Jeffrey Katzenberg Compares His New Streaming Platform Quibi to 'The Da Vinci Code'

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With 10 months to go until the launch of their new streaming service, Quibi, DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman told a packed auditorium at the 2019 Produced By Conference Saturday that their company’s planned chapter structure was similar to those in Dan Brown novels like “The Da Vinci Code.”

Plenty of attempts have been made to create a streaming platform tailored for mobile phones, but none so far have succeeded. But Katzenberg and Whitman’s combined track record at companies like DreamWorks and eBay has convinced investors to let them give it another go. So far, Quibi has acquired $1 billion in funding with which they hope to do something that no other streaming platform has done before: launch without a pre-existing library.

“This is a completely new platform, with a completely new opportunity to tell stories in a different format,” Whitman said. “People are watching up to 60 minutes a day of video on their phones, and that figure is only going to get bigger with the arrival of 5G.”

Also Read: 'Punk'd' and 'Singled Out' Remakes Greenlit at Jeffrey Katzenberg's Quibi

Katzenberg explained that the series that will launch on April 6, 2020, will be released in daily, 10-minute chapters, providing a hopefully happy medium between the immediate, bing-watching season releases of Netflix and the weekly, traditional episodic format of broadcast TV. He compared the company’s chapter system to the short, five-page chapters in Dan Brown novels.

“Dan Brown has spoken about having these 464-page novels with very short chapters, so that if his readers didn’t have 30-40 minutes to sit down and read a big section, they could still have a good reading experience with however amount of time they had,” he explained.

“The basis of what we are doing is rooted in what television has been doing for 70 years: having a moment in an episode that makes you go ‘wow!’ and a bridge that makes you want to come back for the next chapter. The goal for us is to do it with a new time constraint and a new format.”

Also Read: 'The Social Network' for Snapchat? Jeffrey Katzenberg's Quibi Orders Series Based on Snap Chief Evan Spiegel

Of course, YouTube and its creators have found a way to build such a devoted base in that format over the past decade. But Quibi wants to go a step further and build short-form series with as many big-name filmmakers as possible. The company is teaming up with MTV to bring back two of the channel’s most famous reality shows, “The Real World” and “Punk’d,” in a mobile short-form format.

Meanwhile, director Antoine Fuqua and Sony Pictures TV are creating an exclusive crime drama for the platform called “#freerayshawn,” starring Laurence Fishburne and “If Beale Street Could Talk” star Stephan James. Other creators and studios like Guillermo del Toro, Anna Kendrick, Blumhouse and, most recently, Steven Soderbergh have also come onboard to create original content.

While other streaming companies like Netflix have added clauses in their original programming contracts preventing them from being shopped around for a certain number of years after they are cancelled, Quibi is giving Fuqua an opportunity to make a long-form version of his film after it has spent a certain period of time on the streaming service.

Also Read: Chrissy Teigen to Star in 'Judge Judy'-Like Series for Jeffrey Katzenberg's Quibi

“Fuqua will have editorial control over the project, and after his film has been on the platform for two years, he will be able to re-edit the film into a feature film version that he can sell anywhere he wants. That’s important because the narrative pacing for an uninterrupted, two-hour film is different than a series broken into ten-minute chapters,” Katzenberg said.

“We feel we’re making something really unique because creators can own their IP. The more successful a project is for Quibi, the more successful it will be for the filmmakers in the long term.”

In the coming months, Quibi will roll out a $470 million marketing campaign to get potential subscribers onboard, offering a free trial and a subscription price of $4.99/month. Millennials (age 25-35) will be the target demographic, with hopes to also catch older members of Gen-Z (age 18-24). The big question, however, is whether younger consumers will be willing to add mobile streaming to their list of subscriptions at a time when home streaming is becoming increasingly varied and there are free options like YouTube and social.

Also Read: Anna Kendrick to Star in Short-Form Comedy Series 'Dummy' for Quibi

“Up until April 6, everything we are doing is based on instinct, and after that, everything will be based on the data,” Katzenberg said.

“We will find out after launch […] are people engaging with the ads? Do they prefer comedy on their phones or are they up for something more dramatic or heavier?” Whitman added. “Does something scary work on mobile streaming? The truth is we don’t know, but we’re interested to find out, and that’s why we’re doing this.”

11 Rock Documentaries You Can Stream Now, From 'Don't Look Back' to 'Amy' (Photos)

The best rock documentaries, or rock docs, or rockumentaries if you prefer, provide and unvarnished look at an already iconic performer or band. They peel back the layers of their on-stage persona while also offering intimate, magnetic performances that go beyond just the over-produced concert film. It has been a staple for so long that the parody film “This is Spinal Tap” might be the genre’s finest example. The latest in this vein is this weekend’s “Bad Reputation,” about the career of guitarist Joan Jett. So if after seeing that you’re in the mood for other rock documentaries, these are among the best and are all available for streaming now.
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D.A. Pennebaker invented the rockumentary with this fly-on-the-wall film. You know the iconic music video of Bob Dylan laconically dropping cue cards as the lyrics to his rollicking “Subterranean Homesick Blues” plays. But equally impressive was how Pennebaker, using a camera he built himself, captured Dylan at a point in his career when he would never be so candid in front of a camera again. He’s rude to the press, to backstage fans and to party guests like the singer Donovan, and he hardly looks like a voice of a generation in the making. But it’s that unflattering look that makes “Don’t Look Back” all the more fascinating.
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"Monterey Pop" - FilmStruck

After “Don’t Look Back,” D.A. Pennebaker was given a much larger crew to chronicle the Monterey Pop music festival, featuring a stellar lineup including Janis Joplin, The Who, Otis Redding, and most famously, capturing Jimi Hendrix setting his guitar on fire. Along with “Woodstock,” “Monterey Pop” set the bar for concert films and was a striking snap shot of ‘60s counterculture before rock music was considered a true art form. Famously, according to NPR, ABC never aired “Monterey Pop” despite bankrolling Pennebaker’s project after witnessing Hendrix “fornicating” with his amp.
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"Gimme Shelter" - FilmStruck

There are plenty of Rolling Stones rock docs worth exploring, but the first and finest is the Maysles Brothers “Gimme Shelter,” another fly-on-the-wall document of the band in their prime as they try to stage a massive free concert in California that attracted 300,000 fans. Modern Stones fans will be shocked how raw and ragged they sound on stage. In one powerful scene, the Maysles confront the band with violent footage from the crowd that leaves Mick Jagger stunned at the consequences of their stunts.
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"Stop Making Sense" - Amazon Prime Video

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"It Might Get Loud" - Realeyz

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The aptly titled “Anvil! The Story of Anvil” is like a real-life “Spinal Tap.” They even have a drummer named Robb Reiner. The film follows an aging, Canadian metal band that became influential in the ‘80s but never found commercial success, persistently touring in rinky dink clubs ever since. Sacha Gervasi’s documentary is a humorous look at their sort of comeback tour.
"George Harrison: Living in the Material World" - Netflix

Martin Scorsese’s tribute to the Quiet Beatle pushes nearly four hours, getting profound, emotional interviews out of Harrison’s wife Olivia and family as they reflect on his spirituality and the last years of his life. Scorsese makes the argument that George, even more than John Lennon or Paul McCartney, was the Beatle with the most depth and multitude.
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"Amy" - Netflix

Asif Kapadia’s documentary on the late Amy Winehouse is an often harrowing portrait of depression and celebrity, playing up Winehouse’s talent and charm in grainy home movies “before the world wanted a piece of her.” Her songs “Rehab” and “Back to Black” take on scary resonance when we get to hear Winehouse’s raw vocal tracks, and the film feels hypnotic by foregoing any on-camera interviews and only utilizing archive footage of the young star.
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"20 Feet From Stardom" - Netflix

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"The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years" - Hulu

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Hulu

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Unvarnished looks at The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Amy Winehouse and more

The best rock documentaries, or rock docs, or rockumentaries if you prefer, provide and unvarnished look at an already iconic performer or band. They peel back the layers of their on-stage persona while also offering intimate, magnetic performances that go beyond just the over-produced concert film. It has been a staple for so long that the parody film “This is Spinal Tap” might be the genre’s finest example. The latest in this vein is this weekend’s “Bad Reputation,” about the career of guitarist Joan Jett. So if after seeing that you’re in the mood for other rock documentaries, these are among the best and are all available for streaming now.

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