It appears that there is more fallout from Wowio's slow payment news that includes its parent company, Paltinum Studios. Hero By Night creator and erstwhile Platinum employee DJ Coffman has taken issue with some of the comments that were posted on a financial message board by the COO of the company, Brian Altounian.
While Coffman does have some vitriol towards Platinum in regards to their business deal that went south after some lengthy non-payment problems, his words are not without merit. Altounian comes off as a minor league ambulance chaser trying to discredit anyone and everyone who doesn't substantiate his claim that the slow payment to Wowio creators is a mere bump in the Platinum's road to Hollywood gold.
Also, if I was the CFO of this company, I would be pissed that my COO has nothing better to do than post his views on a message board; especially one that is searchable by a Google crawlbot. There is a reason why there's a Public Relations division in most competent companies that handle this type of stuff in an official and diplomatic fashion. To me, this type of stuff are just further signs that Platinum is not meant to last longer than a year, tops.
In better news, I have made no effort to hide that I am a prize whore. And I would've posted more on this when it was first announced but I was a big winnah of a indie movie poster from the good folks over at NewsAskew.com. And while you may think that it would involve a Kevin Smith production, you would be wrong.
It's a poster for the direct-to-DVD movie Brutal Massacre, a spoof in the Spinal Tap vein of Slasher movies. it stars David Naughton (of American Werewolf in London and TV's Making It fame) and Brian O'Halloran (Dante and various other Hicks family characters in the View Askew movies).
What makes me the prize whore that I am is that I haven't seen the movie and really have no plans to actually view it (may Netflix if it's a slow week) but I still threw my name and address in the hopper for a chance to get the free stuff. Man, am I clinical or what? The poster is pictured below in case you're interested.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wowio Update And Prize Whore News
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Wowio Starts Its Death Knell By Stiffing Creators
A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed the website Wowio.com not less than glowing review. Well, it appears that their business model is not working out for Platinum Studios like they may have hoped when they purchased the flagging website this past July.
CBR has posted an insightful piece about how the page rates have changed for the company, how those changes have affected the creators and some creators are getting payments late. In case you are new to the whole comic book industry, the recognition of late payments to creators is usually one of the first signs that a publisher is headed for the comic book graveyard much like former mid-level players like CrossGen and Speakeasy.
This article also gives another black eye to Platinum Studios. There were rumors and gossip that the publisher was having problems with paying creators. These rumors became full-blown facts when its late payments and contract squabbles with DJ Coffman and his creation, Hero By Night. And although the Coffman incident has somewhat subsided, the company is not viewed with a very positive light, which can't be good for sales.
So, while the eventual demise of Wowio.com may not affect the overall health of Platinum Studios in the short term, they may not be long for this earthly plane. And I do find it ironic that the faux sunrise that Wowio uses for their logo may actually be the headlight of an oncoming train for its creators and its parent company.
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