Joseph Gordon-Levitt made an appearance at today's TCA (Television Critics Association) press tour to help promote Participant Media's new entertainment network, Pivot. Participant is the company behind such films as An Inconvenient Truth, The Help, and Lincoln and after purchasing the Documentary Chanel a year ago, they're making their first, grand-scale, foray into the world of television with what they hope will be a revolutionary way to experience the medium.
Pivot is meant to appeal to the "millennial generation" and boasts 40 million+ subscribers at launch.The network has over 300 hours of original programming, including their most high-profile offering, HitRECord on TV!
As some may know, HitRECord is Gordon-Levitt's artists collective website, what he describes as "an open-collaborative production company." The TV show is the realization of a dream for the actor who had been hoping to find a way to combine his work with HitRECord, his passion project, and his "more traditional" acting and entertainment endeavors.
"This is like a fantasy," Gordon-Levitt said of the opportunity to host and produce what is being called a "re-imagining of the variety show." HitRECord on TV! will feature music, short films and conversational interviews with each episode focused on a different theme. He credits his recent feature film directorial debut, Don Jon, with providing him with the experience he needed in order to create this series.
Participant has traditionally tackled socially relevant topics in their films, and it feels as though the hope with Pivot is to appeal to the 'millennials' with fresh content, delivered in a manner that befits the way that people consume media today, but that addresses larger issues. What do we mean by that?
Well basically, Pivot will invite the viewer into the experience. Much of the programming will be collaborative and interactive. Gordon-Levitt sources his content from artists all over the world via submission on his website, for example. The network has also developed an App which will allow Direct TV subscribers to access the content live or on demand from any device.
As to the interactive nature of the network, Gordon-Levitt explained that, "20th century media was a monologue. It was produced by a small group and everyone else had to sit back and listen. That's not what's happening now. People want to get engaged and see change."
Pivot wants to "lean into" the change they see in the world, which includes the way that young people engage with their media. They also believe that this is, "the most politically aware generation to date," and that the millenials actively want to take social action, they just need to be given the right opportunity to get engaged.
The idea is that you can take part, or you can be an observer, it's the users choice. The network aims to "start with entertainment, and then move into interaction, possibly culminating in a call to action." Pivot will offer a broad spectrum programming ranging from scripted comedy, to musical variety, to an interactive news magazine, to documentary; all of which is designed to address relevant issues in a relatable manner.
Meghan McCain, daughter of Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain, is set to host her own show on the network, which she calls the "middle ground between the Kardashians and C-span." McCain went on to say that she saw polarizing politics as the biggest threat to her generation. She hopes that with her program she can demonstrate to young girls that you can, "support your gay friends, party, have fun, have sex and talk about politics a lot." The idea is to create a dialogue about politics, social, and economic issues, but in a way that feels honest and real.
“When I was growing up, MTV News was loud, proud and really inspired my life in a really real way," she continued. "That doesn’t exist anymore. I want to give people information but not talk down to them.”
Pivot is launching 32 years to the day of the launch of MTV.
Source : ign[dot]com
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