Los Angeles, CA (July 1, 1996)-- Marking the first time an Internet work has been optioned for the big screen, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, producers of such television shows as "NewsRadio" and "The Larry Sanders Show," and films including Jim Carrey's "The Cable Guy" and "Wayne's World," today bought the film rights for Serb Heat, the full-length novel developed entirely and spontaneously in cyberspace. Author and journalist Joe Queenan created the work on Mr. Showbiz, the most popular entertainment site on the World Wide Web.
A comedy thriller about Serbian militiamen who travel to the United States to hunt down a journalist who has insulted them over the Internet, Serb Heat was begun by Queenan at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 30th with only a title and a thematic sentence to guide him and finished three days later at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 2nd.
"We have always believed that great work can come from anywhere," said Brad Grey, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment chairman. "We're proud to be the first to stake a claim and recognize true talent in cyberspace."
"We'll do anything to get top writing talent on the Internet," said Susan Mulcahy, editor and publisher of Mr. Showbiz. "Hell, we'll do anything, period."
A contributing editor to GQ and Movieline and a frequent contributor to The Washington Post, The New York Times, Playboy, and Barron's, Queenan has written three books, including The Unkindest Cut: A Hatchet Man Film Critic Makes a Movie for $7,000 and Puts It All on His Credit Card, which was published in January by Hyperion. He was also part of the five-member fiction team that last year composed The Blue Tureen, a ground-breaking online serial novel, for Mr. Showbiz.
Brillstein-Grey Entertainment (B/G/E) is a leading management, television and motion picture production company responsible for TV shows including "NewsRadio," "The Naked Truth," "The Jeff Foxworthy Show," and "The Dana Carvey Show." Currently in production with "What Planet Are You From?" written by and starring Garry Shandling, B/G/E was also involved with such films as "Wayne's World" and "Tommy Boy." Highlighting B/G/E's list of more than 100 management clients are Brad Pitt, Nicolas Cage, Christian Slater, Dana Carvey, Dennis Miller, Garry Shandling, Gary Sinise, Chris Farley, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Bill Maher and Bob Saget.
In less than a year, Mr. Showbiz has become the most popular entertainment site on the World Wide Web. Original, fresh, and chock full of important and earth-shattering information about celebrities, entertainment and pop culture, Mr. Showbiz is produced by Starwave Corporation of Bellevue, Washington.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jennifer Yazzolino, Starwave Corp., (425)957-2026, jennifery@starwave.com
Back to the main Eat It Raw page