After months of beta testing, Hulu.com is finally off the ground with TV and movie content from NBC, News Corp. and its partners. What’s most intriguing about the official launch is the new advertising formats that come with it. The Ad Selector gives users the choice of the ad they want to see and the Movie Selector lets advertisers play long trailers before the program starts and no other advertising during the program. The Ad Selector is especially intriguing because it provides confirmation that users are selecting the ads they watch as well as the programs. We’ll be intrigued to see how it develops and if it will be picked up anywhere else.
Honda’s “Element and Friends” campaign has a new spot, starring a dog. “Pointer” is the 23rd spot in the series created by RPA and produced by WILDBRAIN and there’s an interesting story to go with it, which you’ll see in our iSPOT of the Week coverage.
Don’t forget to let us know about the news at your companies and the video ads you’re creating and producing.
Ken Liebeskind, iSPOT Senior Editor, kliebeskind@shootonline.com, 203-227-1699, ext.17 www.shootonline.com/go/ispot
Bill Condon, Jennifer Lopez Unveil “Kiss of the Spider Woman” At Sundance
A lavish, MGM-style musical is not typical Sundance Film Festival fare. But Sunday night Bill Condon brought such a creation—well, part of one—to Park City, Utah, with his adaptation of "Kiss of the Spider Woman," starring Jennifer Lopez.
Audiences broke out in spontaneous applause during the screening for Lopez's song and dance numbers. She plays an old Hollywood screen siren in a movie-within-the movie. The packed Eccles Theater also gave Lopez, wearing a glittery spiderweb themed frock, a standing ovation after the show.
"I've been waiting for this moment my whole life," Lopez said.
The story, which revolves around the conversations between two cellmates in an Argentine prison, was first a novel by Manuel Puig in 1976 and has been adapted for stage and screen over the years. A 1985 film adaptation starred William Hurt and Raul Julia. Hurt won an Oscar for his performance. On Broadway, it won multiple Tony Awards.
Condon wrote and directed this new version, which is seeking a distributor. Diego Luna plays an imprisoned revolutionary Valentin Arregui, whose new cellmate Luis Molina (Tonatiuh) loves movies, celebrity and glamour and enthusiastically recounts the story of a favorite movie musical, called "Kiss of the Spider Woman" to Valentin, giving them and the audience a break from their bleak reality.
While the film has memorable moments of escapist spectacle, it also delves into serious topics of gender identity. Molina tells Valentin that they don't feel like a man or a woman—which Valentin finds odd at first but grows to understand.
Before the screening, Condon said that one of the things the movie is about is "the attempt to bridge the incredible differences that separate us so often." He quoted President... Read More