On February 22nd 1987 – Andy Warhol died
On February 22nd 2012 – ANDY X is born
Leading stage and screen director, Jim Sharman, will launch his new visual art film ANDY X, a 40-minute musical reverie about legendary artist Andy Warhol, exclusively online twenty five years after the exact moment of Warhol’s death on the 22nd of February.
Sunday Pictures, in partnership with DLSHS – online producers of cross-platform viral hit The Tunnel – and ScreenLaunch, will release ANDY X globally for USD$6.99 as a DRM-free (digital rights management free) download or streamed for a 72 hour rental period from its website: www.andyxthemovie.com.
The film will also launch with a groundbreaking introductory offer for all Facebook fans of ANDY X. This offer allows fans of the movie to use their Facebook friends as currency when paying to watch the film. One Facebook friend equals one cent. Fans can login to Facebook to calculate the number of friends they have and their balance will be deducted from the ticket fee.
“Frictionless sharing has now become a ubiquitous form of free advertising for content publishers such as Netflix or Spotify. We’re trying to say that it’s actually worth something, and we will reward our fans for helping us spread the word,” says DLSHS’s Ahmed Salama.
Director Jim Sharman says, “I essentially want people to experience this journey on whatever technology platform they prefer without restriction.”
ANDY X delivers a unique narrative through song, verse and montage, with Sharman exploring Warhol’s life from his death-bed in a New York Hospital on 22 February, 1987. To coincide with the 25th anniversary of Andy Warhol’s death the film will be launched tonight, the 22 February, 2012 on the precise minute he passed away at 10.21pm in Sydney.
On choosing to launch the film in this way, Jim said;
“Online movies are a new art form and their potential is evolving, yet cyberspace seems the perfect place to explore the Warhol enigma. I imagine Warhol would have loved the net, and we’ve enjoyed creating this unique 40 minute portrait, or ‘cinematic séance’ with Andy Warhol.”
This online film experience marks the return of iconic Australian director Jim Sharman to the screen, albeit an online screen. Jim is famed for pushing conventional boundaries with his theatre, opera and cult cinema creations, including the musical extravaganza The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Esteemed film critic Richard Kuipers has described the film as, “a poetic and pulsating eulogy… Sharman takes us on a ride to stimulate and excite everyone from Warhol buffs to those who might have only heard the name and know it has something to do with soup cans.” The film was developed and directed by Jim Sharman from a script by Stephen Sewell and an original music score by Basil Hogios, with lyrics by Sewell and Hogios. ANDY X stars rising young stars Akos Armont and Sheridan Harbridge; with Nick Simpson-Deeks, Gillian Jones and David Denis.
To watch the ANDY X trailer, click here.
