by Marc Hustvedt on February 12th, 2010
Think you’re even more clever at alternate movie endings than the crew behind How It Should Have Ended? It’s a tall order to top their multi-million-view plot riffs on blockbusters like Twilight, Avatar and Transformers. The five year-old animated web series even scored a deal with Starz Digital Media back in November.
Now the series is turning to fans, and offering up $1000 cash to the winner of their HISHE contest which runs through March 26. Fans can submit their best attempt at an animated alternate ending to one of three movies—Wolverine, Twilight: New Moon, or Taken. As with most fan video contests, there is some lengthy legalese to scan through in the official rules. One thing spotted in there is that if you don’t win the cash—but come close—you could get a to-be-determined 10-pack of DVDs from Anchor Bay Entertainment. Could be worse.
Winners will be announced March 28th and aside from the cool grand, get featured on the howitshouldhaveended.com site and channel.
by Ned Hepburn on January 7th, 2010
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.
by Marc Hustvedt on November 21st, 2009
Remember 5-On? Devin Clark’s animated alien and robot obsessed news show on Atom? Well it was a year ago this week that news of Comedy Central ordering up Clark’s Ugly Americans for a pilot. Now the pilot turned into pickup with the series set for a March 2010 debut on the cable network and a sneak peek (below) via the Atom blog shows hints of the monsters-living in a modern world.
As a web series, the 8-episode 5-On (above) debuted back in June of 2007 with an intrepid reporter, Alan Whiter, interviewing “five of anything about everything”—five aliens, five robots, five monsters. Comedic writers Nick Kroll (Cavemen) and John Mulaney wrote and voiced the series along with Clark.
Ugly Americans is another example of Comedy Central tapping its web comedy arm, Atom, as a form of development pipeline. Already it showcases the best of the online comedy site weekly on air via its AtomTV block, but more recently it seems to be ordering full series based on web originals like Secret Girlfriend and Michael and Michael.
by Marc Hustvedt on November 20th, 2009
This is how Twilight should have ended (see above video first). But it didn’t, and we’re left with another chapter delaying the inevitable, leaving us scratching our heads at the thought of an actual long term romance between mortal Bella (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson).
The team behind the widely popular How It Should Have Ended series have released their latest animated alternate ending today. Also today comes news that it has inked a long term license and production deal with Starz Digital Media.
HISHE dates back to early 2005, explains co-creator and producer Tina Alexander. “We were watching Flight of the Phoenix and a group of us were talking about the ridiculous ending about how it should have gone,” said Alexander. From there the group, which includes co-creators Daniel Baxter and Tommy Watson, whipped up a number of comedic alt endings to blockbusters like Superman, Lord of the Rings and Transformers.
Starz came calling in the form of Marc DeBevoise, SVP of Digital Media, Business Development & Strategy, in fall of 2008. It would be almost a year until a deal was completed. “We wanted to help them take it to the next level,” said David Katz Starz’ Executive Director of Digital Media. “What we’re tying to do is expand the distribution,” he added noting that HISTHE’s popular YouTube channel and newly revamped website will remain the primary hubs for the show.
by Marc Hustvedt on November 18th, 2009
Babelgum has picked up exclusive first run distribution rights on Scott Adams’ Dilbert animated cartoon series as well as the New Yorker’s and a handful of others—Bloom County, Michael Fry and T Lewis’ Over the Hedge, Paul Gilligan’s Pooch Café and Richard Thompson’s Cul de Sac. The deal is with RingTales, an online distributor of animated cartoons, and adds to Babelgum’s previous library of non-exclusive cartoon clips from the company.
Popular cubicle dweller Dilbert had previously been a major hit on iTunes, where it claimed the #1 podcast spot earlier this summer with over 2 million downloads for the month of July. The new Babelgum deal means it will have first run on new episodes, before its other partners like iTunes, MSN and even Dilbert.com.
The short, under 30-second clips will live on Babelgum Comedy’s Animation sub-channel. Given their bite size lengths and name recognition it’s likely these series will do well on Babelgum’s not too shabby mobile app which makes for fast access to their growing library. Back in July, the site announced it locked exclusive mobile distribution rights on content from celeb-backed comedy hub Funny or Die.
by Marc Hustvedt on November 10th, 2009
It started in July of 2003. Star Wars Gangsta Rap hit AtomFilms.com (now just Atom) and captured over 4 millions views for the animated rap parody of the George Lucas masterpiece. It was arguably the most popular of the site’s annual Star Wars Fan Film Challenge, a yearly contest (since 2002) sanctioned by Lucasfilm. Gangsta Rap creators at flash animation Bent TV Productions—Jason Brannon, Chris Crawford and Thomas Lee—followed it up in 2004 with Star Wars Gangsta Rap: Special Edition.
Now 10 million views and what seems like an online eternity later, MCs Vader, Skywalker, Palpatine and Trooper are back for the latest episode Star Wars Gangsta Rap: Chronicles. Not surprisingly, it’s the first finalist announced for Atom’s 2010 Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge.
Even with the dearth of the Death Star flow, the Ottawa-based Bent TV guys have been busy these past few years, getting hired on by Weird Al for his “I’ll Sue Ya” video and even by 20th Century Fox to promote an X-Men DVD release with X-Men Gangsta Rap.
by Joshua Cohen on November 4th, 2009
Alternate Universe seems like a not-so-subtle attempt for Bourdain to reaffirm his crazy, hip, bad-ass image while pushing it to new limits. The marketing materials and the trailer bill the show as an invitation inside Tony’s head to see “his twisted imagination, mocking himself and others along the way,” the animation style screams Adult Swim, and the “I’m a rebel because I call out other chefs on their $@#%” motif runs rampant (at least in the preview). Mix all that together and the series is just a newfangled attempt for Bourdain to get in with the in-crowd. To me, it smells too contrived.
On the other hand, the fact that Bourdain has played host to two popular shows on cable television (A Cook’s Tour by Food Network and the aforementioned No Reservations on the Travel Channel) says that my tastes are in the minority. Come 2010, there will plenty of people who are going to eat this series up.
by Jenni Powell on October 28th, 2009
IImagine if Eeyore, Oscar the Grouch, Scrooge McDuck, and Grumpy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were related. Throw in a dash of the Addam’s Family and you’d be at a good place to start understanding the concept behind The Gloomers. With the tagline “No matter how bad your day has been, The Gloomers day is always worse.”, the family greets you with slick flash-animation, a catchy theme song, and the promise that this won’t be all gloom and doom…there is a lot of laughs to be had as well.
Behind The Gloomers are some veteran broadcast TV vets. Charles Mechem, the former CEO of Taft Broadcasting, which owned animation studio Hanna Barbera from 1967 until 1990 serves as the outfit’s ‘Chairman.’ His son Dan serves as CEO and penning the series is senior writer Neal Barbera, son of the late Joe Barbera. Neal often wrote or co-wrote episodes for Yogi Bear and Scooby Doo. In fact, The Gloomers is the first series at the center of their new animation studio focusing on the Hanna Barbera style of animation.
The Gloomers also boasts a fantastically designed website that is ripe with interactivity possibilities. Upon signing up, you are immediately prompted to build your own “Gloom Room”, where you are encouraged to celebrate everything that makes you feel down, off-kilter, or just plain bummed out. It’s a place “where Gloom meets laughter”. The series is also trying to build up its community presence on Facebook.
