Adrian Grenier Talks IPad App, Slasher Film Project

NEW YORK - Entourage star Adrian Grenier said Thursday that he hopes that his new iPad app called "Reckless Adrian Grenier" will help him create "maybe the most intimate way yet" to engage with fans and keep them up-to-date on his independent projects - plus help his production company attract investors by proving how strong his fan base is.

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"Big studios are just a system that exacts leverage with audiences," he said here at a conference. "But that's all different now."

As reported by THR, Grenier and video app company and partner Mobovivo plan to launch the free app in the Apple app store this week.

Grenier and Mobovivo CEO Trevor Doerksen gave an overview of the app here at the 2012 New York Media Summit, organized by Digital Hollywood, Thursday afternoon, saying it could be available as of Friday, potentially even later on Thursday night.

The actor and president of independent production company Reckless Productions, who was welcomed with a warm round of applause, told the conference that his firm wanted to express indie ideas and be "just a little outside the mainstream," but is now also developing more mainstream projects. "Taking charge of the independent spirit" in the "Wild, Wild West of technology" via the app is his hope, he said.

Grenier reiterated that all revenue will go to his charity, with Reckless Productions hoping to make money indirectly. "Reckless monetizes by demonstrating to future investors that we have an audience and all these avenues of communications," he explained. "Investors want to see that" given that the "marquee value of celebrities is speculative." So, "through this app, we're not looking to get rich," but add a tool to a company that will hopefully be rich one day, he said.

Among the app's functions are ones that allow fans to share photos of Grenier and themselves and one that allows them to get a digital Grenier picture with his autograph placed wherever the fan wants. "I give a lot of autographs and as many pictures, but I want to give more - even to people I don't get to meet.," Grenier said to some laughs. Digital video content will also play a role in the app, among other things.

The actor predicted that the app would come in handy during his current college tours with his 2010 film Teenage Paparazzo. "It is important with all those youngsters...to have something to offer them - another layer of engagement with the film," he explained.

Grenier vowed that the app would evolve over time. For now, one paid function allows people to get personalized Grenier messages - either from a selection of messages that are part of the app or ones written by a user. These customized messages will cost $1.99-$2.99.

Doerksen told THR that one day Grenier could well sell films and merchandise via the app. He predicted that the app would reach a couple of hundred thousand downloads after a few months and eventually cross the 1 million mark. He said his team and Grenier worked on it for about two months after initially meeting at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall.

Grenier also mentioned a current film project called Family Slaycation that his company is developing - and in the process of organizing financing for - as it ventures deeper into narrative features. He said it would be in the app, but didn't detail in what way. He described the project as a "dark, dark comedy" and later said it is "a very bloody dark comedy." He summarized the premise this way: "Family that slays together, stays together." Or, as the Reckless Web site says about the film: "Murder can be cheaper than group therapy."

Grenier, who is executive producing the project, also said that Reckless is developing a documentary that follows the director of the film, Damien Paris.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai