Features

The Associated Press 

LOS ANGELES — Icebox.com, an ambitious Web entertainment site that seemed on the verge of mainstream success, is closing. 

The company pioneered the idea of using the Internet as a place to test ideas that could later be made into television shows or feature films. Last August, it sold a short, animated series called “Starship Regulars” to the Showtime cable channel, which still plans on turning it into a live-action show later this year. 

The company also licensed an animated show, “Zombie College” to the Fox Broadcasting Network, which is developing it into a live-action pilot. 

The company said Wednesday it will lay off most of its remaining 27 employees Friday. 

Steve Stanford, chief executive officer and Icebox Inc. co-founder, said the company ran out of money and time. Icebox raised $13.4 million last April and has been unable to raise more money or find either a partner or a buyer. 

“There is such a negative sentiment about Web content out there,” Stanford said Wednesday. “Given the current environment, it did not make sense to continue the business.” 

Stanford said he is still trying to sell the company or at least some of the shows on the site. After Friday, the site will continue to exist for a while, although no new episodes will be posted. 

“We had great support from the creative community,” Stanford said. “We had fairly high aspirations. We wanted to make the Web a place where people could go to create quality entertainment.” 

Most companies that have tried to attract viewers and advertising revenue with original programming on the Internet have struggled. 

The Digital Entertainment Network was the first to fold early last year. It was soon followed by Pop.com, the much-heralded effort backed by such Hollywood powerhouses as Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard. Pop.com closed before it even debuted. 

Icebox.com seemed more likely to succeed, in part because it did not try to be an entertainment destination. Instead, it used the Web as a place for established artists to try out new material, which could then be sold, with Icebox retaining part of the subsequent profits. 

Unlike many other sites, which showcased content written, and often animated, by amateurs, Icebox enlisted top writers, including Rob LaZebnick, an Icebox co-founder and co-producer of the Fox television series, “The Simpsons,” and Eric Kaplan, a producer of the Fox animated series “Futurama.” 

“We believed if you could give a proven artist the freedom to create things, some good things would come out of that.,” Stanford said. “We had some great properties. We also had some not-so-great properties.” 

The site drew harsh criticism from those who charged it featured raunchy and often offensive material. One show, “Mr. Wong,” made sport of an 85-year-old Chinese houseboy complete with overbite and jaundiced complexion. 

Stanford said he is not sure what he will do next. 

“This is something I was really passionate about,” he said. “I never thought I would have to do something else.” 

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On the Net: 

http://www.icebox.com