Time Warner Cable Picks Up Fearnet

From variety.com:Fearnet, the horror-movies-on-demand joint venture of Sony Pictures TV, Lionsgate and Comcast, has engineered a carriage deal with Time Warner Cable, marking its biggest transaction since the service opened for business 18 months ago.

Time Warner, Comcast, Cox and Insight are among the cable operators buying Fearnet, eager to try any means to get digital boxes into homes. These boxes are portals for new revenue generators such as high-speed Internet access, telephone service and high-definition VOD.

For more information about this deal click the link above.

- The Monster

The Burrowers Web Series Due

Writer-director J.T. Petty is setting the stage for his forthcoming horror film The Burrowers with a webisode series set to premiere on the horror Web site/on-demand service FearNet, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The seven three- to five-minute episodes are based on the film and tell the story of a family trying to survive in the wilderness who unknowingly release an evil force when they ingest infected deer meat.

The series will debut in December on FearNet.com and FearNet's VOD channel, along with a live blog hosted by Petty that features his production and behind-the-scenes insights.

Burrowers, written and directed by Petty, chronicles the tale of a rescue party that becomes the prey of a band of underground creatures. Slated for release in 2008 by Lionsgate, it stars Clancy Brown, William Mapother and Sean Patrick Thomas.

- The Monster

Sam Raimi Horrifies Fearnet

Director Sam Raimi will produce the first two original series for Fearnet, the multiplatform horror/thriller site launched five months ago by Sony, Comcast and Lionsgate, Variety reported.

Both projects are moving ahead, with the first set to debut by early June. Raimi will produce via Ghost House Pictures, the joint venture he and Rob Tapert run with Mandate's Joe Drake and Nathan Kahane.

Fearnet president Diane Robina said each series will run seven episodes, with storylines continuing week-to-week. Episodes will be ad-supported and run between three and five minutes.

They'll be available on all Fearnet platforms: on-demand cable, streaming Internet video and mobile devices.

Up first from Raimi is Devil's Trade, which follows three teenagers who find themselves cursed after buying an item off a Web site. Ben Ketai wrote the script, and Toby Wilkins will direct.

The second project, also penned by Ketai, will serve as a prequel to 30 Days of Night, the Ghost House and Columbia Pictures feature about vampires who feast on an isolated Alaskan town, based on Steve Niles' graphic novel. The series will debut in advance of the October release of the movie.

- The Monster