O2 launches gory horror series for cell phones

O2 has commissioned a series of two-minute horror films for customers to download and watch on their handsets, in the world's first made-for-mobile horror series. [Brand Republic]

"The 20 episodes of 'When Evil Calls' will go live on October 23 in the build up to Halloween.

O2 customers around the world will be able to download the series by visiting the O2 Active web portal or by texting the word "wish" to 61616. However, because it includes scenes of violence, nudity and sex, the series will only be available after a 9pm watershed."

Movies go mobile with pocket filming

Short films shot using mobile phones are on display at the Pompidou art gallery and cultural centre in Paris.

It is a growing trend known as "pocket film-making" because of the low costs involved. Clive Myrie reports from Paris for the BBC on video and audio news.

Sony movies on 128 MB flash card for cell phones

Sony’s going to release some of its movies on 128 MB flash cards for use in slot-appropriate cell phones, reports mocoblog.

"Titles include Hitch and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle; additional releases include Spider-Man 2 and Ghostbusters, among others."

Full-Length ''Pay-Per-View'' Movies On Mobile Phones In U.S

Sprint revealed the launch of Sprint Movies, the first "pay-per-view" service for mobile phones in the U.S, powered by mSpot, reports Trading Markets.

... "Sprint Movies features many of the same conveniences as a DVD player, and cost between $3.99 and $5.99 each."

Warner Independent Pictures offers mobile movie trailer

Warner Independent Pictures became the first studio to premiere a movie trailer on U.S. mobile phones last week when the trailer for Richard Linklater's "A Scanner Darkly" was offered free to amp'd mobile customers, reports Reuters.

The movie, based on a novel by Philip K. Dick, stars Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder and Rory Cochrane in a highly stylized suburban dystopia blighted by drugs and paranoia.

The full-length theatrical trailer appears on the -- amp'd mobile entertainment channel, where it will remain through the movie's July 7 release. WIP exec VP marketing and publicity Laura Kim said additional promotional content will be added to the channel during the coming weeks.

... Amp'd Mobile launched last month. The company describes itself as the only 3G carrier in the U.S. specifically targeting youth and young professionals, which it does by leveraging entertainment properties.

Its handsets come with built-in MP3 players, USB connections for transferring content from a PC, removable memory and full 3G capabilities."

Warner takes TV, movies mobile

Warner Bros. said Thursday at 3GSM World Congress that it will start its own mobile Internet site - within three to six months - to distribute TV, video and even films to cell phone users -- a move that lessens the company's reliance on cellular carriers, reports Video Business.

"Warner has been selling through mobile operators, who put bits of content like ringtones and pictures onto their carrier "decks," or portals as they're known in Europe. Its most popular sellers have been content related to Looney Tunes and feature films such as Batman. It plans to continue selling that sort of content through the decks.

But now that technology advances have made it more feasible to offer video, Warner is treating its "longer" content -- TV and film -- differently. The material still will move over mobile networks, just not always through the operator portals.

... The move by Warner is a step into what the mobile industry calls "off-portal" distribution of content. As Internet companies like Yahoo! and Google spread to cell phones, off-portal distribution is expected to increase.

"Eventually, we want consumers to be able to search on their own and find Looney Tunes or Batman," Richardson said. "We don't want them necessarily to go through an operator."

Off-portal, also known as "direct to consumer," was a hot theme at the conference, which ended Thursday and featured a strong mobile-entertainment theme.

Feature Film Shot Entirely on Cellphone Cameras

The world’s first full-length movie to be shot entirely on cellphones has just been wrapped up in Johannesburg . The 35mm feature film, entitled SMS Sugar Man was shot with cameraphones.

Starting in May, SMS Sugar Man will become available across a variety of media platforms — cellphone, Internet, cinema, DVD and television. And when the Sony Ericsson W900i is launched in the next couple of months, every handset will come pre-packaged with a trailer for SMS Sugar Man.

[ via Sunday Times and networked performance]

Related: First South African Cell phone movie

Watch a movie on your phone 10 days after its release

This is wild. According to Cinematical, an Italian cell phone company has won the right to distribute feature films on cellphones just 10 days after they premiere in theaters.

"Distributor Eagle Pictures previously tried to back out of their deal to provide content for Hutchinson H3G (who provide Italian cell phone services from a base in Hong Kong) once they learned of the cellular company's plan to distribute The Interpreter to Italian cell phones uncomfortably close to the picture's theatrical release. In retaliation, H3G went to court to win the right to break the window – and won.

Their next move will be to offer their customers the ability to download Memoirs of a Geisha directly to their phones as early as December 27.

See also Variety's full reporting on this story in a free access article.

... "The distribution dispute is turning Italy into a laboratory for thrashing out global guidelines for rights deals for cell phones and other wireless devices, a hot topic at last month's American Film Market, where IFTA said it was drafting a model licensing agreement.

Con Visual, Forecast to distribute Hollywood movie clips in Japan

German company Con Visual and Forecast Communications, a Japanese mobile content provider, have concluded an agreement to distribute video clips of Hollywood movie content, licensed by Con Visual, to the Japanese mobile phone market. [via Digital Media Asia]

"Users will now be able to download key scenes from the most successful movies of the last few decades to their mobile phones. The list of movies includes titles such as 'The Mummy Returns', 'American Pie', 'Apollo 13','Jurassic Park','Blues Brothers' and 'E. T.', among others.

According to the latest figures, Japan has over 38 million UMTS user, and the agreement targets these users."

First South African Cell phone movie

Aryan Kaganof, the prolific writer/director of numerous feature films, shorts and video is to direct 35mm feature film, entitled SMS Sugar Man, shot on a cameraphone, according to Mobile Africa.

The story is an original idea of Kaganof's, and takes place on Christmas eve, and centres on a Johannesburg pimp, who drives four of his ladies around the city. A feel good story on a dark evening, for the modern urban viewer.

"The evolution of this technology is perfect to tell this story, which uses cellphones as an integral part of the narrative. The girls are umbilically linked to each other and Sugar Man through their phones" says Kaganof.

... The film will be shot in the dead of night, during December, and ready for distribution on a variety of distribution platforms in September 2006."

Vodafone first to show shooting of Verhoeven's "Black Book" on mobile

Vodafone customers will be able to follow the making of 'Black Book' - Dutch director and Academy award winner Paul Verhoeven's latest film - on their mobile, according to noticias.

Vodafone.nl is working in association with the Dutch cable company Casema to offer 'the making of' not only via the internet but also via mobile phones. New items from the set will be broadcast every week.

"These days it is possible to show the public the making of my latest film not only via TV and PC but also via the mobile phone. This is entirely consistent with the current trend towards media synergy. I'm delighted to be the first with Black Book", said Paul Verhoeven.

Reports from the set of Black Book will be updated each week for television on mobile. The film will have its premiere in cinemas in the Netherlands in autumn 2006."

Décroche wins the Festival Pocket Films competition

The winner of the Festival Pocket Films, a French competition for movies shooted with mobile phones, is Stéphane Galienni for his movie "Décroche" which tells the story of a young mobile phone addict, reports Yahoo France.

The public's favorite film is "Mes voyages" by Takako Yabuki, the story of a woman who fights her loneliness by sending video messages to the people she knows and to Jean-Claude Taki's "L'homme qui aimait les fleurs" about a man who has just commited a crime.

Video of Décroche.

Memorable Movie Moments

Moblog.uk and Sony Ericsson are launching a competition that anyone can enter. Participants have to re-create a memorable movie moment from the silver screen.

To re-enact your favourite moment, snap with your cameraphone and send your images to: pics at memorablemoviemoments.com

The best mock up will receive an all expenses paid trip to London to see a film premiere and a Sony Ericsson K750i

Two runners up will also receive a Sony Ericsson K750i.

Follow the submissions on the moblog.

Sony Pictures reveals mobile strategy

Entertainment giant Sony Pictures has unveiled a pan-European mobile strategy that will see it creating a mobile Internet site for every major film and DVD release, according to New Media Age via Adverblog.

"The next six months is likely to see the development of an umbrella Sony Pictures mobile Internet portal to hold content from all its brands.

The first mobile Internet site to be launched is to accompany the DVD release of Will Smith film Hitch".

Movie Trailers — From Banner Ad To Mobile

New Media Magazine reports of a new ad format, developed by rich-media supplier tangozebra, which enables users to enter their phone number directly into the ad to get a 30-second video trailer sent to their mobile.

They can watch and store the clip on their phone and forward it to friends.

"United International Pictures (UIP) is using the ad to promote the horror film The Skeleton Key, starring Kate Hudson."

[via Moco News]

UK Nokia stores to distribute Rok Player memory cards

Rok Etertainment, a UK provider of content-loaded memory cards for mobiles, has announced the retail distribution of its cards via Nokia stores across the UK, reports DM Europe.

"The move will see an initial launch portfolio of 12 titles, including the world's first full-length movie for mobile phones, The Shawshank Redemption, a music video compilation from the Ministry of Sound, and Wallace & Gromit shorts.

The technology behind the Rok Player allows for the placement of a complete two-hour film onto a 64mb multimedia memory card (MMC)."

Related:

-- Full Lenght Movies on Your Mobile Phone - Modern cult classic 'The Shawshank Redemption', which stars Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, is to become the first full-length movie to be available for download by mobile phone after a deal between Nokia, Granada Ventures and Rok Player

France Telecom offers glasses to view films on mobile phones

In reply to sceptics who think cell phone screens are too small to watch a movie, France Telecom's R&D department have come up with a pair of Micro Optical glasses, developped with Essilor International, a leading maker of ophthalmic optical products and supplies, particularly corrective lenses.

Hooked up to Samsung's SGH-D600 handset, Orange Wireless subscribers will be able to view films selected from Orange's film catalogue through their glasses. Launch date is scheduled for October 2005. [via L'Atelier]

Coming Soon - Movie previews on your cell phone

Mobile entertainment and technology firm Urban Mobile has partnered with UCI and Odeon Cinemas to provide movie fans with promotional film content downloadable to their mobile phones, reports Netimperative.

"Cinema-goers can receive a mobile entertainment pack at the UCI cinema box office, that relates to the film they're about to watch.

Mobile packs are already prepared for the forthcoming summer blockbusters War of the Worlds and The Fantastic Four.

Currently, the content available includes ringtones, colour images and games.

A new service is presently in beta test where customers will be sent a message containing a video preview of a new film, from which they can visit the WAP site".

'Spider-Man 2' film available on mobile phones

Mobile phone users can now view full-length, high-quality movies on the go, according to Digital Spy.

"The advance has been made possible by Sony, who have developed special 128Mb memory cards for selected Nokia and Ericsson models.

The first films on offer via the cards are Spider-Man 2 and Monty Python And The Holy Grail.

"This first ever release is just the tip of the iceberg," said Kevin Gillan, director of group business development at the retailer. "It's amazing to think that a two-hour long film can be compacted onto such a small card, yet retain sound and picture quality that has to be seen to be believed".