We've seen streaming services focused on art films, horror movies and comedy (R.I.P. Seeso) – so why not romance?
This is the idea behind Passionflix, a start-up announcing that she raised $ 4.75 million in seed funding.
Romantic comedies are absent from cinemas or Netflix, but Tosca Musk, co-founder of Passionflix (she is a director and producer, as well as sister of Elon and Kimbal Musk), said the genre is eclipsed by the action blockbusters.
"There's just not a lot of novels," Musk said. "It's the best-selling genre in the world, but every time they come out a romance [movie] they say," I can not believe it worked out well. ""
So Passionflix offers a collection of titles such as Amelie and the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice as well as original films and programs, for a monthly price of $ 5.99 . (While the service is technically available worldwide, Musk has stated that most of the licensed content is solely in the United States.)
The goal, according to Musk, is to focus on "positive relationships between men and women" – although she clarified later that she wants to include a wide range of content, including included LGBTQ stories, a variety of romantic subgenres. ethnicity, all age groups. "
Users can browse the library depending on the type of emotion they are looking for, and even filter using a "barometer of nastiness".
Musk said they were currently producing movies for less than $ 1 million each, but the costs are likely to increase as they start working on series and move on to genres like historical romance. The goal is to publish a movie or an original series every two months.
For his originals, Passionflix turns to popular books, beginning with Alessandra Torre Hollywood Dirt . Musk said that she wanted authors and fans to be satisfied with the final result, which means that the author must remain involved in the scripting and casting process.
In fact, she said that it also helps Passionflix's low-budget approach, because that means there's no need for big movie stars: "Our Authors are the stars. "
In terms of start-up financing, investors include Dana Guerin, Patrick Cheung, Jason Calacanis, Bill Lee, Lyn and Norman Lear (who produced All in the Family and many other classic TVs) and Kimbal Musk.