Howie Mandel And Super 78 Studios Partner With Metamedia To Deliver The World’s First Interactive Content To Movie Screens

MetaMedia, one of the world’s fastest growing entertainment technology companies, and Howie Mandel’s Alevy Productions and Super 78 Studios, an award-winning studio that develops immersive content, today announced a groundbreaking partnership to bring Magic Screen, the world’s first interactive platform for animated and live content, to cinemas and other out-of-home venues around the world.

“Magic Screen is taking immersive technologies to the next level,” said Howie Mandel. “With Magic Screen, our animations that used to take 6 months can now be written, recorded and produced in real time. Thanks to our partners at Super 78, Microsoft and MetaMedia, we’re going to revolutionize the moviegoing experience in a way that will allow trailers, advertisements, gameshows and more to be seen like never before.”

“Following the introduction of digital cinema, 3D, and immersive audio, we view Magic Screen as the next leap forward for cinemas,” said MetaMedia CEO Jason Brenek. “By providing audiences direct access to their favorite characters and celebrities and allowing them to interact alongside fellow fans, the social experience in cinema can continue to be the best place to enjoy entertainment.”

“Magic Screen is a disruptor on a global scale,” said Super 78 CEO Dina Benadon. “Together with Howie Mandel and MetaMedia, Magic Screen is uniquely positioned to be first to market in creating new revenue streams for theaters beyond their traditional model. At Super 78, we’ve produced interactive theme park shows for decades and now with Magic Screen, audiences can engage in custom experiences at local movie theaters.”

“On the road to post-pandemic recovery, the film exhibition business will require new business models and programming,” said Magic Screen General Manager Jay Williams. “All from one location, MetaMedia and Magic Screen will provide consumer-facing interactive original shows, ads, trailers, immersive games and standup comedy events to exhibitors in cities around the world. Magic Screen’s interactive platform is a one-of-a-kind solution that’s available for studios, producers and IP holders to showcase their content and characters to consumers in a truly custom and memorable way. “

Following today’s announcement, the partners will provide Magic Screen entertainment, also called interactives ™, to hundreds of cinemas, starting in major U.S. and Canadian cities in Q4 2021. MetaMedia’s MetaMedia Entertainment Network will serve as the exclusive platform for Geppetto-powered Magic Screen interactives ^TM. The first phase of the Magic Screen rollout will feature shows from top global theme parks and will include many shows that have not played in the U.S.  Magic Screen will also work with studios and other content creators and celebrities to create short-form interactive content such as live-comedy shows, game shows, trailers, advertisements, and other branded content. This includes providing out-of-home entertainment for private events, parties, education events and corporate events.

Supported by Microsoft, NVIDIA, Unity and other technology partners, Magic Screen builds on Super 78’s Geppetto, a proprietary live-character animation and show-control system that allows audiences to have individual, unscripted conversations with animated characters. Geppetto, which Super 78 Studios developed over a decade, powers interactive shows in theme parks around the world including Donkey Live! at Universal Studios Singapore, Smurf’s Village Playhouse at MOTIONGATE Theme Park in Dubai and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: An Interactive Adventure at Moody Gardens in Texas which was nominated for the first Producers Guild of America (PGA) Innovation Award in 2019.

The MetaMedia Entertainment Network is the world’s first global, cloud-based distribution platform for studios, cinemas and other out-of-home venues. Powered by Microsoft Azure, the MetaMedia service provides for the secure, rapid and cost-saving delivery of live-streamed events, movies and advertising. In addition to Magic Screen interactive content provided by the Super 78 and Alevy Productions partnership, MetaMedia recently expanded its platform to deliver movie DCPs and trailers from major Hollywood Studios to more than 1,000 cinema screens via partnerships with many major global cinema chains. The company also partnered with Harena Data, Inc., a data analytics, league development and player management tool for the esports industry and Encore Live’s Encore Drive-In Nights for live concerts at drive-in venues and select cinemas.