Steven Spielberg may not think Netflix deserves to be a contender for any Oscars, but he’s definitely not against the idea of streaming networks. His next project, tentatively titled Spielberg’s After Dark, will use a unique take on the format to tell a scary story of his own creation.
Variety reports Spielberg is writing the short-form horror series as part of a collaboration with Jeffrey Katzenberg’s latest venture, Quibi. So what makes this show any different from other horror anthologies available elsewhere? For one thing, you’ll only be able to watch it at night. Atmosphere, kiddies.
“Steven Spielberg came in, and said, ‘I have a super scary story I want to do,’” Katzenberg said. “He’s writing it himself. He hasn’t [written anything in a while] so getting him to write something is fantastic.”
Spielberg’s idea was to use Quibi and mobile technology to make his series available only at night, and if you try to do it earlier a countdown clock provided will tick down until it’s dark.
So what the fuck is a Quibi, anyway? It’s a new distribution model available only on mobile platforms allowing for original content to be provided in 7 to 10 minute chunks. That’s not bite-sized pieces of a larger whole, but entire projects developed squarely for the release method.
I’ll be honest, this sounds way too irritating and restrictive for me, despite Katzenberg’s enthusiasm for it…
“What Quibi is doing, it’s not really short form. We’re putting those sciences together. Chapters or act breaks that are 7 to 10 minutes long. They are specifically shot to be watched on the go. If you’re 25-35 years old, you get up and you’re on [a smartphone] for over five hours.”
Those 70-year-old men really have their fingers on the pulse of what kids are doing these days, right?
No word on when either the show or Quibi will be ready, but we’re talking about two giants of the industry so when they’re ready we’ll definitely know.
