Jon Avnet And Rodrigo Garcia's Digital Channel WIGS Premieres First Series, "Jan"

LOS ANGELES, May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, award-winning filmmakers Jon Avnet ("Black Swan," "Fried Green Tomatoes," "Risky Business") and Rodrigo Garcia ("Albert Nobbs," "In Treatment," "Mother and Child") launch "Jan," the first WIGS series from a comprehensive slate of new, original programming.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120514/LA06249)

The digital channel's premiere series, "Jan," is written and directed by Jon Avnet. The series stars Caitlin Gerard ("The Social Network"), Virginia Madsen ("Sideways"), Stephen Moyer ("True Blood"), along with Alexandra Holden ("Friday Night Lights"), Jaime Murray ("Dexter," "Spartacus"), Kyle Gallner ("A Nightmare on Elm Street"), Iddo Goldberg ("Diary of a Call Girl," "Uprising"), Laura Spencer, Dorothy Davis, Allison McAtee, Andrea De Oliveira, John Ales, and Cass Castelow. 

Jan (Caitlin Gerard) wins a national competition that allows her to assist acclaimed photographer, Mel Karpova (Virginia Madsen). It's a dream first job, but a series of blunders make it feel more like a nightmare. An unlikely upside is the attention of a movie star, Gerald Noth (Stephen Moyer), at a photo shoot. However, his constant knight-in-shining-armor attempts to help Jan often cause even more trouble for her. Jan's journey becomes increasingly chaotic when her deeply troubled ex-boyfriend Robbie (Kyle Gallner) enters her life again.

"It was a pleasure working with Stephen and Virginia," remarked Jon Avnet. "Seeing how encouraging and supportive they were of Caitlin, Laura and Kyle made the experience really memorable.  And after completing the series, hearing Stephen and Virginia speak so glowingly of these younger performers was the icing on the cake."

The first three episodes are currently available worldwide in English and Spanish on youtube.com/wigs, youtube.com/wigsespanol and watchwigs.com. In total, the series is comprised of 15 episodes and will be distributed online over the next four weeks, with new episodes premiering on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Over the coming weeks and months, WIGS will be releasing content produced with a renowned group of writers and filmmakers, all starring female leads. Upcoming programming showcases actors including: Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Beals, Maura Tierney, Michael C. Hall, America Ferrera, Jason Isaacs, Allison Janney, Jane Kaczmarek, Jena Malone, Rosanna Arquette, Walton Goggins, Jimmy Wolk, Gary Cole, Tim DeKay, Jason O'Mara, and Catherine O'Hara.

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

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). He produced Paul Brickman's "Risky Business" as well.

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," winning 12 Tony Awards.

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, Rodrigo Garcia, and Jake Avnet, 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 CONTACT
Gillian Smith
(323) 822-4800
[email protected]

SOURCE WIGS