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BLAST And Artistshare® Announce Partnership And Invite Fans To Participate In Creative Process
BLAST is the First Film Incorporated Into the Successful ArtistShare® Model

New York, NY December 3, 2007 – ArtistShare® (http://www.artistshare.com), a unique website that invites fans to fund their favorite artists in exchange for participation in the creative process, and BLAST, a documentary that exposes a world of risky, hardcore scientific adventure, announced their partnership today. BLAST is the first film to be incorporated into the successful ArtistShare model that has connected fans with their favorite musicians since 2000.

BLAST is the latest documentary from Five-Time Emmy-Award winner and Independent Spirit Award Nominee Paul Devlin, the creator of PowerTrip and SlamNation. Subscribers to the ArtistShare® BLAST project (http://www.blastthemovie.com - click on the ArtistShare link) will not only gain access to production updates and behind-the-scenes footage, but will be able to participate at various levels with interactive question and answer sessions, invitations to exclusive premiere events, and even the opportunity to personally meet with the filmmaker and the scientists behind the project. Depending on their level of participation, ArtistShare participants can even have their name appear in the official credits of the film. BLAST follows the filmmaker’s brother, Dr. Mark Devlin and his international team of astrophysicists as they put their personal lives on hold to spend five years building a groundbreaking telescope that will peer into the past by discovering thousands of the most distant and ancient galaxies. Lacking the funds for a satellite rocket launch, the determined scientists attach their precious instrument to a NASA high altitude balloon and take their chances. Their risky scientific adventure sends them on a journey from the Arctic to the Antarctic, from out-of-focus disappointment to complete disaster, and ultimate triumph. The random, haphazard side of science is revealed as well as its drive and tenacity as Dr. Devlin and his team help unravel humankind’s most basic question, “How did we get here?”

Since 2000, ArtistShare has connected fans with their favorite musicians; BLAST is the first film to be incorporated into the program and will serve as the model for those to come. BLAST and ArtistShare participants also enjoy the freedom to focus on their personal interests; budding astrophysicists can learn more about the science behind the BLAST experiment, while future filmmakers have the option of downloading footage and editing a section of the film, with the possibility of it ending up in the finished documentary.

Packages and pricing range from exclusive production updates and a final DVD for individual subscribers to more extensive offers for university classrooms and organizations. For individuals who want more personal access there is even an opportunity to become Executive Producer on the film.

“The independent film industry is changing rapidly,” says director Paul Devlin. “Traditional funding sources are disappearing just as exciting new ones are emerging. Filmmaker’s have been improvising using the internet as a fundraising tool, but ArtistShare is the first to provide a proven structure for this kind of active on-line participation.”

“Paul has an extremely unique and bold approach to filmmaking, which syncs perfectly with ArtistShare.” says ArtistShare® CEO Brian Camelio. “Instead of calculating every shoot, he lets the story unfold in real-time, on-site; the outcome is never predictable and that unexpectedness is always exciting for the participants.”

For additional information on the BLAST and ArtistShare collaboration, visit http://blast.artistshare.com. For more information about the BLAST film and to see the trailer, visit http://blastthemovie.com or contact the creators at blastthemovie@gmail.com.

About Paul Devlin:
A five-time Emmy winner for his work on NBC's Olympics and CBS's Tour de France, Paul Devlin's films include Power Trip, which screened in 60 countries, theatrically across the United States and on PBS's Independent Lens, was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and has won 10 film festival awards, including top prizes at Berlin, Hot Docs in Toronto, and Florida.

Paul also made the award-winning film SlamNation, which follows the fierce competition at the National Poetry Slam and helped popularize the dynamic genre with its release in theaters and on HBO/Cinemax and Encore/Starz.

As an editor, Paul's extensive credits include commercials, music videos, television shows and major sports broadcasts, including CBS's Super Bowls and ABC/ESPN's World Cup Soccer.