Today’s Variety, now being distributed to thousands of attendees of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, features a piece on the significance of the Producers Guild of America transmedia producer credit in Hollywood since its introduction in 2010. Jeff Gomez and Starlight Runner figure prominently in the article:
Since the PGA started recognizing the role in April 2010, the first credits have already started to appear with George Stayton getting a transmedia producer title on Paramount and Hasbro’s “Transformers” franchise. The credit’s also appeared on THQ’s “Red Faction” video game.
But 2012 should prove a watershed year, according to veteran transmedia producer Jeff Gomez, who’s been championing the concept for more than a decade. The Canadian Media Fund will add the credit to its projects. And “there will be (another) major studio getting on board very soon,” Gomez said.
If you are at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, join Jeff Gomez at Digital Media Wire’s Games Summit on Wednesday, January 11. His panel at 4 PM is called Hollywood and Games – A Transmedia Approach to Entertainment Content.
PANEL 6: Hollywood and Games – A Transmedia Approach to Entertainment Content
Starlight Runner’s Simon Pulman interviewed Henry Jenkins about his new book, “Spreadable Media” at Merging+Media 2011 in Vancouver.
Simon Pulman graciously posted the text of Starlight Runner CEO Jeff Gomez’s keynote on World Building & Mythology on his Transmythology blog. The candid speech tracks Jeff’s efforts to introduce multi-platform narrative to Hollywood and share the fundamentals of storytelling with the world.
If you’ve been following the many interviews 343 Industries has been doing surrounding the release of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, you might have seen a mention of a company called Starlight Runner Entertainment. The New York–based Starlight Runner specializes in what’s called “transmedia,” or branching fiction into other media platforms. If it’s a videogame franchise, for instance, the process could involve taking the game’s world and preparing it for expansion into novels, comic books, TV series, movies, etc.
Starlight Runner’s work has been felt in popular franchises such as TRON, Red Faction, Pirates of the Caribbean, Prince of Persia, Transformers, and Avatar, but President and CEO Jeff Gomez calls its undertaking of Halo, which spanned about a year-and-a-half of the company’s time, one of its proudest moments.
“It was the biggest and most challenging work of our entire careers,” he says…
Read the rest of the interview at the Official XBOX Magazine
Starlight Runner Entertainment’s Caitlin Burns spoke on the panel A Tale of Two Worlds: When Film/TV-Game Worlds Collide at the 2011 Merging Media conference in Vancouver.
Film and television storyworlds appear to make good game fodder and vice versa, is this true? We hear first hand from industry observers and those involved in these adaptations on what it takes to create a cohesive world and successful title from an existing IP, from blockbuster movies like “Star Wars-Republic” and “Tron” to popular TV Series “Lost” and “Family Guy.”
Starlight Runner Entertainment’s Caitlin Burns participated in the Tribeca Film Institute’s Transmedia for Social Documentaries panel, alongside Vladan Nikolic, Megan Cunningham, and Opeyemi Olukemi.
Jeff Gomez’s talk at the recent Power to the Pixel conference in London was highlighted by references to Ernie Cline’s science fiction novel Ready Player One, and an overview of the potential of J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore and the future of the Harry Potter Universe.
Date: Saturday, October 15
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Location: American Airlines Theater, 1A06
Speakers: Abdul H. Rashid, J.D. Matonti, Jeff Gomez, Mark Hamill
Description:
Mark Hamill appears on this very special panel with New-Gen, discussing his role in the upcoming film based on this science fiction comic book series. For more information visit www.newgenuniverse.com.
Pottermore: Expert Explains How Harry Potter’s Website Will Transform Storytelling
This Sunday, fans of the Harry Potter book and movie series will flock to Pottermore.com because of one sentence currently posted on the splash page: “Come back on 31st July to find out how you can get the chance to enter Pottermore early.”
Those lucky few will not only enter a world where the stories can expand both in length and depth. Or perhaps be the first to enjoy Potter e-books. They will also witness a historical shift in entertainment, according transmedia expert Jeff Gomez.
President and CEO of Starlight Entertainment, Gomez has transformed stories, games and products — such as ”Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Tron Legacy,” ”Halo,” “Avatar,” and Hot Wheels — into interactive universes. He has lectured on developing transmedia brands (which he defines below) to the MIT Futures of Entertainment Conference, Game Developers Conference, O’Reilly Tools of Change and the Producers Guild of America.
And Gomez is seriously bullish on Pottermore’s potential. In this email interview, we talk about what Potter fans can expect, the role author J.K. Rowling will play and how this one site could change the way we tell stories.”
