Tubefilter News

What if someone gave you the chance to start over? That is the question asked in the new lonelygirl15: The Show Is Yours Season 2 trailer. While knowing that this will have something to do with the mythology of the lonelygirl franchise, this is also a question that could be asked to anybody in their teens or older. We all have things we wish we had done differently, better, or not at all. There are always circumstances beyond our control that are not to our liking. Not one person can say that, given the chance, they wouldn’t want to “start over”.

By asking this question Austin McConnell, the producer of LG15: Outbreak and a dedicated lg15 community member, is making an immediate connection with his audience and allowing them to put themselves in his young protagonist’s shoes. By doing this there is hope that LG15: Outbreak not only will cater to the already established community of LG15 fans, but also to a wider, newer audience that has yet to be introduced to the mythology.

From the trailer alone it appears that LG15: Outbreak will be a return to the roots of lonelygirl15, which started with a girl vlogging from her bedroom. Although very little of the story has been revealed thus far, what has been seen has shown exceptional production quality, what can be assumed to be visuals of the main characters, and a lot of questions that will, hopefully, be answered as the story unfolds.

There are plenty of head-slappingly dumb characters in movieland; the Ditz, the Jock, the Stoner. But the one moron to rule them all may be the Horror Movie Protagonist.

Few other characters inspire as much vocal disapproval as a soon-to-be-victim who accepts rides from creepy truckers and runs up the stairs to escape a killer instead of out the door. But the stress of being pursued by a murderer in a Halloween mask might impair your judgement, too. That’s why we have the educational web series, How To Survive A Horror Movie.

Produced for CBS Interactive, all 18 installments of How to Survive a Horror Movie are presented as mini-training films, complete with a 1950s-style announcer. Each contains a lesson on how to escape scenarios common to the horror genre. Or not.

While the show works best when picking apart genre cliches, such as killer dolls and haunted houses, several episodes are just parodies on specific movies, like The Sixth Sense (“How to Tell If You’ve Been Dead Since the Beginning of the Movie”) and Children of the Corn (“What To Do If Your Corn Has Children In It”).

Perhaps the most notable thing about this 2007 series is that it was written and co-directed by Seth Grahame-Smith, who authored the book of the same name. Grahame-Smith later wrote the smash-hit Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, a synthesis of classic regency literature and the late 21st century zombie craze. It became a New York Times Bestseller and is currently being developed into a feature by none other than Natalie Portman.

Illeana Douglas is flying high lately. The comedy web series in which she both created and stars, Easy to Assemble has been picking up steam this winter. It’s become not just a popular success—over 5 million views so far—but also a business one, with Madison Avenue trade Advertising Age calling it the “most-watched sponsored web show” in a recent in-depth feature in the magazine.

The success hasn’t gone unnoticed by the show’s main sponsor IKEA, which opted to fund an additional four episodes, extending the season beyond its initial ten. The new episodes, which they are calling a miniseries in its own right dubbed “Flying Solo” premieres Jan. 20 on MyDamnChannel.com, and the trailer was just released online (above). In the episodes, viewers will finally find out who won the season’s Co-Worker of the Year contest between Douglas and Justine Bateman.

Michael Kang, who had worked with Illeana before on a film, was asked to direct the four bonus episodes. Young celebs like Disney Channel star David Henrie (Wizards of Waverly Place) and Korean star Sung Kang (Ninja Assassin) were tapped to broaden the show’s appeal.

Doing some embedded journalism, I spent at day on the Easy to Assemble set last month as they were shooting the bonus episodes on a mock airplane set inside a drafty North Hollywood warehouse. I was joined by a few other new media folks, all of us doing some unpaid extra work filling out the few rows of seats behind the main action. And it was there that we really got a sense of the alchemy of improv that happens only when putting talent like SNL vet Tim Meadows together with a young comedian like Henrie and letting them play.

Eric Lange, who plays the jovial IKEA branch manager, seamlessly dropped into a Swedish accent—from his Ohio standard—without missing a breath. And the low frills set—no trailers, and a shared bathroom that eventually gave out by day’s end—gave it a clear sense that the cast and crew were doing this for something other than the paychecks.

For the January edition of the Hollywood Web Television Meetup, we are proud to present a very special evening with popular internet culture show EPIC FU as they launch the new EPIC FU network. Join us as we screen the premiere of one of the web’s most revered and award-winning series, followed by an intimate discussion with its creators—Zadi Diaz and Steve Woolf.

Revision3 is trying to branch out from its tech-heavy roots. The self-proclaimed “leading television network for the internet generation” was built on a solid foundation of techno-geekery, architected by Digg co-founder, Kevin Rose and TechTV and PC Magazine alum, Jim Louderback. Shows like Tekzilla and Diggnation speak to the online network’s core of savvy, connected fanboys and have built up a sizable following, but Revision3 is always looking to expand into other verticals comprised of niche, impassioned communities.

Enter the latest web series on Revision3′s programming slate, AnimeTV. Hosted by former Black Power Ranger, Johnny Young Bosch and Cristina Vee (both of whom are established anime voice actors) the show covers the world of “anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture.” In each episode, a handful of well-manicured, twentysomething Nipponophiles explain and debate the merits and demerits of recent anime and magna offerings, as well as interview movers and shakers within the industry.

I’m a big fan of cosplay, but knowing that term is about the extent of my anime-related knowledge. AnimeTV could be a great starting point for people like me looking to get more involved in the genre. But it’s essentially geared towards Otaku and those that don’t need Wikipedia to figure out what Otaku means.

The Iceman Chronicles is the latest web series from Fox’s online production company 15Gigs. On paper, the premise will sound familiar to anyone who has seen a CBS drama, or the promo for one during football games: Man gets killed in an unusual way. Local law enforcement solves murder, unusually.

Thankfully, we don’t watch shows on paper.

While The Iceman Chronicles focuses around a murder, it’s mostly a comedy. And a funny one. Yes there is some suspense and mystery, but none of that outweighs the quirk of the show. Chronicles is set in the small, eccentric town of Blythe, Arizona where the coroner is also the veterinarian, and the cop at the scene of the murder can’t stop herself from having laughing fits.

The first episode begins with the murder of Saul Miller. He enters his home and, after a veiled exchange, gets stabbed to death with an icicle by, presumably, the Iceman himself. It is a well crafted scene – gripping, tense – but what stands out most is that it’s funny. Like when Saul tells his eventual maker that he’s been to the movies, but after a quick glance at his black eye in the mirror he backtracks to add, “an action movie.”

Enter Russell Coldpalm, an acerbic Joel Fleischman type. Russell is the somewhat clear eyed protagonist of Chronicles. Generally on point when not otherwise distracted by hooking up with the attractive local news reporter Barbie Pedderson. The town seems to rely on him to solve the heinous crime committed, especially the incompetent police department led by a Chief who is a functional alcoholic.

Hello, everyone. Let me first just say – in the words of Tina Turner – you’re simply the best. Did you have a good Christmas (or Hanukkah! and why not?) and New Years break? Did you get what you want? Oh, me? I was in Hawaii. I went swimming with sharks. It was pretty badass. Yeah, that’s what I do when I’m blogging. That and listen to Fats Domino with my pet bulldog that can skateboard (which I don’t have hey you know what you should send me some money so I can get one there’s an original idea). That and I’m also dating Natalie Portman and 1996 Neve Campbell. Yup. That’s the bloggers lifestyle. Always be bloggin’™. That’s my motto.

Supa Pirate Booty Hunt

This is an oddly charming “Rock & Roll Pirate” flash animation show that falls somewhere between Adult Swim and full on Mel Brooks schtick. It doesn’t quite manage to do either, but this gets better while watching it continuosly. You know, if they made this a 22 minute cartoon of this, I’d totally watch it stoned on a Wednesday and enjoy it, do you know what I mean? It’s hardly Shakespeare, yet it’s Ren & Stimy-esque, and that’s a good thing. You know… the biggest problem with web shows is that they either go too niche or – even worse – they don’t know what the hell they are. This is just niche enough (stoner slapstick) to make it funny and doesn’t have an issue with itself. I like it. You should too. This wins this week.

Today The Bannen Way rolled out with a wide release today of its first four episodes across a number of distribution outlets including Sony’s online video network Crackle, on its gaming system through the PlayStation Store and through internet-enabled Sony BRAVIA TVs. Though three episodes were released early to US viewers on Crackle last week, presumably for awards consideration, the wider release is the first that has synced up all three of its broadband outlets—web site, gaming consoles, and Sony’s built-in internet video network on its new TVs.

There’s been no shortage of build up for the slick, adrenaline-fueled drama from creators Mark Gantt and Jesse Warren. The origins of the project are well known now as well, with the pair shooting a low budget spec trailer for the series in Summer 2008 in hopes of landing a production and distribution deal. After months of back and forth, the two had a firm offer from Sony Pictures Television to craft the series as one of their most ambitious web series to date. Still, the production falls well below that of traditional studio-backed television pilots or films, and many of the cast brought on were working below their typical rates.

Gantt stars of course as the smooth talking con man Neal Bannen, with Vanessa Marcil as his potential love interest, a sly street thief named Madison. There’s also Michael Ironside, who also popped up online in Level 26 earlier this year, as Bannen’s police chief father. And then there’s Robert Forster as Bannen’s mob boss uncle, Mr. B.

The story unfolds in 5-7 minute episodes, and having a handful to watch at once helps to draw viewers in. The rollout, with new episodes of the 16-episode first season of The Bannen Way premiering every weekday through January 22, is similar to drama web series Compulsions two-week release on Dailymotion earlier this winter. That series chose to give fans a daily release rather than drawing it out over a 10-week run as other web series, including those from Crackle, have done in the past.