In an attempt to take advantage of a market reeling from growing production costs and possible US tariffs, Google has started a new film and TV production initiative called '100 Zeros' to find ideas to finance or co-produce.
The initiative is believed to be a multi-year collaboration with Range Media Partners, a production and talent agency renowned for its work on movies including "Longlegs" and "A Complete Unknown."
Owned by Alphabet, the initiative, which supported the promotion of the independent horror movie "Cuckoo" last year, aims to increase awareness and uptake of Google's more recent products, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and spatial computing capabilities that combine the real and virtual worlds, according to reports.
"Cuckoo" has 100 Zeros as one of its creators, according to the entertainment-oriented social media site Letterboxd.
This development is said to come as Hollywood struggles with rising expenses following the 2023 actor and writer strikes and the possibility of US levies on foreign-produced movies.
Google and Range Media already have a connection; last month, the firms announced that they would collaborate on AI-related films for the next 18 months. Later this year, the venture's first two movies, "Sweetwater" and "LUCID," are scheduled for release.
Through its now-defunct YouTube Red Originals program, Google has some experience in the entertainment sector. YouTube Red, the subscription program that is now known as YouTube Premium, was initially introduced by YouTube along with a number of original videos that featured well-known YouTubers. The program created a variety of television programs and motion pictures, including well-liked series that were eventually picked up by other streaming services, such as Cobra Kai, although it never really challenged Netflix.
Reports claim that the company's objective is to sell projects to established studios and streaming services like Netflix, rather than using YouTube as its main distribution channel for 100 Zeros' work.
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With the introduction of "YouTube Originals" in 2016, YouTube made its foray into original content. As it returned to its primary focus on user-generated films and increased its TikTok-style short-form product, Shorts, the project was shut down in 2022.