Media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg says he’s hoping to attract some of Canada’s best filmmakers and producers to his new digital content startup.
Speaking at the 40th annual Banff World Media Tour earlier this week, Katzenberg told eTalk that entertainment platform Quibi will give creators a chance to forge content that can be consumed in small portions.
“We’re not really short form, we are long form that is going to be told in chapters and I think that’s the thing that is most innovative about what we’re doing, but we’ve managed now to get some of the very best storytellers and creators and filmmakers,” he said.
Directors Guillermo del Toro and Sam Rami are among the Hollywood elite who have already committed to creating content on the new platform. Steven Spielberg is also on board and is creating a horror series that can only be watched at night.
Katzenburg is hoping to attract Canadian talent too.
“It’s why I specifically came here to Banff to talk to the production community here in Canada, which has got amazing talent and great producers,” Katzenberg told eTalk. “To get them excited and inspired about making content for us in this new format.”
Randy Lennox, Bell Media president and chair of the board of directors for the festival, was joined by Katzenberg for a fireside chat.
In an interview with eTalk, Lennox praised Katzenberg and Quibi’s unique form of storytelling.
“At the end of the day it’s all about storytelling in content; this man knows that better than anyone. So I am so pumped about what’s going to happen April 6 of next year and beyond,” Lennox said.
Quibi is scheduled to launch in Canada and the U.S. on April 6, 2020.
