Stan Lee Media to Launch Backstreet Project

Stan Lee Media, a multimedia company founded by comic book legend Stan Lee, has partnered with the popular singing group the BackStreet Boys to create Stan Lee Media's latest project called "The Backstreet Project". A launch celebration will be held on August 27th at the Hard Rock Live in Orlando, Florida. The website (http://www.backstreetproject.com), complete with the first of the Backstreet Project's 22 original webisodes, will be officially released at the event. The website already boasts more than 1.5 million registered fans.

The animated series portrays the Boys as "Cyber Crusaders, each with unique powers to protect the Earth." Excited yet?

The Backstreet Project began when Nick Carter, a Backstreet Boy and serious comic book fan, met with pop-culture icon Stan Lee to discuss his idea for a comic book, based on the musical group.

A new webisode will be released every two weeks, and the site will offer interactive elements such as games and chat rooms. The comic book, which is being described as a graphical novel, will be available for sale on the site and at the Backstreet Boys' concerts.

In conjunction with the launch of the project, Burger King will launch a five-week promotion featuring the Backstreet Boys beginning on August 28th. As part of this Burger King promotion, each Kids Meal will include an exclusive Backstreet Project Cyber Crusader toy with the website address branded into the plastic.

An integral part of Stan Lee Media's business strategy is to capture offline revenue opportunities from their online brand creations.

"Stan Lee Media is a digital entertainment studio, utilizing the Internet to launch global character franchises, with subsequent offline exploitation of the properties through the traditional media value chain," stated Ken Williams, president and CEO of Stan Lee Media.

According to Williams, Burger King's promotion of the Backstreet Project will be one of the largest promotions ever to support an Internet entertainment franchise. Stan Lee Media (http://www.stanlee.net) is currently working on additional promotional opportunities for their original animation features. The company has two animated series, the "7th Portal" and "The Accuser," featured on its distribution partner, shockwave.com (http://www.shockwave.com); and the company is working with Paramount Park and the Mark Canton Company for offline promotion of the "7th Portal" brand. Paramount Park is developing "7th Portal" as a ride attraction for five theme parks within the United States, and the Mark Canton Company is co-developing with Stan Lee Media a major CGI live action motion picture based upon the "7th Portal" franchise.