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In brief: Google is getting into the movie business, and it hopes the content it produces will help improve the public’s often negative perception of its products and tech in general. The US giant has signed a multiyear deal with Range Media Partners on a film and TV venture called 100 Zeros.
Range Media Partners, the talent firm and production company that produced Longlegs and A Complete Unknown, has been tasked with finding both scripted and unscripted projects that Google can help fund or produce.
Business Insider writes that Google hopes the partnership will lead to creatives embracing its technology, including its Immersive View feature that lets users see things in 3D in Maps, spatial tools that blend real and virtual worlds, and, or course, its suite of AI tools.
Google also sees this as an opportunity to paint its products, and technology in general, in a positive light, especially among young people, by helping shape entertainment and pop culture. If one were being cynical, it all sounds a little propaganda-like.
100 Zeros – Google gets its name from a misspelling of googol, which is 1 followed by 100 zeros – has already been involved with a major release: the indie horror film Cuckoo, which, in this horror-loving writer’s opinion, is pretty good. It’s also a movie firmly aimed at Gen Z. The company contributed some marketing money to the movie, and its logo was featured prominently during the open credits.
Last month, Google announced a project with Range called AI On Screen that commissions short films on the relationship between humanity and AI. The companies will spend 18 months helping to develop, produce, and finance the shorts, with the aim of turning two of them into feature-length adaptations.
Google is reportedly keen to see characters in the projects it’s involved in using Android phones instead of iPhones and use its Circle to Search feature. Though it insists product placement shouldn’t be forced and this isn’t 100 Zeros’ main focus – Google has a collaboration with United Talent Agency for marketing partnerships, such as the Pixel promotions in White Lotus and Wicked.
Surprisingly, YouTube won’t be part of the equation. Google wants to sell the projects to traditional studios and streamers – not put them on its own video-sharing platform.
While Android phones make up the majority of global handsets, iPhones are dominant in the US, particularly among young people who see the brand as being cool and luxuriously expensive. Another part of the appeal is seeing Apple’s products in so many movies and TV shows.
A recent survey by the American investment bank Piper Sandler found that 88 percent of US teens own an iPhone, and 25 percent plan to upgrade to the upcoming iPhone 17 before the end of the year.
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