by Julie Wolfson on April 7th, 2009
Wainy Days, Horrible People, You Suck at Photoshop, — New York-based My Damn Channel is on a roll. The brainchild of founder and CEO, Rob Barnett, a veteran TV exec who spent more than eleven years as a programming exec at MTV and VH1 and time as president of Programming for CBS Radio. Rob has worked with some damn talented people like Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Corolla, and countless others, and now Sam Seder.
On April 20, Sam Seder’s original web series Pilot Season premieres on My Damn Channel. The show originally aired in 2004 on the now defunct Trio network. We talked to Rob Barnett to find how Pilot Season is being repackaged from the original six episodes into a thirty episode web series and we grilled him for details about running a damn good new media platform.
by Michael Neal on April 6th, 2009
Cutting Ties, a five-part episodic from IFC about “a young man stuck in a lackluster corporate career,” is perhaps harder to sympathize with given the current economic meltdown. Of course that’s not the creator’s fault, but it is the unfortunate backdrop to a story that essentially dares the unsatisfied at work to brave the bear [...]
by Lesley Goldberg on April 6th, 2009
Brothers Benny and Rafi Fine, fresh off the second episode of Prop. 8: The Web Series, are keeping busy with today’s bow of My Profile Story, a satirical look at the drama that can come from changing your No. 1 friend on social networking sites.
The brothers wrote, directed, produced and appear in MPS and penned all the content on the microsite as well. The cast of MPS also includes faces familiar to fans of the Fine brothers: Lisa Schwartz and Kristin Findley.
MPS was produced by Streamy Award nominees Leah Mann (The Guild) and Sevan Najarian (The Legend of Neil, The Pop) did the editing and visual effects.
by Alex Crowley on April 6th, 2009
Three months ago I had the pleasure of canceling my MySpace account. For anyone who hasn’t done this, I’ll warn you that it takes several frustrating minutes of continually clicking the “Yes” button in response to the query, “Are you sure you want to do this?” Before all was said and gone, I clicked that [...]
by Lesley Goldberg on April 6th, 2009
Having found success on the original web series front with Roommates, Special Delivery and Married on MySpace, the 130-million-user-strong social networking platform launched its first game show with BFF.
The original series — created by Meryl Poster, former co-president of production at Miramax, and former fashion executive David Rubin — tests how well best friends know one another through a series of questions with prizes awarded after the “Would You Rather,” “Music Matters” and “Speed” rounds.
Launched last Thursday, there are 20 episodes set for BFF, with new installments set to premiere twice a week through June 30. NBC’s Last Coming Standing finalist Amy Schumer hosts the series, with episodes running three to five minutes at www.myspace.com/bff.
by Ana Hurka-Robles on April 6th, 2009
Office comedies are the human equivlent of bugs in a jar. Trap a bunch of souls together in close quarters, and watch them fight, bond, and hook up. ./shutdown is such a comedy, starring a group of nerds who man a corporate IT help desk.
by Marc Hustvedt on April 6th, 2009
Remember YouTube Live? A little 7 year-old breakdancing prodigy known as Lil’ Demon shuffles out on stage kicking off an elaborate ensemble dance routine and thrusting Jon M. Chu’s Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (LXD) onto the web scene.
Director Jon M. Chu sits atop Hollywood’s street dance scene. The 27 year-old is himself a bit of prodigy, fresh off an impressive $150 million box office draw from his studio feature debut Step Up 2: The Streets. It’s his mastery of web video, using his YouTube channel as a hub, where he has built a devoted following of amateur dancers of all sorts. Chu in fact discovered Lil’ Demon (Angelo Baligad) after video of the young Hawaiian dancer shot by his mother were posted to YouTube and linked on Chu’s page.
Now the popular dance troupe is becoming a full-fledged interactive franchise, announcing today a partnership with Agility Studios to create an original narrative web series dubbed The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (LXD). PUMA has signed on as lead sponsor for the series, which will feature the dancers sporting the company’s new 917 line.
by Lindsay Stidham on April 3rd, 2009
When comedian Nick Thune set out to create a show, he aimed big. “I’ve done comedy – so people are expecting me to make them laugh,” said Thune. “Now I want to make people laugh because they’re crying so hard.”
The premise of Atom’s new series, Nick’s Big Show is not totally unique, as it works in the now tried and true comedy formula of the mockumentary.
The show also features some other comedy heavy weights like Nick Kroll as Thune’s agent, and Kate Micucci as Thune’s assistant. Thune also got friend Jeff Garlin and A.D. Miles to do cameos, to name a few. “I begged my friends,” admits Thune. “That’s how it happened.”
