Jay Chandrasekar launches ‘Revenge App’ to put the power of ratings and recommendations back on people –

To find out why comedy guru Jay Chandrasekhar released a new app called Vouch Vault, the filmmaker delves into the memory basement to commemorate the events surrounding the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.

Your exciting comedy super soldiers – Five prank-loving Vermont soldiers trying to save their jobs by solving a crime against the local police department – ​​Debuted at the Winter Park City Festival, where it landed with a series of warm hugs. “The Sundance experience was incredible,” explains Chandrasekhar. “We had three midnight shows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and each was better than the last. It was crowded and wild and unbelievable, which is what happened after we sold the movie to Searchlight on Sunday night. It was the first and only film to be sold within a week. It was glorious.”

მოხდა What happened next? any less. A year later, with the help of filming, super soldiers It opened in theaters in February 2002 and grossed $23 million to a glowing audience. Critics were not so enthusiastic. “The newspaper I read every morning, ✓ New York Times, I didn’t like the movie, which is quite good. This is to be expected when high-profile critics write about R-rated comedies. Critics are often interested in comedy and horror because they can get more attention and like it when they’re bad. ”

there was very bad super soldiers, confirmed by Rotten Tomatoes, the review aggregator of the film’s 36 percent rotten score. But Chandrasekhari is not here to attract critics. “To be 100 percent clear, I have no problem with reviewers and they are important,” he said. “But I remember thinking, ‘Who’s the critic? They are often great writers who have tremendous power in newspapers who watch movies and recommend them to their readers. When was the last time you ran into a stranger on the street and asked which movie you should watch?

That’s why this value became a source of inspiration for him to create a new kind of platform that gives people back the power to recommend movies. “About three years ago, I started emphasizing what I hoped would be my revenge app, which would replace the way Rotten Tomatoes affects the movie business,” said Chandrasekhari. “I came up with the idea, met two app developers, and probably had 10 Zoom meetings. I was going to write them a check to help me create the app, so they told me they had similar opinions about reviews on Yelp and Amazon and asked, “Who are these people who write reviews?” So we joined forces and built this car. ”

They call it the Voucher Vault. The goal is simple: “Take the power of recommendation from anonymous strangers and give it to people whose tastes you know and trust.” It is a social media platform where users share almost everything they love: movies, TV shows, books, podcasts, hotels, restaurants, cars, products, museums, services, etc. – In any city. Chandrasekhar personally vouches for his Tesla, Osteria La Buca in Los Angeles, Randolph Beer in Brooklyn, and sound experts from King Soundworks for post-production services.

“This is an Instagram of recommendations,” he says. “You follow your friends and celebrities and see what they like and recommend. The real clean up of this will be friends and finding out what your friends like so you can check it out. ”

The app has a special feature called “Try Vault” where users can select recommendations they want to try later, while Chandrasekhar says searching hashtags can be a convenient way to find recommendations in other cities. If you want to find the best burger in Paris, search the hashtag. But in addition to hamburgers, Chandrasekhar also sees it as a kind of “memory machine” that allows users to keep a digital record of everything they like about their friends and family.

“Obviously, I hope it’s a hit, but it also offers another way to have a collective memory bank of all the wonderful pieces of pop culture you might want to share with your kids,” explains the filmmaker, whose next film, Easter SundayThe post featuring superstar Joe Coe will be released on August 5th.

Speaking of success, Chandrasekhar put some of his own money into making it work, with investments from his fellow developers, family and friends. The app can be monetized through advertising and affiliate links, and while it’s still in its infancy, it has big plans for expansion with the possible addition of video features. He still hopes to pick up talent like Quentin Tarantino or Willie Nelson (an old friend he met in 2005 while driving). dukes of danger) Offer your holds. (On Nelson: “It’s a valuable source of information that won’t always be there.”)

Asked to describe his final hopes for the company, Chandrasekhar throws the ball around the curve and becomes a politician when it closes. “I really think the Vault Vault can have a unifying effect. If you see that Republicans and Democrats like the same movies, we need you. We need unity in our culture.” This also applies to reviewers.