The Friendly: First Vertical Film, Big Impact

0:00It's April 27, I'm Cory with The Story, and this is Entertainment and Celebrity News today, your AI-powered Entertainment Report. Joe Mantegna's indie film, The Friendly, just made history as the first full-length feature adapted into vertical video format using the High Five app. This romantic drama, based on a true story about post-traumatic stress, mental health struggles and a heroic dog, stars Mantegna alongside Jesse. Borigo, Casey Diedrick, Elpidia Carrillo, and Danielle Nievez. Directed by Jason Strickland, it hit 2B and Prime Video as a download on February 1 after its 2024 release. High Five, created by Jason Strickman and Kambali Satori, packs a bunch of AI tools like a Swiss Army knife for filmmakers, turning traditional movies, into phone-friendly vertical experiences that can also flip to wider views. The app debuted about three months ago and already launched a horror series called Paranormal

1:00to show off its immersive tricks. Mantegna called it a pleasure working with Strickland and the team, stressing the films pushed to support U.S. military folks. Strickland, a former child actor from shows like Blossom and The Secret Life of Alex Mack, teamed up with Satori's hierarchy platform through his in. The light productions to make this conversion happen. Stoppers say the tech restores old films to true 4K resolution, smartly tweaks motion and focus, and slashes movie budgets by up to 65 percent. Satori puts it best, they're building tools that let creative stay creative, keeping human emotion at the core even as tech evolves. This vertical shift could reshape how we watch stories on the go, blending big screen heart with mobile magic for the next wave of filmmakers.