FILMFUNDS ACQUIRES DURAN DUBOI US AND 3D LIVEFLIX, PLACES BID ON DURAN DUBOI FRANCE
Filmfunds Prepares To Ask Millions of Movie Fans,
“What Film Do You Want To See In 3D?”
Los Angeles (December 20, 2011) – Having launched a production arm to help bring promising new films to market, FilmFunds today announced the acquisition of Duran Duboi US, an independent California-based company whose patented 3D LiveFlix technology, combined with FilmFunds’ own digital crowd-sourcing technology, will allow FilmFunds to poll public opinion on the most popular films audiences want to see in 3D, then offer conversion services to content owners. Its acquisition of Duran Duboi US moves FilmFunds a significant step closer toward becoming a one-stop shop for filmmakers.
FilmFunds has also placed a formal bid for Duran Duboi France, currently in Chapter 11. The company, headquartered near Paris and part of Quinta Industries, is the internationally renowned visual effects company behind such hit films as Alien: Resurrection, Amelie, La Vie En Rose, A Very Long Engagment, Crank, Hannibal Rising, Underworld and Black Gold. In its bid, FilmFunds has ensured the completion of outstanding projects undertaken by Duran Duboi France, including the Luc Besson-produced film The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart. FilmFunds’ bid is structured to continue a quarter-century of visual expertise and deliver expert post-production and visual effects services to the website’s filmmakers.
With the in-house ability to convert 2D projects to 3D, and access to more than 60 million movie fans, FilmFunds will ask its members: Are the right movies being made in 3D? Which movies do you want to see in 3D? Voting by the FilmFunds community will determine the most popular projects for conversion and, based on this enthusiastic audience, the company will approach studios and other content owners – with both the data to prove an audience for a 3D version of the film, as well as the conversion technology. FilmFunds aims to partner with studios on a project by project basis to bring promising 3D films to life.
“While popular films like Star Wars and Titanic will soon be coming out in 3D, there are many others that have a built-in audience, if only studios and filmmakers had an easy-to-use, crowd-sourcing social marketing tool to prove it. Now they do. FilmFunds looks forward to working with content owners to help identify and convert the most beloved 2D films for 3D-hungry audiences everywhere,” offered FilmFunds Co-Founder and Chairman Carl Freer, a respected technology entrepreneur and visionary.
With the acquisition of Duran Duboi US, its president, Christian Paris, will transition to vice president of FilmFunds, helping to approach online content distributors like Netflix, as well as traditional distributors, in supporting 3D-converted projects. “I look forward to marrying our proprietary technology with that of FilmFunds, which truly offers a 21st-century solution for filmmakers,” said Paris. Having spent ten years as a U.S. representative for various European visual effects and sound technology companies, in 2010 he launched 3D LiveFlix, which recently provided the 3D conversion for Conan the Barbarian.
About Duran Duboi US and 3D LiveFlix
Duran Duboi US (DD US) is an independent California-based company created in 2002 by Christian Paris. DD US marketed visual effects services in Hollywood for Duran Duboi France for eight years and then for Quinta Industries for five years. It went into the business of visual effects as 3D conversion became more popular and created 3D LiveFlix to propose conversion solutions to film libraries, studios and independent filmmakers. Investing in R&D, it owns a unique process of conversion for theatrical release, home video and handhelds. 3D LiveFlix has exclusive branch partners in Paris along with India, Mexico and Hawaii. For more information, please visit www.duranduboi.com or www.3dliveflix.com.
About Duran Duboi (France)
Duran Duboi, founded in 1984, is widely acknowledged as a pioneer of the digital audiovisual post-production industry. Serving the film, TV and advertising communities, Duran Duboi Studio offers a full spectrum of services including digital audiovisual post-production, visual effects, 3D animation, pre-visualization and commercials. For more information, please visit http://www.quintaindustries.com.
About FilmFunds
Headquartered in Los Angeles, FilmFunds offers a 360-degree solution for Hollywood to test nascent film projects, helping move content through the pipeline by creating an audience for it, while giving fans a unprecedented opportunity to be part of the green-light process. FilmFunds utilizes crowd-sourced social marketing research to replace the costly live test-screening model used since Hollywood’s Golden Era. A social environment where Hollywood filmmakers can meet their real audience, with the most accurate, state-of-the-art diagnostics guiding their efforts to improve and build support for their product, FilmFunds is a place where film lovers have a chance to make it their movie. For more information, please visit www.FilmFunds.com.