MetaMedia facilitates the expansion of Magic Screen, a groundbreaking interactive content studio

November 11, 2021

As the Covid-19 pandemic compelled exhibitors to think of new, innovative ways to use their cinema spaces, many exhibitors expanded and accelerated their alternative content initiatives. Alternative content, or non-film entertainment experiences, offers many exhibitors an enticing opportunity to expand and pivot to meet the demands of a post-pandemic world.

With its revolutionary cloud-based technology, entertainment technology leader MetaMedia is poised to stand at the forefront of an alternative content revolution. MetaMedia continues to support the expansion of alternative content through a number of partners including Harena Data (a gaming community aggregation company), Laugh Lounge (a producer of exclusive, live-streamed stand-up comedy shows) and EncoreLive (a company that serves as the connection point between artists, brands, and individuals to create unique concert experiences for fans).

Most recently, MetaMedia initiated a partnership with Howie Mandel’s Alevy Productions and Super78 Studios, an award-winning design studio that develops immersive content, to launch Magic Screen, the world’s first interactive platform for animated and live content. Magic Screen’s technology allows audiences to play a role in a real-time, live-action or animated experience. It is the world’s first platform for interactive content that can engage thousands of people in multiple theaters and cities simultaneously, all controlled from one location. 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. Gepetto was developed over a decade, and currently 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. With MetaMedia’s expertise in the entertainment technology industry, Magic Screen will expand from theme parks to cinemas around the world.
“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.”

Jay Williams, Magic Screen’s General Manager, added, “The COVID pandemic hit the theatrical exhibition industry particularly hard and we think Magic Screen is going to be integral in bringing audiences back into movie theaters. This is the kind of unique experience that simply can’t be had at home.”

Over the past few months, MetaMedia and Magic Screen have held demos in Los Angeles for Studios, cinema owners, and pre-show advertisers, among others. Such demos included a public showing at CinemaCon in June. The demos have featured Bobby, the titular character from the show Bobby’s World played by Magic Screen co-founder Howie Mandel. During the demos, Bobby identifies audience members, speaks with them and answers questions in real time. After each demonstration, MetaMedia and Magic Screen executives hosted a Q&A session in which they answered questions and spoke about Magic Screen capabilities. MetaMedia is currently deploying Magic Screen technology to its first location in Los Angeles and additional cinemas across the nation will be announced soon.

In addition to alternative content like Magic Screen, MetaMedia continues to deliver countless films to cinemas across the U.S. and Canada. The MetaMedia Entertainment Network expanded its network to more than 3,000 screens across the U.S. and Canada. With such dramatic growth and innovation, MetaMedia shows no signs of slowing down.

© 2021 MetaMedia Tech Inc., a Delaware Company.

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Jason Brenek

Chief Executive Officer

Leveraging two decades of senior executive experience across multiple sectors of the film and entertainment industry, Jason Brenek assembled a group of powerful industry leaders with incomparable experience and relationships to forge the building blocks of MetaMedia. As Chief Executive Officer of MetaMedia, Brenek focuses intently on realizing the operational, economic and programming benefits of creating a next-generation distribution network, which are mutually-beneficial to content producers and cinemas around the world.

Prior to MetaMedia, Brenek was President of IMAX HOME at the IMAX Corporation, where he led business and engineering teams around the world to develop and launch multiple new products, technologies, and platforms. Before IMAX, Brenek spent over a decade in senior management roles at The Walt Disney Studios. While serving as Senior Vice President of International In-Home and Head of Global Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, Brenek established partnerships with global brands including Netflix, Google, Amazon, Apple. and Samsung to distribute Disney-owned content across new digital/OTT platforms, television, and retail. Brenek previously served as Disney's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Digital Cinema and Cinema Programming, overseeing the company's global transition from analog to digital cinema. Brenek also developed and co-produced two Disney feature films and multiple live sporting events in cinemas with ESPN. Brenek received his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dale "Bud" Mayo

Board Chairman

Dale "Bud" Mayo is an international award-winning digital cinema pioneer. His companies have transformed how films and alternative content are delivered and managed for over 14,000 screens in cinemas around the world. Having raised over $1 billion in capital and founded six companies, Mayo brings a wealth of financial and management expertise to his role as chairman of MetaMedia, where he endeavors to complete the digital cinema revolution he began twenty years ago.

Prior to MetaMedia, Mayo co-founded and was chairman of New Vision Theatres, a 184 screen theatre circuit he assembled from AMC Entertainment and Carmike Cinemas holdings. Before New Vision, Mayo was president of alternative programming and distribution for the nation's fourth largest cinema exhibitor, Carmike Cinemas, which had acquired and sought to emulate the success of Digital Cinema Destinations (also known as Digiplex), of which Mayo was chief executive officer (CEO), chairman, and founder. Mayo had dedicated Digital Cinema Destinations, a 204-screen cinema exhibitor, to demonstrating how cinemas could continue to thrive in the 21st century by growing into interactive entertainment centers that use alternative content such as live sports, gaming, concerts and operas to augment and expand feature film revenues. Previously, Mayo was founder and CEO of Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp., the company that rolled out the first 4,000 cinema-screen conversions from analog to digital by serving as a trusted intermediary between studios, exhibitors, distributors and vendors, thus ushering in the start of the digital cinema era. Cinedigm continued to fund and deploy thousands more digital upgrades even after Bud's retirement from the company in 2010. Mayo received his Bachelor of Science in Finance and Financial Management Services from New York University's Stern School of Business.

Chuck Goldwater

President, North America

For over two decades, Chuck Goldwater has served as a senior executive in the entertainment and cinema exhibition industry which has earned him incomparable industry-wide trust and respect. As President, North America for MetaMedia, Goldwater draws upon his broad understanding and deep connections to exhibitors and studios across the country to create a robust network of exhibitor and studio partnerships for MetaMedia. He also applies his knack and experience for building successful entertainment startups to MetaMedia's growing infrastructure and success.

Prior to MetaMedia, Goldwater was co-founder and CEO at cinema chain New Vision Theaters. Before that, Goldwater served as Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Carmike Cinemas, which acquired Digiplex Destinations, a cinema chain where Goldwater served as Executive Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors. At New Vision, Carmike, and Digiplex, Goldwater was an energetic and effective advocate for alternative programming and “event cinema” as a means of increasing seat utilization and creating incremental revenue for exhibitors. Before Digiplex, Goldwater was President of Cinedigm (formerly known as AccessIT), the company credited with deploying the first digital cinema infrastructure and electronic delivery network. Previously, Goldwater was selected by the then seven largest Hollywood studios to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Digital Cinema Initiatives (“DCI”), a joint venture that created the industry-wide specifications and the technical quality and security architecture for digital cinema systems. Goldwater was also inducted into the industry’s ShowEast Hall of Fame and is a Will Rogers/Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation Board Advisory Member.

Frank Bryant

Chief Operating Officer (COO)

With nearly twenty-five years of senior management experience in domestic and international film and television, Frank Bryant has a rare background in strategy, sales, marketing and operations. He has significant experience launching and scaling international businesses in motion picture distribution, exhibition and marketing. As Chief Operating Officer (COO) for MetaMedia, Bryant is responsible for revenue, managing global go-to-market strategies, securing international partners, negotiating strategic partnerships and setting commercial and investment strategy and priorities for MetaMedia.

Prior to joining MetaMedia, Bryant was Senior Vice President and Head of Dolby Cinema, a leading “premium large format” offering. Under Bryant, Dolby Cinema grew from a start up to a global network of over 200 cinema locations on 3 continents, improving box office for exhibitor and studio partners alike. Before Dolby, Bryant was Senior Vice President of International Digital Distribution and Licensing at 21st Century Fox, where he scaled international operations and doubled revenue. Prior to Fox, Bryant was Senior Vice President of Distribution Strategy and Digital Media at Walt Disney Studios, where he spearheaded the studio’s conversion from analog to digital distribution in film, home entertainment and television. During his stint at Disney, Bryant negotiated the industry’s first large scale digital cinema deployment deal, the first digital distribution deal for films with Apple iTunes, and a nine-figure deal to facilitate Disney’s adoption of the Blu-Ray format. Ahead of this role, Bryant served as Executive Director of Worldwide Marketing Operations for Sony Pictures Entertainment and as Principal Consultant in PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Media and Entertainment Strategy practice. Bryant received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Daniel Fair

Head of Studio Client Services

After a decade of overseeing relationships with studios for the nation's leading film distribution services firm, Daniel Fair in one of the entertainment industry’s most trusted, reliable leaders. As Metamedia's senior vice president of sales, client services and account management, Fair's role is to cultivate studio partnerships and ensure clients' needs are continuously satisfied. Prior to MetaMedia, Fair was senior vice president of global client services at Deluxe Technicolor Digital Cinema, where he was the main point of contact for studio executives and oversaw all studio facing client teams. Earlier, Fair joined Deluxe near the start of its transition to digital cinema, where his focus was on digital cinema and managing the distributor's domestic Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. accounts. Previously, Fair worked as assistant editor on feature films for 21st Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Dreamworks. Fair received his Bachelor of Arts in communications from the University of Missouri, Columbia.

Arbi Derzakharian

Head of Operations

An accomplished executive with over fifteen years of experience overseeing operations, exhibitor relations and post-production at two of the world's largest film distributors, Arbi Derzakharian embodies a rare combination of highly-developed management, operational, client relations, and software engineering skills. As MetaMedia's Vice President of Operations, Derzakharian oversees a team of highly skilled operators, manages the secure and timely and secure ingest and delivery of all content which flows through the MetaMedia Entertainment Network.

Prior to MetaMedia, Derzakharian was Senior Director of Post-Production and Operations at IMAX, where he consolidated the post-production and operations departments, doubled the firm's trailer output, created proprietary software to track work orders, and helped lead the successful pilot phase of IMAX's booking and electronic delivery technology. Before IMAX, Derzakharian was Executive Director of Customer Service at film distributor Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, where he oversaw management of exhibitor relations and was responsible for addressing exhibitor issues with the last mile of film delivery. Derzakharian received a dual Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Critical Film Studies from the University of Southern California.

Shaiwal “Shay” Priyadarshi

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

A dynamic inventor with over a dozen patents, Shaiwal "Shay" Priyadarshi is a trusted leader and mentor to high-performing tech teams, executives and business partners. For over 25 years, Priyadarshi has assembled and led front-end and back-end engineering teams, developed market-leading products and intellectual property that spans from embedded systems and data centers to leading cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and Oracle Cloud. As chief technology officer (CTO) for MetaMedia, Priyadarshi continues to maintain his exemplary track record of overseeing innovative products from concept to delivery.

Prior to MetaMedia, Priyadarshi was CTO of IMAX Home, where he developed the world's highest-quality, internet-delivered video playback system needed to support IMAX Corporation’s pioneering technologies. Before IMAX, he served as CTO of PRIMA Cinema where he led the research, development and approval processes of the world's first and only movie service that was authorized to distribute new Hollywood movies to private home theaters. And previous to PRIMA Cinema, he worked as director of engineering at DivX, where he led the development of new technologies that power many leading streaming services today. Priyadarshi received his Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Electronics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.