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Vimeo has decided it can’t compete with Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. The company will not be launching the subscription video-on-demand service it had been touting since last year and had planned to roll out in 2018, Vimeo said on Monday.

Read More: Vimeo Staff Picks: How to Get Your Film Seen By Hollywood Producers and Brands

“Vimeo has confirmed that it has decided not to proceed in offering a subscription based original program service scheduled to begin in ’18,” a spokesperson said in a statement. The company has more than 760,000 paying subscribers who use its filmmaker tools, and roughly 240 million monthly viewers of its videos, and was determined to create a service that would attract millions of customers willing to pay for exclusive original content.

So why is Vimeo, which last November said it would invest “tens of millions” to compete with newcomers like YouTube Red, now changing course? Here are...

With more than 240 million monthly viewers, Vimeo has grown into one of the best online platforms for filmmakers to share their work with the world and discover other talented artists. The site’s flagship channel, Vimeo Staff Picks, features the best videos on Vimeo, and is billed as a “never-ending film festival” that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

The benefit of a Staff Pick can be getting your short film, music video or other short form work seen by production companies, advertising agencies and brands looking for emerging talent. Filmmaker Patrick Jean’s short film “Pixels” was chosen as a Staff Pick, went viral, and attracted the attention of Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions, which hired Patrick to direct the feature-length version. Though Happy Madison ultimately brought Chris Columbus on board to direct, Patrick stayed on as an executive producer and co-writer of the script.

Timelapse cinematographer Drew Geraci’s “District Nights” similarly landed him a job shooting the opening credits sequence for Netflix’s “House of Cards,” while Daniel Mercadante’s two-minute short “Laughs” led to Volkswagen hiring him to shoot a second version for a TV commercial. Other Staff Picks alumni who have gained critical exposure through Vimeo include “Swiss Army Man” co-directors the Daniels (12 Staff Picks) and “Kong: Skull Island” filmmaker Jordan Vogt-Roberts (2 Staff Picks).

Read More: John Early and Kate Berlant’s ‘555’ Just Raised the Bar for Every Short Form Comedy Ever

Curated by a five-person in-house team, Staff Picks is comprised of the core verticals of Drama, Comedy, Action Sports and Documentary, and also includes Music Video, Animation, Travel and Eye Candy. Vimeo selects around four Staff Picks per day and features the videos on its homepage. Out of the tens of millions of videos uploaded to Vimeo on a yearly basis, roughly 1,000 are chosen as Staff Picks. The site also selects around 10 “Best of the Month” videos per month.

Though Staff Picks are free to watch, Vimeo on Demand offers filmmakers a way to monetize their work via a 90/10 split, with 90 percent of revenue going to the creators. Launched in 2013, the site’s VOD content features more than 50,000 videos with more than 1 million paying customers. If a filmmaker wants to earn revenue off of his or her Vimeo Staff Pick, the film can be moved to the subscription-only platform.

So how can you secure a coveted Vimeo Staff Picks badge for your film? Here are five key factors paraphrased from a presentation by Meghan Oretsky, one of the company’s five curators, during an event at the company’s New York office.

Exceptional craft

Staff Picks should look good and sound amazing, but filmmakers should also ask themselves whether their work innovates and pushes the medium to a new level. Check out “Analogue Loaders” by from Raphael Vangelis.

Conversation starting

To get people talking about a short film, it should present provocative ideas and visuals that ideally appeal to a millennial audience. Vimeo knows a video is a winner when the curators anticipate it being shared and sparking conversations amongst friends. Check out “Black Holes” by Noodles.

Engaging storytelling

Stories should draw the viewer in, elicit an emotional response and ultimately be something that people want to the share with their friends. A good example is the short film “Con Amor” by Cole Webley.

Originality

Vimeo creators should have a unique style and story. A good question to ask is, have we seen this story told time and time again? If so, are they bringing any new ideas or a new voice to the genre? Check out Ilya Naishuller’s music video for Leningrad’s “Kolshick.”

Read More: Danny Devito’s Short Film ‘Curmudgeons’ Launches Vimeo’s Staff Pick Premieres

Diverse Voices

Vimeo’s curators attend niche festivals in order to find content from female filmmakers, the Lgbtq community, people with disabilities, the indigenous community and more. Check out David M. Helman’s music video for Michael Kiwanuka “Cold Little Heart.”

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It may seem odd that an actor as firmly associated with New Yawk as Danny DeVito would wait till his early 70s to make his Broadway debut, in this year’s revival of Arthur Miller’s The Price. Mind you, DeVito -- who’s actually a Jersey boy, born in Neptune Township and raised in Asbury Park -- initially prepared for a stage career, graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and performing at major regionals and off-Broadway before landing the TV role, as dispatcher Louie De Palma on Taxi, that made him a star.

“I’d come close to doing Broadway a couple of times a while ago, but it didn’t work out,” says DeVito. “As an actor, you go where the work is” -- and DeVito’s had no shortage, between his seemingly endless film credits (as a producer and director as well) and his numerous television projects, among them the...

Author: Zehra Phelan

Live action remakes seem to be all the trend right now, especially for Disney who have taken the decision to remake that all too cute 1941 animated floppy eared baby elephant film, Dumbo and it’s been revealed that Danny DeVito is currently in talks to join the cast.

Related: Danny Devito discusses short film Curmudgeons

Due to his stage commitments, DeVito’s negotiations is taking a while longer than expected, but if everything goes to plan DeVito will be cast in the role of Medici. The character of Medici runs a small circus that is taken over by the evil big top circus villain Vandemere. Eva Green, who is also in negotiations to join the cast of the adorable elephant film, looks all set to join DeVito in a role as the French Trapeze artist Colette, who works for Vandemere and apparently is a key role in the film.

Screen interviewed the Us multi-hyphenate who this week receives an Honorary Award in Mallorca.

Danny DeVito has got virtually all bases covered: from stage to screen, shorts to features, comedy to prestige drama.

One of the world’s most recognizable movie stars, the Batman Returns, Twins and L.A. Confidential actor has directed hits includingThrow Momma From The Train and Matilda while producer credits include Oscar winnner Erin Brockovich and Pulp Fiction (as an executive producer). More recently he has starred in long-running FX series It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

Across a career spanning almost 50 years, DeVito has been there, done it and got the t-shirt.

The Hollywood icon will be in Spain this week where he is being presented with with the Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival’s (Emiff, November 3-12) Honorary Award in recognition of his career.

DeVito will present screenings of The War Of The Roses and his new short film Curmudgeons, which...

Exclusive: Former Organic managing director launches PR company with entertainment focus.

PR veteran Emma McCorkell has launched her own UK PR business, Team PR, focusing on entertainment publicity.

The company will be led by McCorkell and partner Cheryl Mayer, who both previously worked at UK outfit Organic.

Team PR will cover media management, UK release publicity, festival publicity, international publicity, mentoring and consulting on film and TV projects. A team of freelancers will be moulded per project.

The company launched with recent work on Danny Devito’s short Curmudgeons. They have also recently finished work on the premiere of the Oasis music documentary Supersonic with Entertainment One.

Regarding her idea for a non-traditional agency, McCorkell commented: “Cheryl and I wanted to offer a new and unique approach for the industry, allowing us to be much more flexible and nimble with how we work and giving clients the opportunity to handpick their dream team.”

McCorkell has worked...

"Life happens. And it sweeps you up, and then you die. That's it. Stupid really..." Need a good laugh? Watch this short. Curmudgeons is a comedic short film directed by Danny DeVito, starring Danny DeVito and his longtime friend David Margulies as two old "curmudgeons" who meet up again at an assisted living home. The cast includes Danny DeVito's daughter Lucy DeVito, as well as Sarah Nina Hayon and Kett Turton. It's a wonderful mix of hilariously crude humor and life lessons being imparted to youngsters, with a sweet side to it that comes out in just the right way. I'm really impressed by this - it's the kind of film you should watch if you're feeling sad and need a reminder of what happiness is. Take a few minutes and watch. Description from Vimeo: "A pair of senior citizens have a relationship that shocks both their families in this potty-mouthed,...

We here at HeyUGuys are fortunate enough to gain access to some of the greatest movie stars in the world. But few have elicited as much excitement as Danny DeVito, who we had the fortune of meeting – alongside his two children Lucy and Jake, during the London Film Festival, where the trio are presenting […]

The post Exclusive: Danny DeVito discusses his short movie Curmudgeons – with children Jake and Lucy appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Plus: Warner Bros dates all-female Ocean’s 8; Vimeo’s big plans for Staff Pick channel; and more…

La La Land will open and Jackie will close the 39th Denver Film Festival, set to run in Colorado from November 2-12.

Lion is the Centerpiece screening and Lost In Paris will receive the Rare Pearl Award.

“From Damien Chazelle’s modern musical La La Land, starring the dazzling Emma Stone, to Natalie Portman’s iconic portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy in Pablo Larraín’s Jackie, these films set the bar for the entire programme of impressive work coming to our screens in November,” said Denver Film Society festival director Britta Erickson.

Organisers will announce the full programme on Monday.

Warner Bros and Village Roadshow said on Wednesday the studio will release the all-femaleOcean’s 8on June 8 2018.Vimeo on Wednesday unveiled an initiative to extend its Staff Pick channel into a year-long online film festival. An open submissions...

The heart and soul of the Vimeo platform is its popular Staff Pick channel, for which a four person in-house curation team highlights the best short-form content on Vimeo. The Staff Pick laurel has become such a trusted brand it can often bring a festival-quality short — often one that has played at a major festival — from 50,000 to 200,000 views in a matter of days; it has even played a key role in launching the careers of indie filmmakers like The Daniels (“Swiss Army Man”).

Read More: How the ‘Swiss Army Man’ Directors Went From Working With Lil Jon to Daniel Radcliffe

Having earlier this year celebrated its 10,000th Staff Pick, the company today announced that it is adding new layers of curation on top of the existing Staff Pick channel, including Best of the Week, Best of the Month and Premieres. Here’s a look at what those terms mean.

Best of the Month: Each month,...

Stars: Danny DeVito, David Margulies, Lucy DeVito, Sarah Hayon, Kett Turton | Written by Joshua Conkel | Directed by Danny DeVito

Danny DeVito. The late David Margulies. A senior citizen home. Love. Curmudgeons.

Need I say more? Written by first time writer Joshua Conkel, the short stars DeVito and Margulies as Jackie and Ralphie, respectively, as two aging seniors in a nursing home who happen to fall in love with each other. Also starring DeVito’s daughter Lucy as Ralphie’s granddaughter fresh off a break up, Kett Turton as Jackie’s grandson, and Sarah Hayon as Ralphie’s feisty nurse.

As part of the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival’s New York Now shorts, Curmudgeons offers a warm goodbye to DeVito’s best friend Margulies, who knew each other for years and was a family friend after acting not only with [Danny] DeVito but also Lucy. In fact, Margulies began his friendship with DeVito while working on a play,...

Of the many films the Tribeca Film Festival shows, one of the biggest categories that often gets overlooked is the shorts category. Shorts are most definitely much harder to make considering their limited screen time and the need to fit a whole story within that time. Taking that into consideration, the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival decided to split up its shorts submissions into various categories, including New York Now shorts program.

This array of shorts all contained some form of New York City within them, whether through history, character, story, or anything in between. There were seven shorts in the program, and they are as follows:

Mildred & The Dying Parlor: Directed by Alex Gayner, starring Zosia Mamet, Jane Krakowski, Steve Buscemi, and Evan Jonigkeit; about a family who runs a dying parlor out of their home until an unexpected visitor shows up. Wannabe: Directed by Matthew Manson, starring Malcolm-Jamal Warner,...

Here at the Tribeca Film Festival, Danny DeVito has delivered the short film Curmudgeons, a cinematic ode to his buddy, late New York actor David Margulies, who died in January after battling a long illness. DeVito and Margulies have known each other since 1968 when they performed in off-Broadway plays together at the Sheridan Square Playhouse, and the late actor — who many remember from Ghostbusters and as Tony Soprano’s attorney Neil Mink — also performed with Danny’s…...

Deadline’s studio at the Tribeca Film Festival, now in its second year and hosted by The Lincoln Motor Company, has been greeting such fest-goers as Jason Bateman (actor/director of The Family Fang), Jason and Robert Schwartzman (Dreamland), Danny DeVito with kids Lucy and Jake (Curmudgeons), Zosia Mamet (Mildred and the Dying Parlor), and many more. Photographer Mark Mann is behind the lens for a series of video interviews and photo sessions. Take a look, and follow…...