New App Debuts Today Enabling Fans to Enjoy Iconic Films with New Interactive Content
Rob Reiner, Francis Lawrence, Wes Craven, Bruce Campbell and More
Share New Insights and Backstory to their Films
The Walking Dead’s Michael Rooker fronts YEAH!’s “Anti-Social Holiday” Campaign
New York December 19, 2013 – AMC Networks is bringing its YEAH! streaming movie service to the iPad, via a new app available today in the App Store on iTunes. YEAH! is the first fully-immersive movie experience available on the iPad making for a rich and highly interactive movie-viewing experience for celebrated films.
YEAH! is a unique storytelling medium that goes beyond mere trivia to weave intimate moments and commentary from a who’s who of creators and stars into a narrative about the making of and continued appreciation of iconic films. Director Richard Linklater hails YEAH! as “a film geek paradise.”
With YEAH!, fans can access a layer of content integrated into the screen below the film as it plays, including exclusive interviews with top filmmakers and stars, little-known facts, links to IMDB, interactive polling and more. Unlike DVD extras or Blu-ray features, the YEAH! iPad app delivers information instantly, scene-by-scene where and when you want it during the movie – content that can be switched on or off with a single tap of the finger. With 400-500 curated elements per film, the encyclopedic depth of content turns fans into instant experts on the movies they love. After experiencing YEAH!, legendary filmmaker Wes Cravensaid, “I learned things about my movies even I didn’t know!”
This abundance of video and factual backstory is curated from months of research and in-depth interviews on every film, leveraging the expertise and delivering on the high level of quality associated with AMC Networks’ brands and programming.
YEAH!’s fast-growing movie library includes expertly-expanded versions of genre films and mega blockbusters that fans return to again and again. It presently includes Pulp Fiction, The Shining, No Country for Old Men, Dirty Dancing, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Blair Witch Project, Caddyshack, Superman: The Movie, Scream, Apocalypse Now Redux, The Expendables, Kick-Ass, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill 1 & 2, The Terminator, Clerks, Child’s Play, This is Spinal Tap, Jackie Brown, The Road Warrior and more.
Filmmakers and stars who have recently been interviewed to create the exclusive YEAH! versions of their classics include: directors Richard Donner (Superman: The Movie), Rob Reiner (This Is Spinal Tap), Wes Craven (A Nightmare on Elm Streetand Scream), Catherine Hardwicke (the original Twilight), Kevin Smith (Clerks) and Francis Lawrence (Constantine); and actors Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), Peter Facinelli (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2), Nikki Reed (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2), Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead 2), Miranda Cosgrove (School of Rock), Ellen Burstyn (The Exorcist) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Kick-Ass).
“The launch of the YEAH! app provides the most immersive movie watching experience available, one that gives film fans the power to go deeper into their favorite movies than ever before, virtually anytime and anywhere,” said Lisa Judson, General Manager of YEAH! “With YEAH!, we aimed to re-invent the streaming experience from lean back to lean in, with a richness and depth previously unavailable in any medium.”
“Given AMC's commitment on-air and online to curating the best movies of all time, YEAH!’s streaming movies and curated content are a natural next step,” added AMC President Charlie Collier. “YEAH! is the latest in AMC's commitment to providing audiences with high-quality, ground-breaking programming experiences.”
To coincide with YEAH!’s iPad launch on December 19, YEAH! has enlisted actor Michael Rooker and is kicking off an “Anti-Social Holiday” campaign on TV and the web. Known for his edgy portrayals in films and his role as loose cannon Merle Dixon in AMC’s hit series, “The Walking Dead,” Rooker is helping YEAH! build buzz by directing film fans to the YEAH! iPad app to escape the stresses that come with holiday chores, travel and, sometimes, even family get-togethers.
“What could be worse this holiday season than flesh-eating zombies? Your in-laws, of course!” jokes Rooker. “So hole up with a rented movie from YEAH! this holiday season! It's a lot safer than your family.”
The campaign will culminate during a New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day marathon of “The Walking Dead” on AMC, with YEAH! serving as one of the sponsors, from December 31 at 9 AM (ET/PT) –January 2 at 5 AM (ET/PT). In anticipation of its broader launch on the iPad and other platforms including ROKU next year, AMC Networks’ YEAH! has been quietly growing a loyal grass roots following with fans and filmmakers since it launched earlier this year at www.YEAHTV.com.
Media tastemakers have joined film directors in their praise of AMC’s new streaming film service. IGN said, “even the most hardened film fans might learn something new about the films they love,” while Hollywood Reporter declared YEAH! the “new word in the world of online entertainment.” The Netflix Alternative said “not only is it a fun interactive experience, YEAH! paves the way for a new way to stream movies online.“ As always, the fan boy favorites may have put it best, with Badass Digest proclaiming YEAH! to be “real cool, a damn impressive presentation, better than any Blu-ray presentation we’ve seen” and Shock Ya to boast, “in short, it’s possibly the best movie watching experience anywhere.”
