Published: July 29, 2010
American Express Taps Award-Winning Filmmaker Terry Gilliam to Direct Arcade Fire's August 5 Live-Stream Concert of "Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express"

NEW YORK - (BUSINESS WIRE) - American Express announced today that award-winning director Terry
Gilliam (12 Monkeys, Brazil, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus)
will direct Arcade Fire's August 5 headline performance for the kick-off
concert of "Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express" from
Madison Square Garden. The performance will be live-streamed at www.youtube.com/arcadefirevevo,
from the world's most famous arena, and will coincide with the band's
highly anticipated third album release, The Suburbs, on August 3.
Marrying music and social media, it was also announced that live-stream
concert viewers can "Tweet the Band" and submit questions to
Arcade Fire. The news comes on the heels of the recent announcement of
American Express' new partnership with VEVO, the web's leading premium
music video and entertainment service, and YouTube, to live-stream five
concerts over the course of the year. Each of the five concert
performances will be live-streamed for both Cardmembers and music
enthusiasts through the artists' dedicated VEVO page on YouTube.
"Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express," will feature some
of the music industry's most breakthrough artists playing at landmark
venues across the country, tap some of today's most influential
filmmakers to direct the live-streams, and use digital and social media
to connect the online audience to the live shows in unexpected ways. The
Series is scheduled to feature a variety of surprise musical guest
performances along the way, and the next concert will feature John
Legend and The Roots, with a complete list of artists set to be unveiled
in the coming months.
"As a band, Arcade Fire is utterly unique. I've been a prisoner of their
music from the first moment it invaded my head," said filmmaker Terry
Gilliam. "The extraordinary energy of their live shows has managed to
capture my body as well. Helping them spread their addictive magic
across the web is going to be fun."
American Express Cardmembers and music enthusiasts can digitally
connect to these live music experiences in ways that further blur the
line between an at-home and in-concert experience:
-
Choose Your Cam: The audience will be able to control their
viewing experience throughout the concert performance by switching
between the main director's stream and a second camera to capture
alternative vantage points, from backstage to the front row;
-
Digital "Happenings" : Featured artists will collaborate with
the online audience in creative ways. In the case of Arcade Fire, fans
will have the opportunity to submit photos of their suburbs which may
be featured on stage during the band's performance of one song off
their new album, The Suburbs;
-
On-line Pre Show: Special pre-show featuring behind-the-scenes
exclusive access to the band; and
-
Tweet The Band: Online users can send questions to the band
through a special Twitter hashtag for a chance to have the band answer
during a pre-show Q&A.
For more information about American Express and music, please visit http://www.americanexpress.com/entertainment.
About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing customers with
access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build
business success. Learn more at www.americanexpress.com
and connect with us on www.facebook.com/americanexpress,
www.twitter.com/americanexpress
and www.youtube.com/americanexpress.
About VEVO
VEVO is the web's number one premium music video and entertainment
service with over one billion worldwide streams and nearly 60 million
unique visitors in the U.S. and Canada each month. VEVO's programming is
made available across the VEVO Network, which includes VEVO.com (the
service's marquee destination site), VEVO on YouTube, and a VEVO-branded
embedded player. The service also serves as a syndication platform for
additional internet destination sites, including AOL and CBS Interactive
Music Group, expanding the reach of the VEVO Network across the
worldwide web. VEVO was created in partnership by Universal Music Group
(UMG), Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and the Abu Dhabi Media Company.
It is operated independently by a dedicated management team with offices
in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco. Explore
VEVO at http://vevo.com.
Journalists/Bloggers can stay updated on VEVO news at http://twitter.com/VEVO_Media
About YouTube
YouTube is the world's most popular online video community allowing
millions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created
videos. Our mission is for YOU to discover and shape the world through
video. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and
inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for
original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC
is based in San Bruno, CA and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.

PMK-BNC
Ashley Chapman, 212-373-6122
ashley.chapman@pmkbnc.com
or
American
Express
Sarah Meron, 212-640-5503
sarah.b.meron@aexp.com
Copyright © 2010, Business Wire, Inc., All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2010, NewsBlaze,
Daily News
Tags: Business wire, new york, Women in the News, , High Tech, Internet, Medical, Consulting, Accounting and other Professional Services, Banking and Finance, Wal Mart, Sears, Nordstrom and other Retail, Book Publishing