Distraction Offers Up New Interactive Scripted Comedy

MONTREAL, October 2: Distraction has added a new interactive
scripted comedy format to its offerings: Via Verdi, from Italy’s Einstein Multimedia and Bobolone,
which launched in June on Telecom Italia’s Rosso Alice and Alice Home TV and on
TIM mobile phones.

The 2-minute modular scripted comedy is intended for
multiplatform distribution, and comes equipped with a range of multimedia
elements. “Via Verdi is the first sitcom
designed exclusively for multiple multimedia platforms,” said Michel Rodrigue,
the president of Distraction. “As we have been successfully creating
interactive elements for some of our other scripted formats, including Love
Bugs and Sins of Love, the addition of Via Verdi to our catalogue was perfectly in line with our
desire to innovate and reach new markets.”

In this series, which is composed of 312 gags, each a
2-minute self-contained story, viewers follow the day-to-day stories of apartment
block dwellers through the eyes of an irreverent porter. Viewers can send video
messages to the porter, which will be included, with a reply, in subsequent
episodes.