With DVD sales waning and digital distribution not taking hold, entrepreneurs are offering Hollywood studios alterative solutions. The latest is a Web site called Movieclips.com.
Users of the site, launching Wednesday, can find clips from more than 1,200 films, ranging from classics like "The Wizard of Oz" to the latest "Twilight" sequel. The Movieclips site allows fans to rent or purchase films from retailers after browsing clips; it also offers ways to share clips on social networking sites like Twitter or Facebook.
In a rare move, all six major Hollywood studios, including Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures and Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros., have agreed to license content to the site, perhaps hoping to boost DVD sales by sharing promotional content like clips.
Movieclips.com's Chief Executive Zach James, 27, says the Santa Monica, Calif., company generates revenue through an advertising-supported model as well through entertainment purchases and rentals from its current retail partners, Amazon.com and Apple Inc.'s iTunes. It shares ad revenue with the studios.
"It was really an idea born out of the need to start the movie conversation online," says Mr. James, a former investment banker who founded the site with Rich Raddon, the former director of the Los Angeles Film Festival. "How many times a day do you hear someone quote a movie, at work or at your dinner table? Movies are the universal language, and this provides an immersive experience and a way to share them."
Mr. James says he thinks the site can play an important role in the film industry, which is undergoing a seismic shift with the evaporation of DVD sales and onset of digital distribution. "One of the reasons why the studios enjoy the experience of the site is that it encourages users to buy or stream the movie right then and there," he adds.
Mr. James says the company is in talks with additional retail partners but is also focused on the user interface. "Our goal for the next year is to really refine the user experience and make it more interactive. We want people to share these moments from movies."
That means expanding the site's search functions as well as increasing ways to share the clips, which range from roughly 30 seconds to two minutes. Currently, users can search for movies using categories like "best kiss" or "tearjerkers" or, say, "projectile vomiting."
