ROK’s Fun Little Movies wins MEFFY Award

ROK Entertainment subsidiary, Fun Little Movies won the Content Award for its Fun Little Movies Channel at the prestigious 2008 Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) in Cannes last week.

Fun Little Movies, based in California, specializes in the development, production and distribution of original video content for global distribution to mobile network operators and was the first US company to produce comedic films for mobile phones worldwide, when it launched as a channel on Sprint TV back in in 2004. Shows include the animated series such as Hoota N Snoz, Doodlez (right), produced by Cellar Door Productions, Ms. Rabbble and more.

The Meffy awards, which received applications from 21 countries across four continents, are judged by an independent panel of national media and leading trade journalists and analysts. The Content Award shortlist, which received the third highest number of entries, included FLM, MTV Networks International, and Orange.

This isn’t the first award for the company: FLM’s “Fun Funny Phone Films” have won 22 awards to date, including CTIA’s “World Smallest Film Festival” and two Golden Eagles at the American Cine’ Awards, as well as The Content Award at Cannes in 2008, over MTV and Orange. FLM was also a finalist at the Cannes Film Festival for Best Short Film and the 2008 Mobile Content Award in London.

Commenting on FLM’s success, Rimma Perelmuter, MEF Executive Director, said “With distribution from Brunei to Bethlehem to Burbank, Fun Little Movies’ collection of funny, short, made-for-mobile comedy films has proven the universal appeal of laughter and snackable content.”

“Our gratitude goes first to ROK Entertainment Group,” said FLM’s President and Chief Creative Officer Frank Chindamo, “who, since acquiring FLM in 2007, have supported and helped enhance our product offering, such as in partnership with ROK Motion.

“We would also like to thank the MEF, our own creative staff, and all the filmmakers with whom we have partnered or whose work we have licensed. In fact, look for our latest production, HighSpeed Dating, written and directed by Terry Rossio and Jocelyn Stamat. Terry wrote and/or produced the Shrek, National Treasure and Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and we have high hopes for the series release later this year.”

“We’re delighted to have won this award and congratulate the FLM team,” added Laurence Alexander, Group CEO of ROK. “This award demonstrates the success of ROK’s growth strategy as well as recognition that the creation and delivery of relevant, funny and fast-paced mobile content is great for mobile consumption. FLM faced tough competition and this award is proof of their position in the market for the production and delivery of mobile content.”

Fun Little Movies have played on numerous US TV networks worldwide including HBO, Showtime, CBS, Playboy, MTV and Comedy Central. FLM’s mobile comedy can be watched on Sprint, Verizon, Nokia, Motorola and ATT mobile phones, on Veoh.com, Revver.com, Vuze.com and many other top video sites, and on other mobile and Internet platforms. FLM also has distribution deals with several handset makers and overseas partners, from China and Japan to Europe, Africa and South America.

• Visit the Fun Little Movies website

ROK Comics supports Charity Comic

ROK Comics is backing Floods, a new charity comic created to raise funds for the Red Cross and available now from lulu.com. Initiated by Adam R. Grose, publisher of Clown Press, a wide selection of writers and artists have come together to create this book.

Creators include Ben Womack, Simon Spurrier, Simon Mackie, David Hailwood, Tom Millsom, Nick Miller and others, and features a special drabble — a 100 word story — by Doctor Who writer Paul Cornell.

It was Adam who came up with the project last year after parts of Britain were hit by disastrous bad weather. Since then, of course, many places across the globe have suffered devastation from floods and other terrible weather, including Bangladesh, southern Africa and, only this month, Burma.

Adam was moved to try and inspire the comics community to create a collection of one page strips and raise funds for flood relief.

“The UK experienced some of the most horrendous weather, with a month’s worth of rain falling in 24 hours,” Adam explains. “During this time, many of our fellow citizens experienced flooding, unknown to many of us.

“I decided to put together a comic to help raise awareness of our changing world, the environment and the increasing floods and disasters, that seem ever increasing since the turn of the millennium.

“The book will help raise money for the Red Cross and victims of the floods. Hopefully, this will be available the world over and help to bring more awareness to our world community.”

Some of the strips have also been adapted for the ROK Comics mobile format, as a means of promoting the project, with profits from sales going to the Floods cause. (ROK Comics has kindly agreed to do the adaptation work for any creators who would like to see their “Floods” strip in this format. (Contact us if you’d like to do a mobile “Floods” strip, but basically you need to come up with a ten frame strip, each frame 480 x 480 pixel in size, 18 point lettering with a “floods” theme or link).

Adam hopes to add to the existing book with more strips so if you would like to contribute a strip to an expanded edition of the book — which may eventually see real world publication — get in touch with him via the Clown Press web site.

• The ROK “Floods” comics can be viewed at www.rokcomics.com/floods.php
• Buy the Floods book from lulu.com

ROK Buys Jalipo Media

ROK Entertainment Group Inc., the global mobile entertainment group and owners of ROK Comics, has announced that it has acquired 100 per cent of the issued and to be issued share capital of Jalipo Ltd for total consideration of 600,000 ordinary shares.

Jalipo Media Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jalipo Ltd and the only operating function therein, is a UK Registered IPTV company which offers live streaming of TV content over the internet. Jalipo is the first online marketplace for TV and video, allowing content owners to use the internet to offer their channels, video-on-demand and live events direct to viewers around the world.

TV Channels currently featured on the service include BBC World, Sky News, Al Jazeera, and shows such as the anime Paradise Dolls, Cosmo Warrior, Saiyuki, Izumo and many animated short films.

“This acquisition is of great strategic importance to ROK,” commented Laurence Alexander, CEO of ROK, “as it furthers our presence in the mobile TV market. There are significant synergies between Jalipo’s product offering and our own, which we look forward to incorporating within and, as a result, enhancing, ROK’s delivery portfolio.”

• ROK Corp Web Site

Temple of Comics

On the weekend of Free Comics Day, we’re pleased to report Issue #0 of The Temple Comic APA’s Digital Showcase is now available to download as a free PDF at templeapa.ning.com, featuring a motley collection of strips from some great indie talent.

Showcasing the work of 15 members (mostly from around the UK), this 70-page anthology highlights the diverse nature of the Amateur Press Association, containing humour, horror, slice-of-life, superhero, sci-fi and more (including content of a mature nature).

Creators include ROK Comics creators Paul Harrison-Davies, Paul Eldridge, David Hailwood, Toshiro de Smeyter and Simon Mackie and it’s a fab free read!

The Temple is the UK’s longest running comic APA, having run for 12 years and 55 issues before going digital. The aim of the Temple is to learn, improve, collaborate and support each other’s comic projects. Everyone from the rawest amateur to the most seasoned professional is welcome to join.

• For more information check out templeapa.ning.com, or contact John Kirkham at sr-republic AT ntlworld.com

Milligan on Mobile!

The work of writer, poet, musician and comic genius Spike Milligan, who revolutionised comedy after the Second World War, is now available on the web and for mobile phone users through ROK Entertainment, the global mobile entertainment group, owners of ROK Comics, via www.spike-milligan.com.

Norma Farnes, Spike’s agent and manager for 36 years said “Ironically, Spike, born in India in 1918, distained all gadgetry, including radios that didn’t have just three knobs – one to turn it off and on, one for tuning and one for volume – together with cars that had automatic gears, computers and mobile phones, but he would have been delighted that his work was being made available to a wider audience”.

Spike is famous for founding The Goon Show which he wrote and then performed with Peter Sellers and Harry Secombe.

Now for the first time Spike’s work can be downloaded and mobile phone users can purchase The Goon Show tapes and songs as well as the hilarious seven volume War Memoirs including Adolf Hitler My Part In His Downfall, Rommel? Gunner Who? and Monty: His Part In My Victory as audio books.

Spike’s original drawings which were turned into Greetings Cards, the biggest sellers in the UK, are also available in animated form from www.spike-milligan.com and are priced at £1.50 per ringtone or realtone and £4.50 per audio book. The animations were designed by the team behind the ROK Comics site.

“Spike was a truly unique comedy genius and much of what he created is timeless,” commented Jonathan Kendrick, Chairman of ROK “so I’m delighted we’ve been able to work with Norma on creating this service for all his fans worldwide and to help showcase his brilliance to a whole new generation by packaging it for mobile and the web.”

Dave Windett draws for The DFC

ROK Comics creator Dave Windett tells us he’s drawing Lazarus Lemming, a new comic strip for the new British weekly, subscription-only title, The DFC.

Dave’s credits include Simpsons Comics, Korky the Cat for The Dandy, and, on ROK Comics, The Wacky World of Animals, written by John Gatehouse, who is also writing Lazarus Lemming. John’s credits include the Cheeky Mouse & Cool Cat books and Shelltown.

Dave also provided some of the fabulous characters and backgrounds used in the ROK Comic Creator Tool, which enables you to create comics even if you can’t draw (Dave did all the hard work for you)>

Dave can’t tell us much about the strip at this stage: watch out for more news as the publication date draws ever nearer.

• The DFC launches in May and ‘Early bird’ subscriptions are available now at www.thedfc.co.uk.

David Fletcher in Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury will be invaded by all manner of cartoonists this coming weekend (18th - 20th April), intent on enjoying themselves to the maximum at the Shrewsbury International Cartoon Festival. Guests include David Fletcher (creator of ROK Comics “Crumb”, all the way from New Zealand), Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell, Steve Bright, Ian Baker, Bill Stott, John Roberts, Roger Penwill and Andy Davey, with support from The Cartoon Club of Great Britain, the Professional Cartoonists Organisation and more.

“It’s the fifth of these annual events, and very popular among locals and visitors alike,” says Steve Bright. “The sun has never failed to shine (that’s the kiss of death now), and there are loads of events and exhibitions planned throughout the weekend.”

Steve will be found in the town square (weather permitting), drawing gigantic cartoons. There will also be cartoon workshops and clinics for the public to participate in, and a plethora of caricaturists drawing all-comers - absolutely free.

• More information at: www.shrewsburycartoonfestival.com

Legend of Bill in print

Head out to your local comics shop or gaming store and check out the brand-spanking new issue of Knights of the Dinner Table magazine (#137), featuring the first print installment of ROK Comics creator David Redick’s comic strip Legend of Bill!

Legend of Bill is David’s new weekly webcomic over at SoulGeek.com, and he’s also inviting folks to head on over to LegendofBill.com to sign up for the LOB newsletter - and when you do, you’ll get a special greeting page with a sample strip and a few sketches!

“I’m very happy to be in the mag, as KODT has been a staple of my reading for some time,” says David, whose Reddickulous strip appears on ROK Comics. “Jolly Blackburn and friends sure run a fine mag over there at Kenzer & Co., and really know how to pack a lot of fun into it. And while you’re thinking about it, visit their website too! There’s loads of stuff to see and do!”

Flantoons

ROK Comics creator Mike Flanagan sent us one of his regular reminders about his fab work, which we thought we’d share with you here as it tickled our funny bones in the office.

Mike has several of his risque but funny “Sez” strips on ROK Comics and you can view them all on your mobile by subscribing to our WAP service.

Simply choose a strip you like on the main ROK Comics site, then follow the download to mobile links and choose the subscribe option (or just subscribe right out the door). When you receive a WAP push message to your phone, connect to the site using that link using your mobile, bookmark it, and you’ll be subscribed to ROK Comics Mobile for the next month.

This link is exclusive to your phone, so don’t lose it!

• Mike is available for cartoon work, check out: www.flantoons.btinternet.co.uk

ROK Acquires Mobile Applications Developer Geniem

ROK Entertainment Group, the global mobile entertainment company and owners of ROK Comics, today announced it had acquired a 51% controlling interest in Geniem, a leading Finnish mobile and web applications development company.

Geniem pioneered On-Device Portals (ODP) in 2003 and offer rich mobile marketing via these ODPs, Bluetooth marketing solutions and white label social networking applications for Media, Brands and Carriers. Currently their services are being used by household names including Nokia, Volvo, ABC, Pepsi, SonyBMG, Australian Broadcast Corporation, Mondadori France, Digital MultiChoice, Rotana, Samsung, Sanoma Belgium, Santander Bank and SonyEricsson.

“This acquisition marks another milestone in the development of ROK” said Laurence Alexander, Group CEO of ROK, “as it augments our existing mobile products portfolio by placing us in the forefront of on device portals, Bluetooth technologies and social media via mobile and web applications. With over 15 million mobile phone installations globally, Geniem’s technology is ideally positioned to power the new generation of enhanced mobile media services.”

“I see major opportunities in partnering with ROK to roll-out our exciting products for ROK’s existing customer base. Especially with the introduction of the new white label mobile social networking product targeted mainly for network carriers,” said Tuomas Kumpula, CEO of Geniem.