Spielberg, Ridley Scott Producing Virtual Reality Entertainment As VR Industry Banks On Hollywood

Hollywood filmmakers are developing virtual reality programs that aim to give people who purchase VR headsets this year something to watch. Now, some of the biggest names in entertainment are throwing their weight behind the movement.

Analysts told the Wall Street Journal this week to expect new apps later this year with improved VR. Users can take in the simulated sights and sounds of, say, Mount Everest, or visit outer space, by downloading the specialized software to a phone tethered to a pair of goggles and headphones. Accomplished directors like Stephen Spielberg, Jerry Zucker and Ridley Scott are reportedly involved in creating VR content.

“You can now do mediocre stories, but because of virtual reality they're amazing,” Zucker joked to the Journal.

Virtual Reality Co., a Los Angeles-based firm started by four Hollywood veterans, is at work on a program that enables users to investigate futuristic crimes in 10- and 15-minute chapters, as well as a documentary experience that lets them ride along with former Pittsburgh Steelers great Jerome Bettis as he prepares for his Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Both projects are helped by Spielberg's presence on VRC's board of directors. The “Jaws” and “Indiana Jones” director is in the midst of a project that one VRC executive told the Journal was meant to be a “full family experience.”

This coincides with Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber's suggestion that millions of people could attend the next Golden Globes ceremony via virtual reality.

“This will no longer be in the control of the director or the cameraman. But you will have the best seat in the house,” Guber told the Hollywood Reporter. He added later that the promise of an immersive experience also means one thing for the producers: “Ca-ching. Ca-ching. Ca-ching.”