by Pat Miller on March 4th, 2009
Blade Runner. AI. I, Robot. Robot Stories. Nothing makes us feel more human than watching robots pretend to be like us – and blur the lines in the process.
That emotional reaction is the basis for condition:human, an upcoming science fiction web series written and directed by Vancouver-based filmmaker Trenton Lepp and starring Kristian Bakstad that explores themes of humanity and artificial intelligence in the near future. Official synopsis:
In the near future, man has begun to address the economic and environmental issues plaguing the early 21st century. Rapid technological advancements have changed life dramatically, especially the creation of advanced humanoid robots who have begun to play an integral part in everyday life. Takumi Kenji, the reclusive CEO of Kenji electronics, and father of all things A.I. has announced the first ever ‘companion’ bots, a model of humanoid who’s interactive capabilities are remarkably natural. As robots continue to evolve their place amongst us must evolve as well, and as it does society carries the responsibility of answering the moral questions that come.
by Pat Miller on March 3rd, 2009
Office comedy tends to focus on making the everyday mundane funny – see everything from Dilbert and Office Space to The Office. It’s perfectly natural, of course; they just take the day-to-day idiosyncrasies of office life and stretch it just a little bit further than they normally go, with generally hilarious results.
The first episode of AdMuse, created by writer-director-editor-cameraman Terry Miles, quickly establishes that day-to-day-office humor is exactly what AdMuse is not. Over the course of five minutes, copywriter Brickman Mordecai (Casey Manderson) finds friction with creative director Sandra Smith (Michelle Miazga) over an advertisement spot starring tall blonde bikini-clad junior copywriter Jeannie Evans (Kristine Cofsky) for Stuff-It Brand Caulking. “Caulk,” purrs Jeannie, and the text overlay simply says “Caulk: Because It’s A Verb”.
by Michael Joshua Rowin on March 3rd, 2009
The irony of William Shatner sharing personal videos with the public in Ironsink‘s The William Shatner Project must have been readily – and cannily – apparent to the man himself. Here’s an actor who was practically born to be a walking YouTube virus: from his infamous tuxedoed, lounge-style interpretation of Elton John’s “Rocketman” to pretty [...]
by John Manalang on March 3rd, 2009
SpaceShank Media’s Alec McNayr and Bob Gustafson (who also created acclaimed Flipper Nation) recently launched their hilarious new web series, My Roommate the Cylon.
Giving much respect and salute to the sci-fi series, this comedy spin-off revolves around the story of three roommates Bennett Jacobs (played by Alex Enriquez), Pjeter Odama (Tyson Turrou) and Dale McKinney (Kenny Stevenson). The catch? Well, after receiving a letter from a mysterious sender, one of these guys apparently had a skinjob—nothing gross or raunchy, it just means that one of them could potentially be a Cylon who wants to eradicate the human civilization.
by Marc Hustvedt on March 2nd, 2009
It’s basically become a no-brainer in Hollywood that if you want to create immersive drama online, you head to Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried—the guys who made lonelygirl15 a household name, essentially writing the book on these things.
Speaking of books, today came the announcement that the creative duo behind ‘social entertainment’ studio EQAL will be lending their crafty minds to the publishing world, developing an interactive site experience for the upcoming fall launch of Dark Chronicles. Written by the Emmy-winning CSI franchise creator Anthony Zuiker, Dark Chronicles is the first in a digital crime novel series that comes out on Dutton on September 8, 2009.
by C.J. Arabia on March 2nd, 2009
Sean Barrett, Vanessa Ragland and John Irwin may have small dreams but they have tons of talent and I don’t use the word lightly. Massively talented and their quirky, no holds barred comedy is pure web gold. The team got together two and a half years ago when Sean and Vanessa met an improv class at the Westside Eclectic in Los Angeles. Sean had a camera and the two of them decided to put a few characters on the tape, when videographer John Irwin joined the team they created SmallDreams.tv and the rest is internet comedy history.
The first thing they shot was a quirky one off called “Sex Party,” then a series of viral videos called Polygamy based on the Texas Polygamist Cult that was raided last year.
by Alex Crowley on March 2nd, 2009
In three weeks a healthy segment of nerd-dom (self included) will witness the closing chapter of an epic five-year saga. The Ronald D. Moore (of Star Trek repute) re-imagining of Battlestar Galactica is set to end, leaving a galactic void (zing!) previously occupied by the humans/cylon struggle for survival in the emptiness of space. Now [...]
by Tubefilter News on March 2nd, 2009
On March 13th, which conveniently is an appropriately spooky Friday the 13th, The Last House on the Left returns to theaters as an updated take on the classic revenge shocker. This time Craven tapped Greek director Dennis Iliadis to helm, whose gritty 2004 flick Hardcore scored some cult cred (and controversy) of its own. Craven and original LHOL producer Sean S. Cunningham produced the remake along with Marianne Maddelena.
The story holds mostly true to the original, taking place in a sleepy summer vacation town with seventeen year-old beauty Mari Collingwood (Sara Paxton) and her friend (Martha MacIsaac) crossing paths with a psychopathic prison escapee Krug (Garret Dillahunt) and his crew of fugitives. Their adventure spirals into a terrifying chain of events that becomes the ultimate game of revenge. Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter play the Collingwood parents who unexpectedly get thrown in the thick of it all.
