Web Film 'Cybergeddon' Brings 'CSI's Anthony E. Zuiker To Yahoo And Norton

LOS ANGELES- March 21, 2012- Anthony E. Zuiker, the visionary creator of the CSI franchise and his production company Dare to Pass, and Yahoo! Inc, the premier digital media company, today announced that casting and production will officially begin on the much anticipated “Cybergeddon” project, a groundbreaking motion picture event which will bring to life the growing threat of cybercrime. Written by Miles Chapman (“The Tomb”), “Cybergeddon” executive producers include Anthony E. Zuiker, Matthew Weinberg, President, Dare to Pass and Bill O’Dowd, CEO, Dolphin Digital Studios. True to his storytelling form, Zuiker has engaged Norton by Symantec to leverage its technical credibility and security insights to help inform and guide the narrative. Progressive financier and distribution company Dolphin Digital Media backed the project in a deal brokered and packaged by Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

“‘Cybergeddon’ is the evolution of the crime genre,” says creator Anthony E. Zuiker. “Through an invaluable partnership with Norton and embracing the forward-thinking vision of Dolphin Entertainment, ‘Cybergeddon’ will be a motion picture event released through Yahoo!’s global online distribution. Instead of opening ‘wide’ at 5000 screens, ‘Cybergeddon’ has the potential to premiere on 50 million online screens all over the world at the same time. This global distribution model is the future of storytelling with unprecedented scale.”

“Cybergeddon” will be launching globally, first on Yahoo! this Fall, as a series of installments to roll out sequentially. “Cybergeddon” will engage Yahoo!’s worldwide audience of 700 million unique visitors, through an immersive storytelling, social media and gaming experience. Yahoo! sets the bar for best-in-class original video programming with 21 out of the top 25 most-watched online series (comScore, US) and captures 61 million unique viewers a month (comScore, US) who come to Yahoo! to watch video. Yahoo! has been making strides in original programming by teaming up with world-class storytellers, starting with ‘Electric City,’ its first original scripted series announcement earlier this year and most recently the roll out of a new comedy slate.

“We’re thrilled to bring a concept like ‘Cybergeddon’ to our audience. Anthony is one of the most prolific and successful storytellers in Hollywood and there is no better home for ‘Cybergeddon’ than Yahoo!,” said Erin McPherson VP & Head of Video at Yahoo!. “Together we have the opportunity to bring this compelling and cutting-edge story exclusively to our users and do it in a way that entertains and informs through an engaging and immersive experience that will truly bring ‘Cybergeddon’ to life.”

With its perceptive foresight and expertise in producing award-winning premium digital properties, Dolphin is poised to introduce “Cybergeddon” to audiences worldwide.

“When you think about what HBO did for television and what Netflix did for video rentals, they were trailblazers of their time,” said Dolphin Digital Studios CEO, Bill O’Dowd. “By bringing together a group of visionaries such as Anthony, Yahoo!, Dolphin, CAA and Norton, you can expect that ‘Cybergeddon’ is going to break new ground for how consumers experience entertainment around the world and across multiple platforms.”

Throughout the creative process, Zuiker engaged Norton by Symantec and its team of experts to inspire, guide and inform some of the technical aspects of cybercrime, including its investigation and prosecution, and to provide real-world insights into how people can protect themselves from digital threats.

“People learn through storytelling and our partnership with Anthony Zuiker in the production of ‘Cybergeddon’ allows us to reach new audiences in a fresh way,” said Sally Jenkins, Vice President, Worldwide Consumer Marketing at Symantec. “Through entertainment and dramatization, ‘Cybergeddon’ will illuminate the serious issue of how our constantly connected lives can be vulnerable to cybercrime, breaches of online privacy and theft.”