The guy who hyped “Titanic” has gone small – screen and getting behind comedy. For 15 years, Arthur Cohen ran Paramount Pictures' marketing department, where he promoted "Deep Impact," "Mission: Impossible" and 270 other movies. Last July, working with former Paramount Classics co-chief David Dinerstein, an art house expert who discovered Sofia Coppola ("The Virgin Suicides"), Cohen launched Iklipz.com as a platform for independent filmmakers.
This week, Iklipz introduces a new area called "Independently Funny"
Cohen says the biggest difference between the old gig and his new web venture is scale. "I never used to sign for anything less than $50,000. My office now is smaller than my secretary's office use to be," he laughed.
But the marketing principles remain the same, insists Cohen, who set up shop across the street from Larry Flynt's iconic "Hustler" headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. "For me, whether you're selling Ralph Lauren at Bloomingdales or cosmetics at Revlon, which I used to do, or "Titanic" at Paramount, it's about about understanding your audience."
And the audience for Iklipz is, Cohen says, independent film fans between 20 and 28. "The premise behind the independent film portion of the site is very simple: Sundance gets 7000 films sent to them a year - 120 get in. Six or seven get deals and the rest go into people's drawers. What we're trying to do is give those films a place to be seen."
The strategy has attracted enough movie and TV advertising to keep the site in the red, according to Cohen. Iklipz pulls in about 300,000 unique visitors monthly.
The new comedy section was created in response to material being submitted to the site. "We noticed we had 600 comedy films submitted. And a lot of people in they clubs sweating it out for 65 people. They faced the same problems filmmakers did in terms of finding a voice. That's what we're going to do is build shows for them, put them on the web."
Bolstering the cineaste side of the site, Iklipz recently introduced a "Lunch with David" video log series featuring film critic David Poland interviewing filmmers at a Los Angeles restaurant. In the next few weeks, Iklipz will introduce "Bridging the Gap" showcasing 10-minute critiquing sessions between young filmmakers and professional mentors. Cohen says, "We'll be introducing filmmakers of a minor stature to major filmmakers."
(pictured: still from "Knocked Up" trailer featured on IKlipz.com)
