"Point Break" Producer and Pandora Venture Capitalist To Helm Global Media Company That Will Connect Social Media Influencers Directly With Their Audiences
Digital Riot Media, a next generation global media company that will produce, market and distribute premium feature-length films directly to Millennials & Generation Z worldwide, has launched Dec. 21.
The digitally-focused platform will work with top social media influencers and Internet personalities to distribute new scripted content through a variety of streaming & VOD channels.
The Company has several co-financing partners in place and plans to release its first films in early 2016.
Digital Riot Media was founded by CEO John Baldecchi and Executive Chairman Doug Barry.
Baldecchi most recently produced the big-budget remake of Point Break for Alcon Entertainment & Warner Bros. and the upcoming action movie Crash Site.
He has also produced films for Disney, Sony, Warner Bros., DreamWorks, and Lionsgate including "The Mexican" and "Simon Birch" and was President of Laurence Mark Productions, which produced "Jerry McGuire" and "As Good as it Gets."
Barry, a long-time Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor, was a founding venture investor in Pandora Media, now the largest global Internet radio service with over 100 million users and $1 billion in annual revenue.
Previously, Barry was an executive at Turner Broadcasting & Electronic Arts and an advisor to Glu Mobile, an early mobile gaming IPO.
"We are very excited to launch Digital Riot and take the movie industry into a new frontier," Baldecchi said. "The digital revolution has spawned a new class of stars – from YouTube, Instagram, Vine, and more – with quantifiable reach and influence. I'm excited to bring my talent relationships and 20 years of feature film production experience to work with social media influencers to create and distribute online films which can be distributed directly to where their fans are – smartphones, tablets and online."
Barry said, "By combining Silicon Valley efficiency with the best of Hollywood storytelling and talent, we will dramatically change how movies are made, marketed and distributed. Upcoming projects feature well-known YouTube, Vine, and Instagram personalities along with traditional TV and film stars."Digital Riot will distribute its films through a variety of social, streaming and VOD platforms including iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Netflix, Sky and others.
VIP pre-sales will include special offers for passionate fans, with digital extras like behind the scenes video, exclusive digital diaries from their favorite social media stars, as well as merchandise and items from the films themselves.
Other key team members include Kevin Kiernan, a leader in direct-to-fan digital distribution with over 500 successful campaigns for Sony Music, Sony Pictures, AMC, AwesomenessTV and Legendary Pictures; Stacy Maes, a senior film development executive and producer who has worked on films such as "Titanic," "True Lies," and "Jumper;" John McAlary, a two-time Artios Nominee (The Descendants, Hitchcock), who has collaborated with some of the most acclaimed directors in Hollywood, and was involved with casting "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," "Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension" and "300: Rise of An Empire" and Steve Katz, a former Apple and Sony Pictures executive.
Advisors include Amy Baer, former EVP Production of Sony Pictures and President of CBS Films; and Charlie Gibson, two-time Academy Award Winner, and Visual Effects Supervisor for "The Hunger Games," "Pirates of the Caribbean," and "The Green Mile."
