The idea of the company came early to actor and producer Joshua Jackson (Dr. Death, Little Fires Everywhere, Dawson’s Creek, The Affair) when he noticed a disconnect between the amount of talent that’s out there and the ownership of content and understanding the true value of their work.

Jackson saw the media landscape shifting for independent content creators from when he started in the industry to what it is now. Today, we are living in a more digitized online world and with more options for audiences. Streaming platforms offer us more access to content than ever before and from anywhere. It’s also more affordable than ever before. Great for us consumers but what about the filmmakers?

He wanted to be involved in a company that allowed people to find not only an easier path for those who wanted to tell their story but to also retain the value of their work. He also wanted to find a way to help support filmmakers to survive to tell another story. This has always been an ongoing challenge inside the independent world and a message we’ve heard several times by filmmakers over the course of TIFF.

The challenge is something many of us may have first noticed in the music industry with streaming services, so how do you support the talent and ensure they can survive?  We’ve learned that Liquid Media Group isn’t about taking control or just providing projects with funding —  they look for ways to help creators survive and thrive to see projects through shoulder to shoulder.

The process has 4-stages to help independent producers that includes the use of  technology. “We use big data analytics and modelling to figure out how something will perform and whether it will have an audience at the end of the day to make its money back and do it again and again, whether it’s a film or a TV series,” said Ron Thomson, CEO of Liquid Media Group Ltd in a company press release.

Jackson and Liquid Media Group were in Toronto during TIFF hosting a series of panel discussions and topped it all off with a glossy ‘Big Splash’ launch party at the Windsor Arms Hotel. Here are just a few snaps from the red carpet…

*all photos by Jason Lynch (@dewucme on instagram)

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In ORACLE, Nate Russo, a police psychic that is voiced by Joshua Jackson, tracks an elusive serial killer, finding the missing and murdered by “reading” those close to them, an unwanted gift that comes with a terrible price.

But you won’t find this on shelves at the bookstore. This time, Pyper wrote the thriller as an audiobook (available through audible.ca).

We had the opportunity to chat with Pyper recently to find out more about this later roller-coaster ride of a story.

What was inspiration for ORACLE  — was there anyone that inspired the character of Nate Russo who is a psychic?

AP: ORACLE is the result of my interest in seeing if I could tell a mystery story in a different way. For a while my research pushed me in various directions, but when I fell upon the world of psychics who (almost always unofficially) help conventional detectives, it felt like something I could do something with, something that could blend a grounded crime story with horror elements. But Nate Russo arrived to my mind long before all that. Some years ago, I wrote a short story about a boy who grows up in a haunted house and whose parents attempt to exploit that experience for profit – much like The Amityville Horror – except none of the family actually believe in what’s happening aside from the boy. Nate Russo is the adult version of that child. Which leaves him afraid. And alone. And angry.

What are the best challenges in writing for audio?

AP: On a superficial level, writing for audio invites you to build a world through sound. But for me the form becomes truly interesting when you get the story to a place where the listener is building a lot of that world for herself. What does she see through what is heard? What is embodied by a sound – or, even more interesting, by the absence of a sound? A good audiobook lives in the pauses, the gaps, the seconds it takes to inhale a breath.

Having a Joshua Jackson be the voice of the Oracle is so good! Did he do any research with you about the characters? 

AP: Joshua Jackson has turned out to be such an amazing Nate Russo. His voice has a suggestion of mischief, the scratch of life experience, the veiled potential for rough stuff. Combined with Josh’s dramatic talents and he takes the text to a whole other level. But he and I didn’t work together prior to him recording the work. He took what I wrote and ran with it.

We understand ORACLE will follow up with a series. Can you tell us more about that?

AP: The Dreamland Murders is an audio drama comprised of ten half-hour episodes. It’s different from ORACLE in terms of form: there’s a full cast working alongside Josh, as well as music, sound effects and engineering. It’s going to be a bigger experience than ORACLE in these respects. As for the story, it’s a sequel to what takes place in ORACLE. So we’re out in the field with Nate working another case – one centered on an abandoned amusement park with a terrible history reaching into the present. I’ve got to admit: I’m so excited to hear the finished product. Can’t wait.

Check out more about Andrew Pyper here.

Note: audible.ca recently also launched Audible Premium Plus in Canada their new enhanced membership with unlimited access to over 12,000 titles in addition to the current one monthly credit.

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