FilmFunds buys post house

PARIS -- FilmFunds, a crowdsourcing venture launched at the Toronto Film Festival, has stepped into the 3D conversion biz with the acquisition of Duran Duboi U.S., a California-based post-production and vfx house. Created by Christian Paris in 2002, Duran Duboi U.S. has developed 3D LiveFlix software, which enables real-time 3D conversion of films and toons. Deal allows FilmFunds to poll moviegoers to see what popular library titles they want to see in 3D and offer conversion services to digital players like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, as well as studios. The Los Angeles-based company allows filmmakers to post their synopses and marketing material on FilmFunds' website and mobile app and lets members give feedback on the projects. FilmFunds' online community is currently building, but the goal is to reach the 60 million moviegoers in the U.S., per Carl Freer, co-founder and chairman of FilmFunds.Freer says the idea behind the acquisition of Duran Duboi U.S. is to become a one-stop shop for filmmakers and people in the industry. "We're looking to help content distributors evaluate the market for 3D conversion and decide what movies to convert," Freer said. "Our model is simple: We either have the content owners write the check for the 3D conversion or we fund it inhouse and do a revenue share with pay-per-view websites."Paris, who's now VP of FilmFunds, says the 3D LiveFlix technology, recently used on "Conan the Barbarian," works best to convert homevid titles. "We could convert a catalog of 600 titles in one week," said Paris, a French post-production vet. FilmFunds also is bidding for Quinta Industries' Duran Duboi, the Paris-based vfx and animation shingle that was placed in bankruptcy last week.Paris said the bid has yet to be approved by French authorities. If greenlit, FilmFunds will pursue ongoing productions, such as Luc Besson-produced "The Boy With the Cuckoo-Clock Heart," according to Paris. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com