EXCLUSIVE
Freddie Wong has won over millions of fans YouTube with his campy, video-game-inspired short films. But he isn't interested in winning over Hollywood.
Since launching two YouTube channels, FreddieW and FreddieW2, in March 2010, Wong and his partner, Brandon Laatsch, have uploaded 121 effects-heavy videos on a near-weekly basis. They've amassed more than 3.5 million subscribers between their two channels. They've also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, through fan donations, to make the clips.
Their YouTube following has attracted Hollywood's attention: Wong and Laatsch have recently been approached by movie studios including the Weinstein Co., as well as producers. But no deals have come to fruition. Wong said signing a contract isn't his top priority. Directing YouTube movies is.
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"Making a feature film or making a TV show [as] a definition of success, that's out of date," Wong told TheWrap. "We're looking at where online content is going, where technology is going -- that's an exciting new frontier. We have this chance to carve out what the online world and digital-distribution world could look like, and that's infinitely more interesting."
For most of their videos -- some of which were shot in Wong's backyard -- Wong directs and stars, and Laatsch handles the camerawork. The video production costs vary, with some costing a few thousand dollars to make. Another one, inspired by the video game "Modern Warfare," cost about $200 and has wracked up more than 4.7 million views.
They recently shot their first TV commercial, a spot for the Electronic Arts video game "Battlefield 3," after making online commercials for McDonald's and Toshiba. In the new ad, they load up a forklift with explosives, Wong drives it toward a building, and then he bails out before it detonates.
"We turned it around in 10 days," Wong said. "[EA] left it open to us to come up with concepts. They said, 'Mess around and have fun with your friends.' "
Wong and Laatsch's new ad debuted on TV over the weekend. But that's not changing their career trajectory, at least at the moment: For them, it's still all about YouTube.
(Story continues after the Wong and Laatsch's ad below.)
Among their most popular clips on the video-sharing site are "Future First Person Shooter," which depicts a live-action version of a first-person-shooter video game and has accrued nearly 22 million views; "Medal of Honor Cat," which also plays off a popular video game and has almost 13 million views; and "Gamer Commute," which has more than 10 million views.
Only five other YouTube channels have more subscribers than FreddieW, and only two other directors on YouTube have more subscribers.
Wong and Laatsch's enormous popularity online had led to guest appearances in their videos by Jon
