“Nobody gets genre material like Tony Valenzuela.”TheWrap
BLACKBOXTV.
Studio Overview & Founder Bio
BlackBoxTV is an award-winning independent horror studio founded by filmmaker Tony E. Valenzuela. Since 2010, BBTV has created and produced original horror films, series, shorts, and immersive experiences across digital platforms, from YouTube and social media to streaming and VR. Its YouTube channel alone has generated more than 270 million views and 9.5 million hours watched to date, with 22 titles surpassing one million views. BlackBoxTV has partnered with YouTube, Meta, New Line Cinema, Sony Pictures, Legendary Entertainment, and Warner Bros.
Origin
Valenzuela's first series, 2009: A True Story, was a 13-episode post-apocalyptic found footage drama released on YouTube in 2008. Wes Craven selected it during his Halloween YouTube takeover that year, and it was nominated for Best Dramatic Web Series at the first annual Streamy Awards. Valenzuela then directed Harper's Globe, the 13-episode companion to the CBS series Harper's Island, produced with EQAL and executive producer Jon Turteltaub. In 2010, Valenzuela founded BlackBoxTV as a dedicated home for horror on YouTube.
“An elegant melding of teen angst and supernatural horror that is as much The Breakfast Club as Sometimes They Come Back.”The Austin Chronicle
BlackBoxTV Presents
The studio's flagship anthology series, BlackBoxTV Presents, holds Variety's title of longest-running scripted drama online. Season one was self-financed and launched August 17, 2010, casting leading YouTube creators of the era and producing more than 35 shorts in its first two years. Valenzuela has a track record of spotting talent before the industry does. He hired Dan Trachtenberg to direct More Than You Can Chew in 2011; Trachtenberg's subsequent work includes 10 Cloverfield Lane and the Predator franchise. Next, he put YouTube director Mike Diva behind the camera for PROXY: A Slender Man Story; Diva now directs for Saturday Night Live. Composer Brandon Roberts scored BBTV's first four seasons, years before his Emmy for Free Solo and work on A Quiet Place, Logan and Andor. Others who came through the studio include three-time Academy Award winner Robert Legato and Academy Award nominee Lexi Alexander.
“A sumptuous watch.”The 7th Matrix
The Studio Era
In 2012 BlackBoxTV was selected for YouTube's $100 million Original Channel Initiative and launched a slate including Silverwood and collaborations with CSI creator Anthony Zuiker. In 2014 Guillermo del Toro selected Valenzuela's short Versions of Elloise as a finalist in Legendary's House of Horrors program, and subsequently asked him to moderate the Crimson Peak Q&A. In 2015 BBTV produced and distributed Fight of the Living Dead, a zombie survival reality series, for YouTube Red. The series has drawn more than 50 million views across three seasons. Valenzuela next created The Fourth Door for New Form Digital, the studio founded by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. In 2017, his debut feature film The Axe Murders of Villisca was released theatrically by IFC Midnight before landing on Netflix.
“Hits the sweet spot for both horror aficionados and adrenaline junkies.”Meta
Immersive
BlackBoxTV moved into 3D and VR storytelling years ahead of the market, producing an 11-episode immersive horror series that included three studio collaborations with New Line and Warner Bros.: experiences for Lights Out, IT and IT Chapter Two. The bet paid off. Those titles became the channel's biggest audience driver, led by the IT 360 experience, which sits at 88 million views on its own. That work continues today with Scream Park, starring Grace Van Dien of Stranger Things, and Tales of Terror with Danny Trejo, both horror series shot in 3D for Meta.
“A fresher taste of true story terror.”Culture Crypt
What's Next
The studio controls film and television rights to a majority of its library titles, and Valenzuela is developing a slate of series and features from them. The Last Carnival, a scripted horror series, and Silverwood are based on shorts that premiered on BlackBoxTV. Also in development: a Tales of Terror series adaptation, leveraging BBTV's most successful viral hits, reframed with new original material.
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