runway, Project Runway All Stars and Project Accessory. The company currently has 17 series in different stages of development, including Marco Polo, a scripted historical series about the great explorer, for Starz; and The Nanny Diaries, being adapted for ABC by Amy Sherman Palladino (Gilmore Girls).