Nuke some popcorn and take a front row seat for the premiere of 'ICM'
Photo illustration by Dean Sensui, Star-Bulletin
Robert Olague and his Internet movie channel site.
By Tim Ryan
Star-BulletinTHE first interactive cyber movie for the Internet and the first interactive cyber movie theaters for the World Wide Web are now online. "The merger between movie making and technology is here," said Robert Olague, Hawaii screenwriter and Internet producer-director. "The next millennium will bring far greater opportunities to filmmakers than what is available today. Imagine, creating a complete full-length movie from script to set design, sound tracks, special effects and even characters with equal or better quality than today's films, all on your PC, and then delivering your vision to millions of people around the world from the comfort of your own home."
Olague recently launched the Internet Movie Channel where 'Net users can watch the World Wide Web's first full length, interactive cyber movie and trailers. He hopes to syndicate his interactive cyber movies to Web sites and Internet service providers.
Olague took "Hard Hunted," an original feature film from Malibu Bay Films in Los Angeles, and adapted it for the Internet using the Web's capacity for integrated multimedia and special effects. It is being premiered at his "Hollywood. 99 Online Theaters at http://www.cybermovie.com
His cyber theaters are designed with 3-D, real world environments where Net users can navigate their way from a cyber-era lobby to several "screens" and interact with movie posters, theater doors, marquees, and even cyber trailers of coming attractions.
Also currently available on Olague's Web site is the interactive cyber trailer - a 25-page multimedia presentation of the Emmy Award-winning PBS documentary "Simple Courage" produced by local filmmaker Stephanie Castillo and Hawaii Public Television.
Castillo and Olague are using the cyber trailer to attract funding for a full-length cyber version of the documentary.
The Internet Movie Channel will be a global showcase for filmmakers who want to create cyber versions of their work and for film distributors who want to sell their products on the World Wide Web, Olague said.
"What will make the Internet Movie Channel attractive to filmmakers is that the site will create a presence for them that reflects the production values they worked so hard to create.
"And their work won't get lost among the millions of unrelated Web sites that standard Intern providers host."
Distributors can sell and promote their home video releases directly to a global market, he said.
Future applications will include Net users interacting with plots and characters and affecting the outcome of the story, Olague said.
"What I envision for my site and for these theaters are Net users from around the world meeting and making friends at the Internet Movie Channel to take on the roles of characters," he said. "And they will do this by entering the real-world environment of whatever movie they choose.
Olague's 3 AM Productions Company is working with Castillo's Olena Productions to generate other forms of entertainment on the Web, including a cyber soap opera about Hawaii.
Currently on Olague's Internet Movie Channel are several special sections, including "Lost Films of Planet Earth - forgotten and hard to find movies making their comeback as interactive cyber movies; Women in Film - women filmmakers showcase their films as interactive cyber movies; Interactive Cyberdocs - documentary filmmakers showcase their films as interactive cyber movies.
Within the next few weeks Olague expects to have cyber trailers for Mickey Rourke's "Exit in Red," Cheech Marin's "Charlie's Ghost," Lou Diamond Phillips in "Ultimate Revenge," Jim Carey's first movie "Introducing Janet," and "Little Noises" starring Tatum O'Neal.
Today's computer technology already is showcasing a glimpse of its cutting-edge abilities by not only having the capabilities to deliver information through the global network of the World Wide Web, but also by bringing back 2-million year old dinosaurs and deceased presidents featured in computerized filmmaking, Olague said. But the future of movies will go much further than the passive medium known today, he said.
"Imagine, firing up your I-TV (interactive television) and meeting friends from around the world in the lobby of a virtual movie theater," Olague said. "But instead of sitting back and watching that movie, you and your friends take on the roles of characters, and step into the movie's real world environments to interact with story elements and your favorite movie stars, and make decisions that would ultimately determine the outcome of the story."
The Internet Movie Channel is "just the beginning of our quest in making this vision come true," Olague said.
With the recent integration of Internet technology and television, and the rapid advancements of digitized imaging, Olague said, it's just a matter of time before other film visionaries are inspired and other adaptations of full-length feature films spread quickly throughout the Net offering an endless variety of online movie entertainment.
Olague's goal is to bring 'Net users from around the world into 3-D virtual theaters that match the genre of the movie where they can interact with simulated real world environments and full-length feature film adaptations called Interactive CyberMovies.
Eventually, "ICMs" of all types will come from existing and original domestic and foreign films, Olague said. "We plan on showcasing ICMs based off of films that have been created by up and coming independent filmmakers. Part of this vision includes allowing film enth-usiasts from around the world to participate in the making of Int-eractive CyberMovies through our virtual ICM studios."
