Date: 8th February 2001

Icebox.com Melts


Hollywood creative talent who were enticed into creating innovative new animated and live-action fare for Icebox.com by being awarded stock options in the company, are likely to find those options worthless after Friday. The company, which had hoped eventually to transform the Web productions into feature films and television shows, was successful in doing so with only one offering, Starship Regulars, which is being developed by Showtime into a live-action series. Although Icebox.com at one time employed 106, its staff had dwindled to 27 at the time of the collapse. In December, Pop.com, a similar Internet startup, called it quits even before it officially debuted. And Shockwave, which had lured several top film directors and celebrities into creating original material for the Web, said it had decided to focus on Internet games instead. In reporting on the downfall of Icebox.com, today's Los Angeles Times commented: "With the number of entertainment-site failures growing, investors have their doubts about whether a business built around online films and cartoons can turn a profit."

Source: Studio Briefing