BEIJING, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Youku.com
Inc. (NYSE: YOKU), China's leading
Internet television company, will host the exclusive premiere of
the new film The Ultimate Winner on April 21. The 30-minute short is a co-production
of Youku, China Mobile, and the "Chopsticks Brothers" -- the
directors of the short film Old Boys, which won the hearts
of audiences around the country last year as part of Youku's "11
Degrees" New Media Film Project.
A partnership between Youku and the China Film Group and GM
Chevrolet, the "11 Degrees" project sponsored ten short films last
year, and will produce a feature-length film later this year.
Through the "11 Degrees" project, Youku partnered with promising
young directors to create films that aimed at engaging the site's
young, professional viewers -- and with a total of approximately 86
million views to date, the films promoted in the project appear to
have succeeded. Old Boys was the runaway hit of the series,
with more than 32 million views, 800,000 "thumbs up" votes, and
88,000 comments on Youku since it premiered in late October.
Similar to Old Boys, The Ultimate Winner will make
its debut online, first appearing exclusively on Youku before
becoming available on other platforms. In a recent interview, the
Chopsticks Brothers spoke enthusiastically about the potential of
online media for filmmakers. "I want to stick with online video,"
said Xiao Yang -- one half of the
duo. "It allows me to make films that express what I want, and it
doesn't have the limitations or the more exacting demands of
feature-length movies."
The Chopsticks Brothers are not the only "11 Degrees" directors
to build upon their online success. Pi San, the director and
animator behind Miss
Puff's Goldfish Bowl, another "11 Degrees"
title, launched the ambitious, marketing-supported 104-episode
Miss Puff web series in early
April. The first episode has been viewed more than 1.8 million
times to date, and GM and Lenovo have signed on as sponsors of the
series. Zhang Yaguang, director of The Boxer's
Secret, recently finished production on his first commercial
film, and L.I. director Zhang Yadong has said that he will
partner with Youku again on his next film. Yin Lichuan, the
well-known poet who wrote and directed Ai, is also at work
on her first feature-length film, in which she has invited the
Chopsticks Brothers to play supporting roles.
"We are proud to have been able to work with so many talented
young writers and directors to help launch their careers," said
Frank Wei, Senior Vice President of
Youku. "'11 Degrees' wasn't our first project with young filmmakers
-- that would have been Lu Zhenyu's Hip-Hop Office Quartet,
China's first web serial -- and it
won't be our last, either. We have faith in the power of the web as
a launch pad and passion for helping artists tell their
stories."
"Youku Original has been a critical element of our branding
strategy and a key differentiation from other companies," said
Victor Koo, Chairman and CEO of
Youku. "Content is strategically important for us, and we will
continue to invest in content -- both in content that we produce
ourselves, and in copyrighted content that we license from rights
holders."
Youku Original is a key part of the Company's content strategy,
which pursues a combination of licensed professionally produced
content, self-produced content from Youku Original, and
user-uploaded content.
About Youku:
Youku.com Inc. is China's
leading Internet television company. Our Internet television
platform enables users to search, view and share high-quality video
content quickly and easily across multiple devices. Youku, which
stands for "what's best and what's cool" in Chinese, is the most
recognized online video brand in China. Youku's American depositary shares,
each representing 18 of our Class A ordinary shares, are traded on
NYSE under the symbol "YOKU."
Contact Information:
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Media Relations:
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Jean Shao
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Director, International Public
Relations
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Youku.com Inc.
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Tel:
+86-10-5885-1881
x7128
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Email: shaodan@youku.com
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Investor Relations:
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Ryan Cheung
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Corporate Finance
Director
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Youku.com Inc.
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Tel:
+86-10-
5885-1881 x6090
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Email: ryan.cheung@youku.com
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Caroline Straathof
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IR Inside
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Tel:
+31-6-5462-4301
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Email: caroline.straathof@irinside.com
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SOURCE Youku.com Inc.