Crowdsourcing Goes Hollywood: Tinseltown Heavy Hitters Are Looking Online for a Star for Their Reboot of Jem and the Holograms



They don't want your money. 


Yet.


Instead, right now John M. Chu, Jason Blum and Justin Braun are looking for undiscovered singers to star in a (nostalgic?) film being made in a new way (new at least for big Hollywood movies).


Wanna be a star? Send an audition video to them (here's the link for uploading). You might actually get a part in a new movie produced by guys who know something about selling tickets (Chu is the director of G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Blum is the producer of Paranormal Activity and Braun is Justin Bieber's manager).


And, even if you can't sing, these Hollywood players want your fan photo or video or to know what you liked about the 80's animated characters Jem and the Holograms.


The idea? Apparently your singing, dancing, acting or behind the scenes talents - or at least your likes - might become a part of their new film.


While some Hollywood films have recently used crowdfunding (follow this link to my defense of Veronica Mars against a complaint that it pandered to the audience that crowdfunded that 2014 production), actually getting fans to contribute as actors and co-creators is yet another possibility that the internet is making possible.


And apparently Chu, Blum and Braun want to be a part of building out the system for incorporating fan creativity and content into mainstream movies.


It's not entirely clear how their crowdsourced star search will work, but (at least as part of the marketing for their Jem and the Holgrams?) you're invited to share in the filmmaking process at JemTheMovie.com.


If you don't remember the original Jem, here's a taste...




And if you're wondering why these hugely-successful players are looking to you - the fans - for input, you can watch a video and read what Scott Walker has to say about the (marketing?) power of user generated content (UGC) by following this link. You might also want to think about this quote from 
Chris Anderson that Chu, Blum and Braun attached to their YouTube announcement:

"Innovation has always been a group activity. The myth of the lone genius having a eureka moment that changes the world is indeed a myth. Most innovation is the result of long hours, building on the input of others. Ideas spawn from earlier ideas, bouncing from person to person and being reshaped as they go."

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