by Jenni Powell on May 7th, 2010
Created by and staring Rhondahl Keith Adams and produced by
Crazy Kar Films, Me and My Old Man is a web sitcom that hilariously explores the intricacies of the father/son relationship. Set in modern-day Los Angeles, the show follows big-dreaming Kevin (played by the talented Devon Stewart), who finds himself having to move back in with his father, Smithy (Adams). The situation is less than ideal for everyone involved and trouble (laced with high-doses of hilarity) ensues. The show is supported by a cast of quirky characters including an overbearing landlady (“Yeah, it’s rent controlled…I’m controlling the rent.”) and an “As Seen on TV” salesman who uses Twitter for the majority of his business.
In fact, a running theme of the show is the use of modern technologies as focal points of the comedy in the show. Kevin enjoys listening to his iPod while brushing his teeth on the toilet. Smithy is obsessed with Janet Jackson’s Twitter account (“Janet Jackson just Twittered that she sat on her new couch”). Bits like this give the show appeal to a wide, young, technology savvy audience.
At the other end of the spectrum is the fact that the show definitely has the flavor of a classic TV sitcom, with particular influences of shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Cosby Show, which was very intentional according to Adams in a press release.
by Marc Hustvedt on May 6th, 2010
Jon M. Chu announced this morning on this YouTube channel—where he does most of his dishing of LXD secrets—that the dancers from his highly anticipated dance web series The LXD (The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers) will be joining the touring cast of FOX’s hit musical comedy Glee later this month from May 15-30. Cities on the docket for the live “show choir” performances are: New York, Chicago, Phoenix and Los Angeles.
The LXD cast is already making the rounds as an jaw-dropping dance troupe, getting national TV appearance on So You Think You Can Dance back in December, and even on stage for a medley performance at this year’s Oscars.
While the official launch date of the web series hasn’t been announced—it was originally planned for the first quarter of this year—the latest word is that it will bow online sometime this summer. Paramount Digital, which picked up the series for distribution from Agility in November, hasn’t said which major site the dance drama will call home. It’s possible that MySpace could be the winner however, given that PDE’s partnership with the site for its successful Circle of Eight web series last year.
by Marc Hustvedt on May 5th, 2010
Scion’s branded reality web series Reinvent the Wheels wrapped up its 6-episode season with Anthony Valadez, a DJ for LA-based KCRW taking top honors—along with $30,000 and a brand new Scion. [Reinvent the Wheels]
The New York Television Festival is making a road trip out to Los Angeles next week, holding a few info sessions and panels to introduce independent television and web series creators to the 6 year-old festival. On the lineup: Meet-and-Greet with festival staff on Monday May 10, a session on the FOX Screenwriting competition and an alumni gathering on May 12. [NYTVF]
In a joint report out today from Brightcove and TubeMogul, their findings show that Broadcast TV web sites are showing the most online video viewership growth outside of YouTube last month. Web-only media brands (think Gawker, VBS) are close behind, and could actually surpass the Broadcast TV sites later this year. It’s the newspaper site that are having the most trouble getting their online readers to actually watch videos. For every 2 billion videos uploaded to those sites, only 136 million get viewed (6.8 percent), according the the report. (Read the full report embedded below.) [TechCrunch]
by Jenni Powell on May 5th, 2010
The Ex-Convict’s Guide is a bizarre comedy five-part web series (for the crimanally stupid) that explains how a convict can survive the twists and turns of being released back into civilian life. Framed as a series of bad educational film such as you would find in the ’50s, it was created by the husband and wife producing team of Helenna Santos (The Day Player, Helenna’s Tinseltown Tuesdays) and Barry Levy (NCIS: Los Angeles, X-Files). Levy also plays the hapless convict Robin in the series, who is picked up at the police station by intimidating Chuck (played by Glee star Patrick Gallagher). Will Robin survive in the “real world” or will he find that maybe he just should have stayed behind bars?
Tubefilter had a chance to interview Levy via e-mail on this unique and hilariously acted web series.
by Jenni Powell on May 4th, 2010
Tubefilter doesn’t often write about shows that have release dates far in the future. But every once in a while, a show comes along that has that little extra bit of oomph that gets us really excited and wanting to put the word out as soon as possible. Naught For Hire, a sci-fi/noir romp about a private detective and his relationship with the inanimate objects in his life, is one of those series. Naught For Hire is created by screenwriter and producer Jeffrey Berman and produced by Berman’s production company RDRR Productions, which also created The Write Environment, which featured intimate interviews with a series of writers, the most popular episode featuring the fan-favorite, Joss Whedon. The series is based off a book of the same name by award winning writer, John E. Stith, who also co-writes on the series.
The series will consist of six minute episodes with a 13 episode season planned. Episodes echo the spirit of pulp-style serialized detective stories, with each episode ending on a cliffhanger. Not forgetting the sci-fi side of the series, the show is set in a world 20 years in the future where humans co-exist with A.I. embedded objects, leaving hard-boiled, down-on-his-luck Private Detective Nick Naught to try to do his job while competing with a car that is in love with him, an elevator that won’t cooperate, and an answering machine that wants to do nothing but pull pranks on him. Imagine what his gun must be like…
by Marc Hustvedt on May 3rd, 2010
Kissed a Vampire, the Streamy-nominated high school vamp-rock musical starring Lucas Grabeel, Adrian Slade and Drew Seeley (of Disney’s High School Musical fame), is gearing up for a feature length movie version. Apparently, this won’t just be a mashup of the web series, but will instead be “a brand new feature film with 17 original songs…based on the web series.” It will premiere June 12 at the Seattle International Film Festival. (Trailer for the web series above) [Just Jared Jr.]
The Writers Guild of America East (WGAe) issued a statement today in response to a news report that FCC Chairman Genachowski is leaning toward not reclassifying broadband as a telecommunications service. “The Writers Guild of America, East is deeply troubled by the report in the May 2 Washington Post suggesting that FCC Chair Julius Genachowski is ‘leaning toward’ a decision not to reclassify broadband as a ‘telecommunications service’ under Title II of the Communications Act. The FCC can and must act decisively to protect the Internet from those who would limit access for commercial or political gain. As the FCC itself has noted, the Internet is likely to become the preeminent method of distributing news, public affairs, and entertainment programs in the future. We would therefore remind the Commission and the White House of President Obama’s pledge to preserve ‘net neutrality’ – to keep the Internet open as a democratic and uncensored forum equally available to everyone. Despite these rumors that the FCC might choose the path of inaction, we hope the Commission will fulfill its obligations to the American people – to consumers and content creators alike.” [WGAe]
by Marc Hustvedt on May 3rd, 2010
The Oracle of Omaha is known for imparting some timely gems of financial wisdom to his loyal followers—which in this case means shareholders of Warren Buffett’s famed Berkshire Hathaway. At the company’s well-attended annual meeting this past Saturday, many investors came seeking the billionaire investor’s outlook on the year ahead for Wall Street, including some comfort on Buffett’s $5 billion recent investment in troubled Goldman Sachs (GS). But before drilling into the US economy and the fate of Goldman’s nefarious trading practices, Buffett kicked off the meeting with the debut of his new web series and site, Secret Millionaire’s Club, aimed at teaching kids the values of investing.
The series is a partnership between web studio A Squared Entertainment and AOL which distributes the series through its KOL (kids.aol.com) portal. There’s 26 episodes planned, each one revolving around a 6-minute financial mystery where a group of kids and their mentor (Buffett) try to crack the case. New episodes are set to run weekly, though there’s a whole virtual stock portfolio game that should keep kids coming back daily. Kids can trade $2000 worth of Buffett Bucks with real stocks, with a chart showing the top virtual investors.
“I’m pleased to have the opportunity to share what financial knowledge I have with young people, and particularly pleased to premiere this new program at the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting,” said Buffett on the launch of the series. “It’s important that children become knowledgeable about finances and understand the value of basic business skills. Secret Millionaire’s Club is an entertaining way to reach out to young people with these important life lessons.”
by Brady Brim-DeForest on May 3rd, 2010
One of the things we’re most passionate about at Tubefilter is discovering and showcasing the amazing content produced by web television creators from around the world. This Friday, May 7th, we’re inviting you to join us for The Best of the Web with American Cinemateque at the historic Egyptian Theater here in Hollywood. We’ll be screening selections from the nominees and winners of this year’s Streamys Awards, as well as a whole slew of content from around the web — some you’ve seen, and some you haven’t.
