Web Television on the Move!

This has been an amazing few weeks for Web Television with festival news, upcoming events, and strong press.  The tide is finally turning and I think the next year is going to prove to be the breakthrough period in recognizing Web Television as a contender.  Here's a round-up of the latest events:

1.  ITVFest:  I was happy to see that some of my predictions for shows like Time Traveling Finger and 15 Minutes were correct.  Stephen Leonard won the Best Animation Award for Time Traveling Finger and Bobby Salomon won Best Director for 15 Minutes.  After watching 15 Minutes, I said that the series was ready for TV.  I hope the cast and crew see some lift from distributors because the show was well-polished and highly-produced, and the look of the show, shot on the Red camera, set it apart from the others.  A real quirky series, Octane Pistols of Fury, was a big hit this year, going home with the Best Web and Best Comedy Awards for ITVFest.  I wasn't sure what to make of the series, but it was funny with a strong point of view.  I am interested to see where they go next with the show because I am not sure what direction that would be. Perhaps, the joke is on me and that is exactly what the creators want me to think.  Finally, topping off his wins at NY Television Festival last fall and his Streamy win in April, Jeremy Redleaf of Odd Jobs won for Best Writing.  He's an absolute delight who keeps raking in the awards, so check out our Web Files interview with him from last fall.

2. NY Television Festival:  The official entries were announced on Monday and you will see some crossover from ITVFest like Illuminati Brothers, SOLO the Series, and Octane Pistols of Fury.  Some new series from prolific creators Brett Register, Scott Brown, Stephen Leonard, and Al Thompson will also be making an appearance, so it looks like a strong line-up.  The festival runs September 20-25, so keep your eye on the web that week.  Congratulations to all of the official entries!

3.  SXSW Interactive:  I was thrilled that my SXSW Panel Proposal was approved and it is up for vote for the Interactive Sessions.  My panel is titled:  Hosted Web Series:  New Opportunities for Creativity.  The voting is open until Friday, August 27th.  Also, Marc Hustvedt from Tubfilter has a panel up for vote on Interactive Video Storytellers so, get out there and vote!

Enjoying a little Fast Company and a Starbucks Chai latte on my flight.

4.  Fast Company:  I don't if anything was more thrilling than the Fast Company spotlight on "Must -See TV:  The Web's New Fall Lineup".  Highlights include a feature on Felicia Day, Babelgum, Funny or Die, Atom.com, and Next New Networks with their current and future Web TV offerings.  I was even more excited when I realized I had interviewed a lot of creators involved in the Fast Company spread:  Legend of Neil, Kevin Pollak, The Bannen Way, Felicia Day, Al Thompson, Jeremy Redleaf, and Illeana Douglas.  Maybe I am onto something here with The Web Files.........

5.  Digital Chick TV: There is a new site highlighting the contributions of women to Web TV:  Digital Chick TV.  I am excited to see all of the female producers, creators, and actors getting their due.  Women play a significant role in this space, so I am glad their work is being recognized.  Oh, and I am described as "ever-perky"on the site.  I love that description.  I am out to kill all of you with my perk on The Web Files!

6.  Squatters:  There is nothing better than to see a producer recognize the talents of their crew.  Brendan Bradley of Squatters contacted The Web Files looking for additional footage from their red carpet premiere to highlight the work of Director of Photography, James Rhodimer, and composer, Morgan J. Pearse.  The bonus videos have just been release on Dailymotion, so check it out and let's celebrate all of those that work tirelessly behind the camera:

James Rhodimer, DP - Behind The Scenes (Bonus)
Uploaded by squatters. - More video blogs and vloggers.


Morgan J Pearse, Composer - Behind The Scenes (Bonus)
Uploaded by squatters. - Explore international webcam videos.

7.  Anyone But Me:  The fundraising Web-a-Thon for the award winning series, Anyone But Me, continues and I urge you to make a contribution to help fund Season 3.  I don't think any other series has done more for the LGBT community and creators, Susan Miller and Tina Cesa Ward, are so passionate about their project, so help make Season 3 a reality for the cast and crew.  They deserve it!

Okay, I think that is a pretty strong round-up with what is happening in Web TV. The space is exciting and it's moving quickly.  Did I miss a big story?  Let me know in the comments and thanks for stopping by!

Celebrity Liar

Last Tuesday, I had the opportunity to go and check out the online game show, Celebrity Liar.  The show is broadcast from a studio hidden in a building just off of Hollywood Boulevard.  I rang the buzzer, told them I was here for Celebrity Liar, and I was ushered down the hall to the secret studio where the online network, The Room Live, broadcasts their shows.  The Room Live, is the brainchild of Robin Ruzan and Michael Davis, who have worked on A-list projects and with top talent throughout their careers.  They are promoting the production of quality independent television without the constraints of a big corporate network.

Inside I found the studio audience area made up of comfy couches with the talent, executive producers, and the audience all mixing and mingling before the show began.  A giant bowl of candy was offered up to anyone who needed a sugar fix to amp up before the night's proceedings.  I grabbed a handful of Gobstoppers just as the fun was about to begin!  The premise of Celebrity Liar is pretty simple:  "Two celebrities tell the same story as if it happened to each of them. In truth, it only happened to one of them, and the chat room decides.... Who's the Liar!!"  The show is hosted by the affable Andrew Hill Newman and co-hosted by the ridiculously fashionable Louise Roe who is the link between the studio and the chat room.  

The night I was there, Jon Tenney and Tony Denison of TNT's The Closer stopped by to spin a yarn, lie, and win.  The stories are all told to the executive producers ahead of time in a sealed room.  The stars hear each other's story and so everyone is on the same page before the show begins.  We could hear the boisterous laughter from behind closed doors, so I knew I was in for a treat.  Round one began with a "Knock Yourself Out" story from college.  Jon began to tell the tale of his days at Vassar.  This is where my interactivity with the show began.  My ex-boyfriend is a Vassar grad and I figured he would be in the same age group as Jon.  I texted him, confirmed that Jon was a year ahead of him in school, and score.....I knew who was telling the truth.  Tony tried really hard to make that story his own, but I just didn't believe him.  Andrew, the host, also voted with Tony, but the audience at home was fooled and voted Jon as the liar.  Round one goes to Tony.

Round two begins, the story is randomly fished out of a bowl and it's entitled "Dying to Go to Mexico". Tony is up first and he stumbles his way through the story.  Jon takes his turn and smoothly recants the tale of his unfortunate trip south of the border.  The audience votes, Andrew votes, and an unprecedented 100% thinks Tony is lying, lying, lying,.  The truth is.....it was Tony's story! "I told the story exactly the way it happened.  I didn't even embellish it!", Tony exclaims.  We all burst out into  uproarious laughter.  Yep, round two goes to Jon.

To break the tie, we hit the Lightning Round with True or Lie.  Tony and Jon have to guess whether certain statements are true or complete falsehoods about their opponent.  This is where the fun really peaks.  We learned the Jon not only had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, but that he got completely naked in front of Mary Tyler Moore and Vanessa Redgrave in a play eight times a week.  Tony divulged that he predicts earthquakes and he loses his balance when emergency vehicles with large sirens actually pass him on the street. (Um, wow, Tony!)  Jon manages to eek out a win by beating Tony five points to four points.  Phew, close game.   Each contestant is handed Lotto tickets for the charity of their choice with five chances given to the winner and one chance for the runner-up.  

Celebrity Liar - Tony Denison VS Jon Tenney from The Room Live on Vimeo.
What a fun night!  A simple premise that promises laughter, creativity, and interactivity each week.  The best part is that you never know who is going to show up.  Prior guests have included heavy hitters like Matthew Perry, Kevin Pollak, Ed Begley, Jr., and Hank Azaria.  Each guest brings their own energy and personality to the room, so it plays like live theatre, you never know what type of show you are going to get. The best part for me is that I went back and watched the posted show almost a week later.  It still played as fresh and hilarious as when I watched it live.  


Be sure to check out Celebrity Liar each Tuesday at 7PM PST/10PM EST at The Room Live.  Tonight's show features Jamie Kaler and Reid Scott of TBS' My Boys.  


Photos 2-5 Courtesy of M4: Publicity Consultants.

Behind the Scenes of The Web Files Buzz, Episode 4

                                       

We are buzzing along through the episodes this month and this one is chockfull of familiar faces, web series content, and a really important issue to anyone creating work over the web.  Our first stop was the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank to interview Travis Wester and AJ Buckley about their show, Ghostfacers.  I originally caught this show at the launch party at La Vida a few short days after the Streamys and the audience was filled with non-web series faces.  It was refreshing to see a different group of people react to hilarity and the terror that ensues when the Ghostfacers are on the loose.  With that in mind, I think I was expecting over the top antics with the interview.  Surprisingly, AJ and Travis were pretty subdued and serious about the work they have created.  Remember, these roles started out as a one episode guest star on Supernatural that turned into an entire series for the web when they pitched the idea about continuing their character on YouTube to the producers.  Oh, does anyone know who the producers are?  McG and his production company.  Impressive.  The one other comment I have.....AJ, board shorts to a board meeting?  I guess it doesn't matter, does it? You got the job!

Then it's off to Digital Hollywood in Santa Monica where we nabbed Kevin Pollak and Amber J. Lawson, Comedy Publisher at Babelgum, to talk about their partnership with Vamped Out.  Kevin failed miserably at describing his show in ten words or less, but it is definitely one of the funnier moments in the interview.  One thing to watch in his interview is how important it is for content creators to own their work.  It wouldn't be possible on a network show and he points to Conan O'Brien as an example.  The characters Conan created on his late night shows are now property of NBC.  Hard to imagine that, but that's the way it works with the big corporate deals.  In an outtake from the episode below, check out what happens when I turn the tables on Mr. Pollak.  If you watch his chat show, you know he makes everyone do an impersonation of Larry King.  Well, I made him get into his Vamped Out character, Elliot Finke, and do his Larry King bit:


Rounding out the rest of the episode were Chris McCaleb of Big Fantastic and Roland Hamilton of Dailymotion. Chris pointed out the importance of net neutrality as some of you may have seen the whiteribbons adorned on everyone's chest at the Streamys. It is an issue for any content creator, so I urge you to go to Save the Internet and inform yourself on how it will affect all of us. You can also contact FCC Chairman Julius Chenachowski from the site and plead with him protect the Internet. I am pleased that several of you have already taken action after watching this episode, thank you! The one thing I couldn't get out of Chris? The launch date for Prom Queen 2. The answer was a vague "sometime in 2010." Well, we are almost halfway through the year, so I am impatiently waiting, Chris. Hey, I'm looking for a Web Files exclusive!

Be sure to check out our latest episode of The Web Files Buzz. It is all the buzz about the biz, the web
series biz:

Join us this Wednesday for another episode of The Web Files Buzz featuring on set visits with Bumps in the Night and Night of the Zombie King from the Gold the Series creators all on Blip.tv.

My Sixth Sense

Guest blogging for Red Carpet Closet today is Director/Producer Sandra Payne. Check out her thoughts on Kevin Pollak:

A few weeks ago, I got a chance to meet actor/comedian and new media sensation Kevin Pollak, for the first time. So cool! After all, it’s not often that you get to meet someone in person that you usually only see after going to the theater, or popping a DVD in, or checking out a hot online show.

      It was at the Streamy Craft Awards on April 7, where Kevin and his team won a Streamy Award for Best Live Production in a Web Series for Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show. He gave an enthusiastic speech:

surrounded by the production crew of his show, including director/producer Mike Rotman, writer/producer Jason McIntyre, and co-producer Josh Negrin (while writer/producer Jaime Fox waved from the comfort of her seat). We also interviewed Kevin and his team, including executive producer Jason Calacanis, on the red carpet directly after the ceremony. Steeped in post-award euphoria, check out what they had to say about winning.

            Since then, I’ve seen Kevin at least six more times at various events around Hollywoood.  It’s rather astonishing, really.

                    I haven’t even seen the majority of my good friends that much.
                    I’m starting to think of it as my own, livelier version of The Sixth Sense.

            And so it was that just two days later, on Friday, April 9, I attended a round table discussion with Kevin at the offices of mPRm, a public relations firm that has several high-profile web series creators in its client roster. At this meeting, Kevin, who was joined by Babelgum’s Comedy Publisher, Amber J. Lawson, talked with bloggers about his new comedy, Vamped Out, which was set to launch on Babelgum the following Monday, April 12.

          Vamped Out is a funny, sharply written mockumentary about a real vampire who, despite wanting to be an actor, can’t get cast in any of the vampire shows that currently proliferate in Hollywood.

            Kevin co-created, co-wrote and stars in Vamped Out with Jason Antoon. The series also serves as Kevin’s directorial debut. It’s a role he’s wanted to tackle for some time. Having worked with some of the greatest directors of our time over the years has allowed him to study them, he said, but prior to his web series, he’d been intimidated by the thought of being in charge of everything. Not any more, though.

            “I’m definitely hooked for life,” Kevin said.

            And not just on directing.

            “I hope to do more episodes of Vamped Out,” he said. “The abject creative freedom and control is not to be taken lightly by someone like myself.”

            Case in point, Kevin said that Vamped Out was conceived of, written, produced and launched in about 5 months.

            In the world of high-quality Hollywood productions, that’s as close to instant gratification as you can get. It’s truly one of the most powerful draws of working on the web.

            If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth checking out. Here’s the link: Babelgum. You can watch Episode #1 here:

          After the roundtable discussion wrapped up, Vamped Out premiered at Cinespace that evening to a packed house, a red carpet, and celebrities. Naturally, Kevin was there to introduce his series. We watched a sneak peek of several episodes before their official launch on Babelgum slated for the following Monday. Since standard op is to watch web series alone at our computers, it was fun to see Vamped Out with a live audience on the big screen and hear everyone’s laughter.

            Less than 48 hours later, I saw Kevin again at the Streamy Awards where he walked the Red Carpet:

That night, he presented the Streamy Award for Best Guest Star in a Web Series.

He got a lot of laughs when he said that being asked to act in a friend’s web series is the new jury duty. Of course, since jury duty pays about $15 per day, it’s kind of like that, but generally less lucrative.
                   Astonishingly, several weeks then went by for me without a Kevin Pollak sighting.  That was remedied on May 3 at the Digital Hollywood conference, Kevin was back and serving—I mean seated—as a panelist on the “Web Video: The New Content Creators” panel along with Illeana Douglas from Easy to Assemble, Chris McCaleb from the Big Fantastic, Brian Firenzi from 5-Second Films, and Jason Goldberg from Ashton Kutcher’s production company, Katalyst. The panel was moderated by Dana Harris, the editor of strategic projects for Variety.

            Right after their discussion wrapped up, Kristyn had the chance to interview Kevin and Amber for today’s Buzz segment:

           On Wednesday, May 5, Kevin appeared again on another panel. This time, it was one called “The Multi-Hyphenate: Actor-Writer-Director-facebook expert.” He was joined by three other creators: a) Joshua Malina, whose credits include The West Wing and Sports Night (I loved that show!), and who has a new web series coming out soon called Backwash, b) Brett Register of The Crew, and c) David Nett of Gold.

Celebrity interviewer Jeanne Wolf, the West Coast Editor of Parade Magazine, moderated.

       During the panel, Kevin said, “If you’re not creating, you’re waiting.” That, of course, caused me to spiral into a philosophical loop about what I was doing just sitting there.

            Just when I thought my Kevin Pollak Palooza month was over, Tubefilter announced it’s Best of the Internet screening at the Egyptian Theatre in conjunction with the American Cinematheque Blows Up the Internet screening series. I had a play to attend that night, so I could only roll in as a small group of new mediarati was making their way over to the historic Musso & Frank’s Grill for an after-screening gathering. When I entered the restaurant, I saw Kevin.

            [cue music from the Twilight Zone]
So there it is. Seven Kevin Pollack sightings in seven weeks. 

Although it's tempting to attribute them to my Sixth Sense, I'm starting to think he's stalking me.

    

Albrecht, Diaz, Buckley, Pollak, and Who?

So, the Streamys nominations are out and everyone is gearing up in preparation for the show. At The Web Files, we have some nominee interviews coming your way and of course, we will be covering the red carpet on the big night. I know a lot of the ladies out there are looking for the perfect dress and I will admit, I have hit the gym a bit harder lately. While I am thrilled to be nominated for Best Web Series Host, I have to chuckle because I think at least three nominees said, "Albrecht, Buckley, Diaz, Pollak, and Who?" I am humbled by my fellow nominees because they inspire me to think about the levels The Web Files could reach if we continue to put in the hard work and dedication to the web space like Alex, Zadi (My admiration for Zadi and Steve Woolf can be seen in a prior post.), and Michael. And then there's Pollak, yes, Kevin Pollak. Um, when are you ever going to be nominated against Todd Hockney from The Usual Suspects? That's enough to keep an Oscar Geek like me happy. (The movie won for Screenplay and Best Supporting actor for Kevin Spacey in 1996). Kevin's show has inspired an LA Times article and brought even more attention to the web space. With these four fantastic nominees, I am more than okay with being the "And who?" Congratulations to my fellow nominees!

By the way, I think Michael Buckley needs to know that I am the biggest figure skating and gymnastics geek ever, so I think we should be friends....especially if he wants in on the best (and secret) gymn/figure skating gossip site ever. (Yep, there's a site for everything and it confirms that I am a geek!) So, Michael, I am in NYC before the Streamys, coffee or cocktails are on me if you want to meet up!

**UPDATE** Michael heard my call and he has agreed to meet up with me while I am in New York! I love the power of the internet. I can't wait to dish about figure skating and gymnastics with my new BFF....whom I hear is a pretty decent figure skater himself.

Also, we will be featuring some of our previous Web Files interviews from shows that are up for Streamy Awards as a part of our Weekend Web Watch. Our first weekend showcased Safety Geeks:SVI which is nominated for Best Visual Effects for Tom Konkle, Thor Melsted, and Mike Smith. It is a great episode for the IAWTV members to take a first or second look at since we go on set and check out what it take to build the composites for their show. Check out the episode here: Safety Geeks: SVI

Our next episode for our Weekend Web Watch honors Compulsions in two parts. An interview with creator/writer, Bernie Su, and producer, Michael Tohl. Part two focuses in on the red carpet premiere with the cast, crew, and distributor, Aimee Carlson of Dailymotion. Compulsions garnered 4 Streamy nominations for Best Actor: Craig Frank, Best Writing (Drama): Bernie Su, Best Director (Drama): Nathan Atkinson, and Best Drama Web Series. I first heard about Bernie's idea for a series over Thai food, so it feels like I have been around since the beginning with Compulsions. While it is only Thursday, you can get a head start with our Weekend Web Watch here:
Part One: Compulsions
Part Two: Red Carpet