Outernet Global, a high-capacity network of immersive media spaces in global city centers with the first due to open in London in December 2020, is entering into a major partnership with the Ridley Scott Creative Group. Called “Tomorrow Now,” it will provide an early stage script and storyboard funding process to seek out and develop the next generation of talent producing immersive mixed reality and audio-visual ideas.
On identifying this new talent, the Ridley Scott Creative Group and its music and creative production arm Black Dog Films will lead a commissioning and production process to create atomized content. This will be curated across the floor to ceiling 8K Screens within Outernet all the way through to social media platforms. There will be opportunities for brand partner involvement also, with deals meaning brands can produce moments that will resonate culturally as well as commercially given Outernet’s commitment to building a space that goes far beyond static advertising.
In addition, the campus will feature retail space both permanent and pop up allowing brands to reach consumers digitally and physically with the huge footfall from commuters, tourists and Londoners. Outernet’s daily content curation will merge industry-leading artistry with the most innovative technology unleashing extraordinary and entertaining experiences for audiences. Brands will be able to tap into the value of this immersive media environment on a scale not seen before.
Philip O’Ferrall, Outernet’s CEO, said “Outernet’s extraordinary audio-visual capabilities provide a brand-new canvas for storytelling, so we need a new breed of storyteller to deliver truly immersive narrative experiences. We are looking for the iconoclasts, the pioneers, the creative visionaries whose ideas challenge the conventions of how stories come to life on screen. Throughout the conception of Outernet, we asked ourselves if anyone in the entertainment industry could match our ambition and one name kept recurring: Ridley Scott. 'Tomorrow Now' is the marriage of ambitions and a shared admiration for a new generation of filmographer. I couldn’t be more excited about what this partnership will create; and as the annual award season gets into full swing, I can’t help but dream what might be around the corner for us…”
Sir Ridley Scott said “Filmmaking is a collaborative process and we’re always looking for new talent and new ideas. We are a company that unites creativity with technology to push the boundaries of what entertainment can be and Outernet shares that vision so I think we will do something very special together.”
Martin Roker, head of Black Dog Films, said “Black Dog Films has a storied history of seeking out and developing new directing talent. Our future-facing ethos reflects the wider culture of the Ridley Scott Creative Group, demonstrable in our exciting new collaboration with Outernet Global on this truly unique project.”
The Ridley Scott Creative Group spans RSA Films, Black Dog Films, Scott Free, and Darling Films, offering a wide range of commercial, content and entertainment production.
The Outernet is a planned global network of hubs designed to elevate the culture and commerce of the world’s great cities through the largest, most immersive digital experiences. Outernet is at the forefront of the global media economy, taking brand experiences to a whole new level. Outernet London’s campus will consist of two huge immersive public spaces–The Now Building and Now Trending. Each space features 8K, 360-degree floor-to-ceiling screens capable of delivering ambitious, groundbreaking audio-visual experiences. Brand owners and advertisers will be able to tap into the versatility, scale and connectivity of the Outernet network.
James Earl Jones, Lauded Actor and Voice of Darth Vader, Dies At 93
James Earl Jones, who overcame racial prejudice and a severe stutter to become a celebrated icon of stage and screen — eventually lending his deep, commanding voice to CNN, "The Lion King" and Darth Vader — has died. He was 93.
His agent, Barry McPherson, confirmed Jones died Monday morning at home in New York's Hudson Valley region. The cause was not immediately clear.
The pioneering Jones, who was one of the first African American actors in a continuing role on a daytime drama and worked deep into his 80s, won two Emmys, a Golden Globe, two Tony Awards, a Grammy, the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors and was given an honorary Oscar and a special Tony for lifetime achievement. In 2022, a Broadway theater was renamed in his honor.
He cut an elegant figure late in life, with a wry sense of humor and a ferocious work habit. In 2015, he arrived at rehearsals for a Broadway run of "The Gin Game" having already memorized the play and with notebooks filled with comments from the creative team. He said he was always in service of the work.
"The need to storytell has always been with us," he told The Associated Press then. "I think it first happened around campfires when the man came home and told his family he got the bear, the bear didn't get him."
Jones created such memorable film roles as the reclusive writer coaxed back into the spotlight in "Field of Dreams," the boxer Jack Johnson in the stage and screen hit "The Great White Hope," the writer Alex Haley in "Roots: The Next Generation" and a South African minister in "Cry, the Beloved Country."
He was also a sought-after voice actor, expressing the villainy of Darth Vader ("No, I am your father," commonly misremembered as "Luke, I am your father"), as... Read More