From our friends at Lionsgate and Samsung Electronics...
Lionsgate and Samsung Announce "Insurgent - Shatter Reality" Virtual Reality Experience
Exclusive to Samsung Gear VR and Samsung Milk VR, 360° Immersive Video Creates Unique Experience for Fans of The Divergent Series: Insurgent
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) a premier next generation global content leader, and Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (Samsung), one of the world’s leading technology companies, have teamed up to create the exclusive virtual reality (VR) experience “INSURGENT - SHATTER REALITY,” the two companies announced today.
The four-minute visual work of art is a fully-immersive, 360° narrative experience set in the world of the upcoming feature film The Divergent Series: Insurgent and features stars from the film including Academy Award winner Kate Winslet, Miles Teller and Mekhi Phifer. Beginning February 27, fans can experience the VR content for themselves exclusively through Samsung Gear VR powered by the Galaxy Note 4 as “INSURGENT - SHATTER REALITY” goes on tour in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin and San Francisco prior to going live across all platforms and app stores.
The experience will also be available exclusively on Samsung’s Milk VR service through March 1. Fans outside the tour markets will have an opportunity to view the experience on Samsung Gear VR over the weekend of March 7-8 at select Best Buy stores across the US.
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“Virtual reality elevates the world of Divergent to a whole new level by creating a uniquely exciting and immersive experience for our fans,” said Lionsgate Chief Marketing Officer Tim Palen. “The ‘INSURGENT - SHATTER REALITY’ experience reflects our commitment to partner with leading technology companies like Samsung to remain at the cutting edge of VR and other innovations that expand the worlds of our franchises and extend our storytelling in exciting new directions.”
“As we push new boundaries in the world of technology and virtual reality, we are excited to continue our relationship with Lionsgate and bring Divergent fans a one-of-a-kind experience through Gear VR and Milk VR,” said Nick DiCarlo, Vice President and General Manager, Immersive Products & Virtual Reality at Samsung Electronics America. “This partnership will bring fans closer than ever to the action in this blockbuster series.”
By putting on the Gear VR headset, consumers are immersed in the role of “Divergent” members of society who have been captured by Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet) and her Erudite faction and are subjected to a series of mental ”simulations” in order to determine the full extent of their divergence. As the VR technology simulates Jeanine and her faction cohorts testing them with experimental serums, they experience two distinct, intensely gripping and realistic fearscapes, transporting them from the frightening heights of a crumbling Chicago skyscraper to the intimidating challenge of a massive, fast-approaching locomotive.
Created by virtual reality innovators Kite & Lightning with assistance from the film’s VFX team, the experience was built using stereoscopic 4K video of the actors, with effects and environment built in Unreal Engine 4 and then rendered into an immersive 3D/360° experience. It was scored by The Divergent Series: Insurgent composer Joe Trapanese.
The Divergent Series: Insurgent, the second installment of the blockbuster Divergent franchise, will be released in theaters worldwide on March 20. The first Divergent film grossed nearly $300 million at the global box office, and the Divergent trilogy has sold more than 30 million books around the world.
ABOUT LIONSGATE:
Lionsgate is a premier next generation global content leader with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, digital distribution, channel platforms and international distribution and sales. The Company currently has more than 30 television shows on over 20 different networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the comedy Anger Management, the broadcast network seriesNashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show and the critically-acclaimed hit series Orange is the New Black.
Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first three installments of The Hunger Games franchise, the first installment of the Divergent franchise, John Wick, Now You See Me, Roadside Attractions' A Most Wanted Man, Lionsgate/Codeblack Films' Addicted and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com.
ABOUT SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS AMERICA, INC.:
Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), is a recognized innovation leader in consumer electronics design and technology. A wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SEA delivers a broad range of digital consumer electronics and IT products. Samsung is the market leader for HDTVs in the U.S. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com.
