Three former top executives of Time
Warner Inc's AOL are backing a new online video venture being
launched on Thursday aimed at creating a new outlet for
documentary feature films, a category that has struggled to
gain mainstream attention.
Founded by AOL Vice Chairman Emeritus Ted Leonsis, the
site, SnagFilms, will offer about 200 feature-length films
initially, with about 750 available by the end of the year.
Instead of relying on offering its films on other big
Internet video portals such as AOL or Microsoft Corp's MSN,
SnagFilms will let its viewers embed films on their own home
pages or Facebook and MySpace pages, relying on a strategy made
popular by sites such as Google Inc's YouTube.
The business is backed by Leonsis, AOL co-founder and
Revolution LLC Chairman Steve Case and former AOL executive and
former Time Warner board member Miles Gilburne, who is now a
venture capitalist.
Former Discovery Communications executive Rick Allen is
SnagFilms's CEO.
The project was born out of Leonsis's realization that
documentary films, although abundant, have few options when it
comes to being shown in theaters.
"I'm shocked at how broken the business infrastructure is,"
Leonsis said in a telephone interview.
His documentary "Nanking," about the Japanese invasion of
the Chinese province, was eventually picked up for theatrical
release, as well as distributed by Time Warner's HBO cable
network. But of the vast majority of the 7,000 entries at the
2007 Sundance Film Festival, where "Nanking" made its debut,
only 120 films were selected for showing and about 10 actually
snatched deals.
"There's no way anyone will make money," Leonsis said.
Over time, he expects the site to appeal to more viewers
than traditional documentary buffs.
"Everyone has a camera in their telephone. Everyone's
growing up in a YouTube world," Leonsis said. "Documentary
reality based programming won't be a niched (category), but a
major way for self expression."
FILMANTHROPY
Films on the service will be available for streaming on
computers for free and will be subsidized by advertising. Half
of the ad revenue will be split with filmmakers.
A big component of the service is filmmakers can link their
video Web pages to charities of their choice. Director Morgan
Spurlock's "Super Size Me" page, for instance, provides links
to GlobalGiving, a foundation that connects donors with
projects.
As part of the launch, SnagFilms is also expected to
announce it has acquired for an undisclosed sum, indieWIRE, a
news, information and social network for the international
independent film community, SnagFilms said in statement.
At the launch, SnagFilms will feature documentaries and
videos from PBS, National Geographic, Sundance Preserve, Peter
Jennings Productions, Arts Alliance and others.
AOL will provide the technical infrastructure and ad sales
and will have the right to use SnagFilms content on AOL sites.
"You're going to see lots of films that can't see the light
of day," Leonsis added.
(Editing by Andre Grenon
In Theaters 
