Warner Brothers “Premiere” division hopes to hit it big with direct-to-DVD spinoff.

Heroes favorite Masi Oka will star in a Get Smart direct-to-DVD sequel.

Get Smarter: Bruce & Lloyd Out of Control will focus on a techie named Bruce (Oka) and his geeky sidekick Lloyd (Nate Torrence), two secondary characters from the major movie remake.

The spinoff DVD will be released just 10 days after its parent feature hits theaters in June 2008.

The Get Smart spinoff is part of the Warner Brothers’ “Premiere” division, which seeks to lift the stimaga of the direct-to-DVD market, an area that has long been considered a venue for sub-par movies.

The Premiere unit is the studio’s experiment in “parallel content” that involves simultaneously filming lower-budget companion pieces along with its big-screen counterpart. The assumption is that the ready-made sequel will keep the parent picture in theaters longer.

Also, Premiere struck a deal with producer Joel Silver (The Matrix) that includes releasing 10 direct-to-DVD projects over the next few years, the first being a sequel to the 1999 horror movie House on Haunted Hill, which will give viewers the option to pick different storylines and four alternative endings.

Source: WSJ
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