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Damian Collier

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Damian Collier
BornMarch 1976
London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, businessman, lawyer, film producer
Years active2003-present
Known forViral Spiral, Blend Media
SpouseAnna-Marie Wayne
Children2

Damian Collier is a British entrepreneur, businessman, lawyer, and producer.[1][2] He is the founder and former owner and CEO of Spiral Viral, a company designed to help the creators of unexpectedly viral videos with the legal side of things, and the founder, owner, and CEO of Blend Media, a VR licensing firm and marketplace.[3][4][5][2] He produced the musical, filming, and tour of Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds - Alive on Stage! and manages the Jeff Wayne Music Group.[2][6] Other film productions include War of the Worlds.[7][8][2] In 2014, he appeared on Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business 1000.[9]

Education

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Collier attended University of Reading's School of Law and subsequently worked at firms including Latham & Watkins, Goldman Sachs, and Linklaters, the latter of which he stayed with from 1993 until 2003.[7][2][10] He also briefly attended the University of Salamanca in Spain.[11]

Career

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Collier is the managing director of Jeff Wayne Music Group and in 2006 produced the tour for The War of the Worlds - Alive on Stage![6][2] He and Wayne collaborated with Dark Horse Entertainment to create an accompanying comic.[12] While promoting Wayne's newest concept album, Collier met with Howard Davies-Carr, the father of the boys in the viral video "Charlie Bit My Finger," as they wanted to use the video for promotional purposes.[2] Davies-Carr mentioned that he had been approached many times by people and companies wanting to use the video and Collier realized that the people behind viral videos were not being supported.[2] As a former finance lawyer, with experience in licensing and intellectual property, he created Viral Management Limited, called Viral Spiral, in 2011 to help manage viral videos; the Davies-Carr family was his first client.[5][2][13] Jeff Wayne was his business partner.[2] Clients included the creators behind "Sneezing Baby Panda," "Talking Twin Babies," and "Fenton!"[2] By 2012, Viral Spiral had offices in the United Kingdom, United States, and Japan, and had "plans for a You've Been Framed!-style television show"[2] Viral Spiral set up deals for their clients with major companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Samsung, BBC, and Comedy Central.[2] They also partnered with Rightster to make more "Charlie" content, including partnerships with Sprint and Google, and gave the company "exclusive distribution rights to all of Viral Spiral's YouTube content."[14][1] Viral Spiral was among the first multi-channel networks to sign Vine stars as clients.[15] In 2014, Collier sold the company to the Rightster Group.[13]

In 2016, Collier founded Blend Media, a company that licenses AR, MR, VR, and 360-degree content and connects brands and agencies with qualified content creators.[4][16][17][3][18] Blend Media is involved with influencer marketing as well.[3] In 2019, he became the executive producer of a VR game based on Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds[19] and in 2021, helped turn "Charlie Bit Me" into a limited-edition NFT.[5]

Personal life

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Collier is married to actress Anna-Marie Wayne, daughter of his business partner Jeff Wayne. The couple have two children and as of 2022 live in the Hertfordshire village of Radlett.[20] Their daughter was premature, arriving 9 weeks before she was due.[21] Their son Jonah appears in Michael Hirst's 2022 television series Billy the Kid.[20]

Film

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Collier largely produced under the Damian Collier Entertainment banner between 2009 and 2015.[22][7][2]

Year Title Role(s) Ref
2003 Weird Travels Camera operator
Dance with Lisa: Red Hot Salsa Made Simple Cinematographer [8]
2005 The Book of Tennis Chronicles Executive producer
War of the Worlds Executive producer, screenwriter, producer [8]
2006 Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds Producer [8]
Prophets of Science Fiction Material supplier
2007 The War of the Worlds - Alive on Stage! Producer
2008 Evilution Co-producer [8]
2009 Disappearing in America Associate producer
Space Girls in Beverly Hills Cinematographer [8]
2013 Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds – The New Generation Producer
TBD Paradise Lost Producer [23]
The Car Executive producer

References

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  1. ^ a b Kofman, Jeffrey (29 March 2012). "How 'Charlie Bit Me,' the Most Watched YouTube Clip Ever, Changed a Family's Fortunes". ABC. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "I could make you a YouTube sensation". The JC. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Singletary, Charles (10 February 2017). "360-Degree Video Company Blend Media Announces Seed Funding". Upload VR. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Blend Media announces launch of 'Blend Market' marketplace for immersive XR content". Auganix. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "How Charlie bit my finger meme created a $1 million payday". news.com.au. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b "ON THIS DAY 16/04/2006 JEFF WAYNE". Keep Cardiff Live. 16 April 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  7. ^ a b c "Outside the Law". Issuu. Linlaters. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Damian Collier". AllMovie. n.d. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Most Creative People In Business 1000: The Complete List". Fast Company. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Alumni Stories". University of Reading. n.d. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Damian Collier". Martindale. n.d. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  12. ^ Gallo, Phil (21 August 2005). "China's 'War' efforts". Variety. Archived from the original on 14 November 2007. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Lewis Silkin advises Viral Spiral on its sale to Rightster Group plc". Lewis Silkin. 9 July 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Rightster Studios agrees exclusive deal with Viral Spiral to produce Original Series featuring Harry and Charlie". Business Wire. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  15. ^ Daniels, Vic (29 September 2014). "HOW VINE MAKES TOMORROW'S STARS IN SIX SECONDS FLAT". HitC. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  16. ^ McDonald, Andrew (9 February 2017). "Heavyweight backing for new VR firm". Television Business International. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  17. ^ Oakes, Omar (9 February 2017). "BBH and Lad Bible executives back start-up VR video platform". Campaign Live. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  18. ^ Murphy, David (18 October 2019). "Blend Media launches Blend Market AR/VR/MR marketplace". MobileMarketing. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  19. ^ Mutter, Zoe (15 July 2019). "War of the Worlds: an immersive take on a classic tale". AV Magazine. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  20. ^ a b Reaidi, Joseph (13 March 2022). "Radlett actor stars in upcoming Billy the Kid TV series". Borehamwood & Elstree Times. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  21. ^ Adam, Shabana (13 November 2012). "INTERVIEW: Anna-Marie Wayne". Female First. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  22. ^ "DAMIAN COLLIER ENTERTAINMENT LTD". Companies London. n.d. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  23. ^ Brown, Eric C. Milton on Film. p. 380.
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