Filmmakers Jerry Bruckheimer And Oliver Stone Partner With Z.com

JBfilms.Z.com And OliverStone.Z.com Provide Fans With A Personal Perspective Of Hollywood's Most Controversial And Revered Artists

9-Jun-00

Z.com, an Internet entertainment studio offering original online comedy, film, animation, games, live event, and celebrity programming, announced the addition of programming from top filmmakers Jerry Bruckheimer and Oliver Stone. The sites will feature content for existing bodies of work from Bruckheimer and Stone, as well as new programming which will be exclusive to Z.com. Joe DiNunzio, CEO of Z.com, also announced a partnership with Hometown Cinema, the largest student film festival in the Midwest, which will add the works of emerging filmmakers to Z.com's array of content.JBfilms.Z.com debuted in conjunction with yesterday's Hollywood premiere of Bruckheimer's new film, ""Gone In 60 Seconds,"" and showcases the variety of movies that define the Bruckheimer film experience. The man who brought box office smashes ranging from ""American Gigolo"" to ""Top Gun"" to ""Armageddon"" allows fans worldwide to get up close and personal with him and the portfolio of dynamic films that he has spearheaded. JBfilms.Z.com features a comprehensive filmography complete with credits, information on the cast, trailers, interviews, and behind the scenes stills from his many films.Bruckheimer's online presence also offers in-depth biographies for Bruckheimer and others in his camp, and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of projects currently in production such as ""Gone In 60 Seconds,"" ""Coyote Ugly"" and ""Pearl Harbor."" Online now are never-before-seen interviews with the cast on the set of ""Coyote Ugly,"" slated for release in August 2000. The community section of the site includes an ""Ask Jerry"" Q&A, a Bruckheimer discussion forum, and coming soon, ""JB Seminars"" - chat events with industry scholars which are geared towards those with a deep interest in the art and business of making movies. Beyond this site, Bruckheimer's future plans include development of another Z.com site focused on short films.""I chose to partner with Z.com because of their spirit, diversity, and ability to experiment,"" says Bruckheimer, also one of Z.com's founding partners. ""The site we've created together is an excellent vehicle to reach out to fans, but also provides a creative outlet for new and original works that aren't suited for the big screen.""Oliver Stone's interactive archive (OliverStone.Z.com) examines the multi-faceted talents of the acclaimed Writer and Director. With editorial carte blanche coupled with the Internet's freedom from censorship, Stone will utilize OliverStone.Z.com to deliver his ideas to audiences in his own words and create new projects that take advantage of the interactive and multimedia potentials of the Internet.The ""Director"" section of OliverStone.Z.com contains a full filmography complete with synopses, credits, and comments from Stone. Currently featured are the exclusive Web premieres of his student films, ""Last Year In Vietnam,"" and ""Madman Of Martinique"" - streamed in their entirety. In a special segment designed for discussion of any public subject, Stone speaks his mind on topics such as ""On Being Labeled,"" ""Vietnam,"" and ""Evil."" The ""Writer"" section highlights Stone's impressive writing credits and allows users to download early drafts for breakthrough screenplays including ""Scarface"" and ""Midnight Express.""""Through this effort it's my hope we can introduce topics of interest to many and inspire the spirit of questioning everything,"" says Stone. ""Z.com shares this exploratory spirit and together we'd like to spark a progressive dialogue among concerned people around the globe.""Z.com is also nurturing the up-and-coming stars of filmmaking with HometownCinema.Z.com, a joint effort between Z.com and Hometown Cinema. The largest student film festival in the Midwest, Hometown Cinema has launched a national online film festival with Z.com. The HometownCinema.Z.com Web site will serve as the central location for film submissions and will feature online workshops and demonstrations for young directors. ""It's an honor to add such icons as Jerry and Oliver to our team,"" remarked DiNunzio. ""Their input and creative direction will be essential in shaping the online entertainment experience for our viewers.""About Z.com Z.com will create, produce, and bring original entertainment programming to the Internet, from both established talent and stars-to-be. Z.com was created through a partnership between idealab!, Basic Entertainment, 3 Arts Entertainment and Maverick Records Partner and Co-CEO, Guy Oseary. Collaborators in the independent start-up company are drawn from the arts, entertainment, technology and interactive design dedicated to providing completely new content for a worldwide Internet audience.