Twilight isn’t dead, y’all. Like its sparkly subject matter, the series lives eternal – and will be coming to a Facebook news feed near you.
Lionsgate has partnered with Facebook, the non-profit Women In Film, and crowdsourcing platform Tongal to produce a handful of original shorts “based on a broad spectrum of characters from the Twilight universe, with guidance provided by Meyer’s encyclopedic The Twilight Saga: Official Illustrated Guide.”
The shorts will come at the end of a competition to find the best aspiring female filmmakers, and five will eventually be financed and later debuted on Facebook. Exclusively on Facebook.
One of the five shorts will be selected as a winner, and the director will receive a big cash prize. Apparently, the whole process will “involve extensive fan engagement on the Facebook and Tongal platforms.” Big names like Kristen Stewart, Kate Winslet, and Octavia Spencer have signed on to the judging panel.
“More people than ever before are creating, discovering and engaging with videos on Facebook,” said Facebook Vice President of Partnerships Dan Rose. “This collaboration with Stephenie Meyer, Lionsgate and Women In Film is a great opportunity to engage Twilight’s massive global audience on Facebook through an innovative premium video program.”
This isn’t the first time that Facebook has partnered with Lionsgate for exclusive video content. Facebook’s first news feed promoted video (otherwise known as an ad) was a trailer for the film Divergent.
But those were ads. This is original narrative content. Are we beginning to see a bit of a push from Facebook to step into the exclusive content game? Could we eventually see entire feature length films premiere exclusively on Facebook?
It’s probably best to refrain from wild speculation. Facebook has surely hinted at a video push in the past, but has stopped short of announcing plans to be the next Netflix. Still, dorky as this material is, it’s a huge partnership for both Facebook and Lionsgate and signals a definite shift in content distribution. Twilight still has millions of hungry fans, and the choice of Facebook as distribution partner, even for something as benign as a few shorts, is an interesting decision.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
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