Lexus presents first exclusive motion picture for web distribution

Shangri-La Entertainment entered into an agreement with luxury brand Lexus and popular online video community, YouTube to present the Sebastian Gutierrez film Girl Walks Into a Bar free, exclusively on YouTube.

Premiering on March 11 in the YouTube Screening Room, the presentation marks the first time a major motion picture was created exclusively for Web distribution.

With 'Girl Walks Into a Bar,' the cast and crew came together to create something different - a high quality, really fun character-driven film that we could present to audiences for free using a new distribution model, said Gutierrez.

We found great partners in Lexus and YouTube to support the film while providing us with the stage to draw the largest audience possible, he further added.

The presentation is not the first initiative that Lexus has in the entertainment arena. In addition to sponsoring and supporting events in the arts and entertainment arena, Lexus created LStudio.com, a broadband channel that features original content, in 2008.

The movie escapes the confines of traditional film production and is a bold undertaking that is set to transform the film industry, said Dave Nordstrom, vice president of marketing, Lexus.

The story follows a series of characters in interlocking stories taking place in ten different bars during the course of one evening in Los Angeles. Co-produced by Zach Schwartz, the film's director of photography is Cale Finot and music is by Grant Lee Phillips.