Whatever you do, don't compare Michael Eisner's latest project to Lonelygirl15. Yes, Prom Queen, a web-based serialized soap opera made up of three months' worth of 90-second shorts launching April 2, is aimed at the same tech-toting, YouTube-watching, advertiser-tempting teens. But Eisner insists he's offering viewers far more than a pretty face talking into a camera.
With Vuguru, the new standalone production studio behind Prom Queen, Eisner -- best known for his 20 years at Disney -- hopes to own the realm of made-for-web original programming. He'll do it, he says, by offering what he calls far better storytelling and quality than what's currently found on the likes of YouTube. Oh, and instead of one pretty face, you'll get five, all with scripted lines and post-production cleanup.
As for the art of storytelling, Eisner says Prom Queen isn't as clichéd as it sounds. The premise: A near-murder mystery set against the final two months of the school year tracks a pack of randy high schoolers as they ramp up for prom night. Don't worry: As Eisner reminds us, he's the guy who gave us Welcome Back Kotter and Happy Days. He knows this market.
Eisner walks us through his new show and explains his belief that Hollywood pros -- led by himself, of course -- will eventually win out over user-generated content and amateur videos.
Wired News: All right, I get the plot, but the show still sounds familiar. In fact, it seems an awful lot like 90210. How close am I in thinking that or am I totally wrong?
Michael Eisner: You're not wrong in that Prom Queen has people in it of that age. But there's a different tone and sensibility. But yeah, certainly it's dealing with high school kids.
WN: OK, then, how close is it to Lonelygirl15?
Eisner: (exasperated sigh) It isn't close to that at all -- that's one person talking into the camera. This is a story-driven, character-driven emotional mystery.
WN: You really balked at the comparison to Lonelygirl. Why?
Michael Eisner: Hey, I balk at any comparison to anything. It's creative content -- saying that it's like something is usually the kiss of death. I never even thought of either of those two (shows). Really, that's the first I've heard of a similarity with the two. Prom Queen is like what it is.
WN: Have you watched the show?
Eisner: Have I watched what?
WN: Prom Queen.
Eisner: (No), it's still in production.
WN: With Prom Queen you're working with the same crew made "Sam Has 7 Friends." How close is Prom Queen in tone and style?
Eisner: Ahh, very different. Because it's about high school, and that was post-college.
WN: Yeah, that post-college crowd was doing drugs, having lots of full-on sex, and generally using foul language. Is it different in that respect?
Eisner: Prom Queen is PG-13 -- let's put it that way.
WN: With a serialized download approach, did it change how you made the series?
Eisner: Well, yes (it dictated) the format we chose in this case. Our next project has episodes (of) five minutes. We had to make certain that every 90-second piece tells a story that is relevant and pushes the plot forward.
WN: So it's basic TV- or moviemaking only truncated?
Eisner: Well, it plays every day, and the script was written and read as a whole. Each week we'll be tying together the episodes. You can watch eight, 10 minutes of week one, all of week one, or each episode (as a standalone). By the end, you can go back and watch it all strung together.
WN: Now I know your kids are way out of the age range for this. But would you recommend the series to friends with teenagers?
Eisner: The answer is, yes -- yes to anything I've done. You actually have a wide audience -- just because you're doing movies for teenagers, the audience isn't as limited as you think. There are parents and schoolteachers, and they are adults in the movie, so hopefully it's not only teenagers.
WN: Because it is serialized and downloadable online, no doubt there will be audience interaction, say, comments and blogs that help develop a community of some sort. Is it possible that the crowd -- the audience -- could actually change the direction of the series?
Eisner: Well, there will be interactive community aspects to it for sure. And we're planning that and actually shooting extra material for that. But the show will be completed and shot, you know, over the course of maybe a month and will air over the course of three months. So the answer to that is probably no.
WN: What are some of the extras that you're shooting?
Eisner: All sorts of things. The ability you have in an interactive community like this -- you don't really have in broadcast cable companies.
WN: The crowd can obviously go to the website to view it and they can download it to their phones; plus, you have some partnerships with companies such as YouTube, Ellegirl and Veoh.com. What about users downloading it and posting it on their websites or remixing it into a mash-up of some sort?
Eisner: Well, I don't know about that last point. Maybe they can do that technically. Up until that stage, they can move it around, e-mail it to friends, put it up on their website -- all that is encouraged. But changing the professional content is something we hope they don't do.
WN: What if they do alter the content? Is that something you'll police? Or will you deal with it in another way?
Eisner: We haven't gotten to that. We'll see.
WN: Don't you think it's inevitable?
Eisner: We'll see.
WN: With the copyright, by any chance do you use any of the options backed by Creative Commons? That's a relatively familiar copyright option to the YouTube crowd.
Eisner: Wait a minute -- what do you mean?
WN: It's a flexible approach to copyright where you pick the option that best fits a creative work. Some rights are reserved, some are not.
Eisner: I'm not familiar with that. We have 100 percent copyrighted control.
WN: Can you fill me in your approach to advertising and making money with the series? Loop me in on all the advertising aspects.
Eisner: Well, there will be actual advertising before the episode and a lot of post roll. We'll keep it short, and there will be banners. With 10- to 20-minute (episodes strung together), there may be (ad) interruptions. Oh, and there are embedded spots -- product placements. With Star Style users can click through (the footage) and buy something.
WN: So the show will be primarily ad based?
Eisner: Yeah, ads and product placement. Then there will be a relationship with distributors.
WN: Will it be -- or is it -- a paid content relationship?
Eisner: We do, but we're going to announce it at a later date. (We may have three or four deals.)
WN: Fair to say you have at least one deal?
Eisner: Yeah.
WN: But you're not saying anything more?
Eisner: Exactly....
WN: With licensing deals, can you tell me about the payment structure? Do they pay based on downloads? Viewers? Or some other metric?
Eisner: Again, too early announce. We're still negotiating with several different companies. We have to see how that pans out. I don't want to preempt anyone.
WN: Will the content be DRM protected?
Eisner: I have no idea. Ah, well, to the extent that the distributor is providing that -- yes, it will be.
WN: How are you going to define success online?
Eisner: I don't know -- I guess if I saw someone walking down the street and watching it on their phone.... I don't know.
WN: Do you have any expectations for the numbers -- either viewers or dollars?
Eisner: (We don't know --) it could be one person watching it, 1 million, 10 million, 15 million, 100 million. We have no idea. We know what we know, and we're pretty sure we're going to get (a good number of viewers) because of the distribution deals. But the content will either be wildly successful or (not), and we'll respond to it.
WN: Any plans to develop it into other mediums, say, DVD, TV or film?
Eisner: It all depends on the reception. If it's wildly successful, I'm sure there will be a downloadable version, other formats in other countries and other languages -- who knows? You never know.
WN: You've obviously done programming for a long time, and you've done it in a variety of ways. With something like this, what's the secret to success? What makes programming like this work?
Eisner:: I think what works is what worked 500 years ago and what worked five years ago. If you're telling a compelling story, emotional, feelings, intellectually stimulating, you'll laugh -- understand?
WN: So, the basics?
Eisner: Yeah.
WN: How long have you been working on the project?
Eisner: Oh, about (five months).
WN: How truncated is that compared to TV and movies?
Eisner: I'd say it's similar to TV.
WN: That's in time. What about cost?
Eisner: (A lot cheaper.) You don't know what the reception is going to be. We've used new actors, new directors, new everything. It's entry level. But it looks professionally done. (Like) soap operas.
WN: What's your next project?
Eisner: We have a bunch in the works. The next one is a (longer format).
WN: Is Vuguru your main focus these days?
Eisner: No. I have a lot things going on.
WN: Why do this if you're so busy?
Eisner: Well, everything (I do) is coming out as content in one way or another. (Online) is a medium that I think will be incredibly important -- as professional content starts to replace consumer-generated content. It will start to become more dominant. The dominant (content) on the internet is news, sports, information, user-generated technology. Almost the beginning of every new platform starts this way. (Then) storytelling in a professional way becomes much more important.
WN: So are you going to let us know any of your next topic or titles?
Eisner: No (laughs). It all depends on how Prom Queen comes out, how it looks, how it's (received).
WN: So it's fair to say this is all a bit of an experiment?
Eisner: No! To say that it's an experiment means you're not sure about it or behind it. We're convinced this is the way to go. And professionally produced shows (will win out). It's the real thing.
