Bicoastal Tool of North America has signed The company P, a Swedish content and design studio that creates participant drama and social entertainment. This genre takes a single story and encourages active viewer participation by utilizing trans-media opportunities, including TV broadcasting, interactive technology, social media, mobile communication and online games. Tool will represent the company and produce projects with its digital and production resources, applying the participatory entertainment approach to those jobs.
The company P’s games, shows, and content are created in collaboration with their audience following the same basic open philosophy that has led to the success of open-source software programs. Leading industry experts, researchers from game and ICT academia, artists and enthusiasts joined forces to create the company, and the combined strength of their individual influences is reflected in the broad array of work that the studio pushes out.
“Today’s entertainment consumers are immersed in an environment in which their day-to-day lives are completely interactive. What they do at The company P is basically fulfill that growing demand for a say in the action by applying familiar concepts of participation with the familiar format of TV and the Internet, essentially creating a new genre,” noted Tool exec producer Brian Latt. “We want to expand this concept into the commercial world, and we think The company P is exactly the right partner to make this happen.”
Headed by CEO Christopher Sandberg, The company P has recently completed a production with Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and is currently in development on interactive entertainment properties with Tim Kring (creator of Heroes). The company P’s past work includes the Interactive Emmy-winning production of The Truth About Marika, a participant drams and TV series; Momentum, a techno-occult pervasive game; Outstanding, a participatory exhibition at the Museum of World Culture; scriptwriting and design for Furiae, an episodic dark fantasy RPG for mobile and PC; and XOver TV, an innovative broadcasting format that allows audiences to participate through avatars as studio guests.
Sheriff Reports Preliminary Autopsy Results On Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa
Preliminary autopsy results didn't determine how Oscar-winner Gene Hackman and his wife died at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but did rule out that they were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning, the sheriff leading the investigation said Friday.
The condition of the bodies found Wednesday indicated the deaths occurred at least several days earlier and there was no sign of foul play.
At a news conference, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said the initial examination by the medical examiner showed no sign of carbon monoxide, a colorless and odorless gas produced from kitchen appliances and other fuel-burning items. When it collects in poorly ventilated homes, it can be fatal.
Mendoza also said an examination of the 95-year-old Hackman's pacemaker showed it stopped working on Feb. 17, which means he may have died nine days earlier.
Hackman's body was found in an entryway. The body of his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 65, was in a bathroom. She was on her side and a space heater was near her head. Investigators said the heater likely was pulled down when she fell. There also was an open prescription bottle and pills scattered on a countertop.
Whether the pills or other drugs were a factor won't be known until toxicology tests are completed in the coming weeks.
Dr. Philip Keen, the retired chief medical examiner in Maricopa County, Arizona, said it would be unlikely for a person who tests negative for carbon monoxide initially to later be found to have been poisoned by it.
He also said the moment when a pacemaker stops working could mark the point when a person dies, but not always.
"If your heart required a pacemaker, there would certainly be an interruption at that point — and it might be the hallmark of when... Read More