“ReBoot,” the classic animated episodic television series, is being redeveloped as a trilogy of feature length films by Rainmaker Animation with the help of new media applications, it was announced today by Warren Franklin, CEO of Rainmaker Entertainment. This historic series, originally produced in 1994, was the first animated CGI show on television and aired for several seasons on ABC, YTV and The Cartoon Network.
“‘ReBoot’ was groundbreaking in its first incarnation, but what’s really exciting is producing these films for the new generation of cross-platform content distribution,” explains Franklin. “Everyone remembers the television series, but I can imagine how ‘ReBoot’ could live as a film, as a game or as mobile content. It’s important for us to engage all of those audiences at this early stage.”
Paul Gertz, Executive Vice President of Rainmaker Animation, adds, “‘ReBoot’s’ legions of fans have been incredibly loyal and continue to keep the property alive on dozens of fan sites. We’re very enthusiastic about how we’re re-conceiving this classic series by creating an innovative way for those fans, who were kids when the series started, to use new technology to help guide us.”
Rainmaker and Zeros 2 Heroes, a newly launched social network for fans of comics, have entered into a strategic alliance to further the redevelopment effort of “ReBoot.” Five undiscovered writers have been selected to work with the professionals at Rainmaker to develop their individual and separate pitches for the beloved series’ new storyline. Each writer will collaborate with a Rainmaker production team to prepare a presentation pitch which will be posted to the Zeros 2 Heroes website beginning on July 26, 2007, the opening of Comic-Con International.
For the next month, those visiting the website will be able to work with each production team to help refine the ideas for the return of “ReBoot” and at the end of that month the fans will vote and select the winning pitch. Later this year, a web version of the comic based on the winning idea will be published. At that time, production of a planned trilogy of feature length “ReBoot” films will commence. Throughout this process, Rainmaker will continue to draw on the fan base to help drive the creative while empowering the fans’ voices in the show’s direction.
Zeros 2 Heroes is an upstart social media company that intends to revolutionize the traditional relationship between major entertainment studios and the fans. Its president, Matt Toner, sees the internet as an inherently democratizing medium that will significantly alter long-established business customs within the industry.
“We want to get rid of the gatekeepers and help forge a genuine dialogue between producers and fans. When it comes to longstanding genre entertainment properties, the fans are the real experts and their goodwill shouldn’t be taken for granted,” says Toner. “If you want them to show up on opening weekend, why not build an authentic relationship from day one?”
The Zeros 2 Heroes online viewer will feature many cutting-edge Web 2.0 applications. The online audience will be able to interact with the content on a variety of levels: tagging, rating, reviewing, blogging, chatting and more. They can even submit their own fan art and go “head to head” with the professionals from Rainmaker.
“Rainmaker is a forward-looking company and they really get this,” Toner continues. “We’re thrilled to be using our tools to help drive the next generation of ‘ReBoot’.
