Jon Avnet And Rodrigo Garcia Launch WIGS, A Digital Channel Featuring Original Series And Short Films Exploring Female Characters

LOS ANGELES, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Filmmakers Jon Avnet (Black Swan, Fried Green Tomatoes, Risky Business) and Rodrigo Garcia (Albert Nobbs, In Treatment, Mother and Child) have joined forces to create and launch WIGS, an innovative digital channel producing high-end, original, scripted dramatic series and short films about the lives of women.

The Channel will be showcased at the YouTube "Brandcast" event on May 2nd.  The first trailers for the channel and series are available now at www.youtube.com/wigs and www.watchwigs.com accessible worldwide in English and Spanish. WIGS will also feature documentaries, behind-the-scenes videos, and cutting-edge unscripted content, all starring female leads.

WIGS will have its world premier in coming weeks:

-The first WIGS series is "Jan," written and directed by Jon Avnet, debuting May 14th. The cast includes: Caitlin Gerard, Virginia Madsen, Stephen Moyer, Kyle Gallner, Laura Spencer, Iddo Goldberg and Jaime Murray.

-The first WIGS short film is "Serena," written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia. Jennifer Garner and Alfred Molina star.

-The second WIGS series is "Blue," written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, with a cast including Julia Stiles, David Harbour, Uriah Shelton, Kathleen Quinlan, Sarah Paulson, and Jeanne Tripplehorn.

Over the coming months, WIGS will be releasing content produced with a renowned group of writers and filmmakers. Upcoming programming showcases actors including: Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Beals, Maura Tierney, Michael C. Hall, America Ferrera, Jason Isaacs, Allison Janney, Sarah Jones, Jane Kaczmarek, Troian Bellisario, Jena Malone, Rosanna Arquette, Philip Baker Hall, Lois Smith, Walton Goggins, Jimmy Wolk, Gary Cole, Tim DeKay, Jason Gedrick, Jason O'Mara, Kim Shaw, Melonie Diaz, Arielle Kebbel, Catherine O'Hara, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Marin Ireland, Melora Walters, Nancy Travis, Alison Pill and Dana Davis.

Other filmmakers creating shows for WIGS include: Ami Canaan Mann, Lee Krieger, Rose Troche, Patricia Cardoso, Kerry Conran, Leah Rachel, and Mattie Brickman. Authors include Scott Turow, Mitch Albom, and Neil LaBute. Thomas Newman composed the main and end title music.

"WIGS offers our writer, director, and actor friends and colleagues an enormous amount of freedom to tell stories that they connect with intimately," said Jon Avnet. "The excitement in the creative community surrounding the productions has been palpable. We hope and believe the audience will enjoy these very diverse voices that explore women of all ages, races, and beliefs."

"All of our shows and shorts combine high-end serialized content with great hooks and cliffhangers. They have edge; they're a little bit naughty. The shows are fun, comedic at times, moving at others, and always entertaining," remarked Rodrigo Garcia. "We want to hook people on great stories, great characters and create an addictive type of viewing experience where people are eager to see what's next."

Jake Avnet, WIGS Chief Operating Officer, said, "WIGS creates high-end content and offers it directly to consumers, allowing us to develop, produce, and distribute more efficiently. This is a groundbreaking time in digital entertainment, and we're excited to be on the forefront."

News Corp. Digital Media Group (NDM), a division of News Corporation, is the Marketing Partner for WIGS.

Jon Miller, Chief Digital Officer for News Corporation remarked, "It's groundbreaking to have talent of this caliber embrace a digital entertainment channel.  We are thrilled to be supporting the Avnets and Rodrigo Garcia in this ambitious endeavor."

ABOUT JON AVNET
Jon Avnet has directed, written, and produced almost seventy films, television movies, and Broadway plays over the last 30 years, winning most of the major awards: Oscar's, Emmy's, Tony's, Peabody's, and the Humanitas. In 2010, Mr. Avnet executive produced Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman (Academy Award Winner) and directed by Darren Aronofsky.

Mr. Avnet co-wrote, directed, and/or produced: Fried Green Tomatoes (Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, Mary-Louise Parker), Up Close and Personal (Robert Redford, Michelle Pfeiffer), and most recently, Righteous Kill (Robert De Niro and Al Pacino).

For television, Mr. Avnet executive produced The Burning Bed (Farrah Fawcett); co-wrote with Paul Brickman, directed, and executive produced Uprising; directed and executive produced Boomtown (with Graham Yost), and The Starter Wife six-hour mini-series. Currently, Mr. Avnet directs Justified with Timothy Olyphant, adapted by Graham Yost from Elmore Leonard's, "Fire in the Hole."

On Broadway, he has produced History Boys, Spamalot, Pillowman, The Seafarer, and Inherit the Wind.

ABOUT RODRIGO GARCIA
Rodrigo Garcia's first film as writer and director, Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her, opened "Un Certain Regard" at the Cannes Film Festival 2000 and won the award for best film in that category.

Mr. Garcia's other credits as writer/director include: Ten Tiny Love Stories, Nine Lives (Winner Best Film Locarno Film Festival 2005), and Mother and Child (Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Samuel Jackson).

Mr. Garcia's credits also include the pilots for HBO series Carnivale and Big Love. Additionally, he shot the pilot for, and was the executive producer and showrunner of, the first season of In Treatment.

Most recently, he directed Albert Nobbs (Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Janet McTeer, Brendan Gleeson), which was nominated for three Academy Awards.

ABOUT WIGS
WIGS is a new digital channel, launched in May 2012 by Jon Avnet and Rodrigo Garcia featuring world-class talent in original series, short films, documentaries and other content exploring female characters. Dozens of scripted episodes will be premiering in the coming months. The channel can be found at www.youtube.com/wigs, www.youtube.com/wigsespanol, and www.watchwigs.com.

ABOUT YOUTUBE
Founded in February 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small.

PRESS CONTACTS
BeBe Lerner
(323) 822-4800
[email protected]

Gillian Smith
(323) 822-4800
[email protected]

SOURCE WIGS