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”

Published on Thursday, 29 July 2010 11:36 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

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-BNCAshley Chapman, 212-373-6122ashley.chapman@pmkbnc.comorAmerican ExpressSarah Meron, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.