Here’s something you don’t see everyday in Hollywood: Luc Besson is opening up an opportunity for the public to help produce his next film, says THR.com. French indie studio EuropaCorp. is putting production of
its next movie into the hands of French cinephiles with new website
weareproducteurs.com
in partnership with France Telecom subsidiary Orange, both groups
announced Friday. As of the launch of the site on Friday, web users can participate
in all aspects of production from script to screen through an
interactive community website.
Via the website, users will be involved in everything from the casting, to picking the script, director and music. They’ll even have the opportunity to contribute to the financing and get a piece of the gross. EuropaCorp is looking to release the film in the fall of 2011. So why is Besson opening up his process like this? Piracy: “Because of piracy issues, we as producers have
this image of being the ‘bad guys’ among Internet users. It’s time
to revive the dialogue between us,” Besson said at the press
conference. He added: “It’s our way of telling web users: Don’t
wage war with us. Learn how to make a movie with us, and then
you’ll understand what’s at stake when you illegally download
films.”
No word yet on how the casting couch is going to be handled.