GRASSE SEEKS VIDEO CONTENT FOR ‘CURIOUS TV’ ON JOOST

Curious Film Australia is looking for short films, videos, ideas and other footage to screen on ‘CURIOUS TV’ after signing a groundbreaking deal with Joost.

Curious Film and US agency Gyro Worldwide have secured their own Joost channel – the first collaboration of its kind between a commercial production company, advertising agency and digital TV network.

Created by Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, the founders of Skype, Joost is the most hyped peer-to-peer Web TV platform in the world, boasting distribution deals with media outlets such as FOX, Warner Music, Viacom and Paramount Pictures.

“I think a lot of creatives probably have a lot of worthwhile stuff hidden in their closets, which we can now broadcast on Curious TV,” says Pete Grasse, MD of Curious Film Australia.

“It might be short films, taint videos, material they’ve already shot, or any ideas they’d like to create. In exchange, we’ll give them a percentage of ad sales from Joost and a global channel on which to broadcast their ideas and receive creative credit for their work.”

He admits that ad revenue is likely to amount to “fuck all”, but says it’s a unique opportunity for creatives to debut their work on a platform that’s expected to revolutionise the world of digital TV.

Curious TV will kick off screening more than 25-hours of the cult series ‘Bikini Bandits’, a gratuitously sleazy B-grade showcase of filmic genius, which has already been viewed by 32 million people. The series delves deep into the psyche of girls in bikinis with guns and is a tawdry attack on anyone who takes themselves too seriously.

“It’s all about empowerment,” says Steve Grasse, CEO of Gyro Worldwide in Philadelphia, whose clients include Puma, Ecco Sport, The Eagles of Death Metal and Budweiser. “Basically, the world is too uptight and politically correct and everyone should back the fuck off. It’s my view of how the world should be – I wish there were more girls in bikinis with guns.”

The Bikini Bandits Experience launched in 1999 starring Dee Dee Ramone, Corey Feldman and Maynard James Keenan. With its bizarre mix of B-grade animation, live action and infomercials, the film first found fame on the Internet after becoming one of the most downloaded videos on Atom Films, the first independent film website.

Not all reviews for Bikini Bandits have been kind. “This is, without a doubt, the worst film ever made,” said one reviewer with absolutely no taste or intelligence. More enlightened fans have described Bikini Bandit as, “Creative genius – truly a cult art form. Love it, or die.”

Bikini Bandits has premiered in the UK, France, Italy and Japan at events sponsored by MTV, Maxim, Universal and Fuji Film. Its next premier takes place in Australia in 2008.

If you’d like to submit content to Curious TV, contact Pete Grasse