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06-26-2009, 10:34 PM
When Jimmy Durante famously said, "Everybody wants to get into the act," he couldn't have known that now, in the Internet Age, everybody just might be able to.
YooStar, a startup company that debuted in January, is getting ready to launch a system that lets fans insert themselves into classic movie scenes and act "alongside" the movie stars for $170.
In a nutshell, YooStar wants to be "Guitar Hero" for movies.
The YooStar retail package, which hits stores in mid-August, includes a greenscreen, a high-resolution webcam (which includes dual microphones and remote control), stand and software.
Once fans have inserted themselves into a scene, they can share the clip on their own computer or upload free to a YouTubelike site hosted by YooStar, where anyone can view it.
Five studios -- Paramount, Universal, MGM, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate -- have partnered with the company, as have the National Basketball Assn. and Sesame Workshop's "Sesame Street" franchise. The package will ship with 14 clips (11 from films, one from "Sesame Street" and two "moving backgrounds," which allow users to improvise a scene).
Included are single scenes from pics as old as "Double Indemnity" (1944) and "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) and as recent as 2006's "Rocky Balboa" and "Employee of the Month." The original "Terminator" and "Beverly Hills Cop 2" are also in the starter pack.
While it resists being called a game, YooStar is relying on the same good will that consumers have shown the vidgame industry for success. The service carries a pricetag many may consider steep in the current economy. Additional scenes via download are priced between 99¢ and $3.99. (The company hopes to have 200 downloadable scenes available at launch.)
"In some ways, we're doing for movies what 'Rock Band' and 'Guitar Hero' did for music," says Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, president and CEO of YooStar. Those two vidgame titles have revitalized interest in several classic rock acts, and Bousquet-Chavanne says he hopes his product will do the same for catalog films.
So...who's first in line?
YooStar, a startup company that debuted in January, is getting ready to launch a system that lets fans insert themselves into classic movie scenes and act "alongside" the movie stars for $170.
In a nutshell, YooStar wants to be "Guitar Hero" for movies.
The YooStar retail package, which hits stores in mid-August, includes a greenscreen, a high-resolution webcam (which includes dual microphones and remote control), stand and software.
Once fans have inserted themselves into a scene, they can share the clip on their own computer or upload free to a YouTubelike site hosted by YooStar, where anyone can view it.
Five studios -- Paramount, Universal, MGM, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate -- have partnered with the company, as have the National Basketball Assn. and Sesame Workshop's "Sesame Street" franchise. The package will ship with 14 clips (11 from films, one from "Sesame Street" and two "moving backgrounds," which allow users to improvise a scene).
Included are single scenes from pics as old as "Double Indemnity" (1944) and "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) and as recent as 2006's "Rocky Balboa" and "Employee of the Month." The original "Terminator" and "Beverly Hills Cop 2" are also in the starter pack.
While it resists being called a game, YooStar is relying on the same good will that consumers have shown the vidgame industry for success. The service carries a pricetag many may consider steep in the current economy. Additional scenes via download are priced between 99¢ and $3.99. (The company hopes to have 200 downloadable scenes available at launch.)
"In some ways, we're doing for movies what 'Rock Band' and 'Guitar Hero' did for music," says Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, president and CEO of YooStar. Those two vidgame titles have revitalized interest in several classic rock acts, and Bousquet-Chavanne says he hopes his product will do the same for catalog films.
So...who's first in line?