by Marc Hustvedt on January 14th, 2010
Landline TV honed in on unexplicably popular MTV reality TV series Jersey Shore for its latest spoof, opting for a cast of little kids to take on the roles of Pauly D, The Situation, JWOWW and the gang in Little Jersey Shore. They weren’t the only ones, as celeb Michael Cera had a little Jersey Shore makeover of his own. [Comedy.com]
The Guild comic, written by the show’s creator-star Felicia Day and illustrated by artist Jim Rugg, has had its first few images (right) leaked out on the internet today, thanks to Comic Book Resources. Issue #1 The Guild comic from Dark Horse Comics hits stores on March 24, 2010. [Comic Book Resources]
Former Illinois Governor Rob Blagojevich is going to have his own late night web series. Blago’s The Late Net Show will run about 40 minutes “We’re in talks with Donald Trump, Alec Baldwin and Floyd Mayweather to be guests on the show,” according to Charlie Oliver, founder of artoftalk.tv, where the show will live. [Chicago Sun Times]
David Faustino pulled out a shotgun in an attempt (video below) to woo fans to submit his comedy series Star-ving for a Streamy Award before the deadline. Faustino’s pal and Star-ving co-star Corin Nemec has also tapped his fan army for the Awards bid. [YouTube]
by Marc Hustvedt on December 10th, 2009
Everybody has at least one web series junkie on their holiday shopping list. And they are a special lot. They like to watch video—and make video—anywhere, any time and on any device. So we put together Tubefilter’s Web TV Junkie’s Holiday Gift Guide. No sponsored entries here, just a list of what we want most this holiday season (though in full disclosure, Kodak is a Streamy Awards sponsor). And since the Boxee Box doesn’t hit shelves till January, it didn’t make the list for this Holiday season. With tomorrow the first day of Hanukkah, it’s time to start shopping!
Roku HD-XR Player
Now that Roku rolled out its Channel Store, the floodgates of web series goodness have opened up on this set-top box —Blip.tv, Revision3 and more look even better on the HD flat screens. With no TiVo-style subscription fees to worry about, once you have a Roku box you can tap thousands of original web TV shows right into your big screens, in HD, for free. And even though they make a $79 standard def box, if you’re going to get one of these go for the king daddy of the group. The HD-XR comes with Wireless-N dual-band, designed for next generation high-speed networks, which is twice as fast as regular Wi-Fi. The company’s even offering a 30-day money back guarantee on the off chance you can’t handle this much streaming goodness.
$129.99
by Marc Hustvedt on January 16th, 2009
David Faustino has arrived on the web. Crackle’s new comedy web series Star-ving premieres today, kicking off a riotous look inside the life of the former Married…with Children star’s groveling reality. Ok, so it’s not quite reality. Faustino plays himself of course, only he’s broke, out of work and begging his rich Hollywood pals for money. His longtime friend Corin Nemec (former star of Parker Lewis Can’t Lose) is the screwball sidekick looking to ride Faustino’s coattails back to glory. Oh, and he runs a porn shop.
There’s a whole roster of comedic gold on the guest star lineup: Ed Asner (The Closer, The Mary Tyler Moore Show); Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy); Christina Applegate (Samantha Who); Seth Green (Robot Chicken); Ed O’Neill (Married…with Children, John from Cincinnati); rap star Coolio; Gilbert Gottfried (The Aristocrats); former Growing Pains stars Alan Thicke, Tracey Gold and Jeremy Miller; the infamous Kato Kaelin; and adult film star Ron Jeremy.
Faustino, Nemec and their friend Todd Bringewatt (co-writer and producer of MySpaceTV’s Rules of The Game) make up FNB Entertainment, the three year-old production company that created the series. We had a chance to talk to the three pals about their first web project and the creative freedoms of having their own web series.
by Drew Baldwin on November 24th, 2008
This morning Crackle, Sony Pictures Television’s web arm, announced a “season” of original web series programming which includes a slate of brand new shows as well as a few returning series all set to premiere beginning December 1, with weekly programming planned for every day of the week. Highlights of the 13-week season include a talk show with Emmy nominated writer Bob Kushell (featuring guests including Jennifer Esposito, Neil Patrick Harris, John Stamos and Christina Applegate), new seasons of Owen Benjamin Presents and The Jace Hall Show, and the debut of David Faustino’s new comedy series Star-ving (premiering January 16, 2009).
Crackle has come a long way since its $65 million acquisition of video sharing site Grouper in 2006, partnering with content creators including The Guild producer and Hollywood Web Television Meetup presenter Kim Evey’s Gorgeous Tiny Chicken Machine Show, and acquiring worldwide distribution rights to Rocketboom. “Delivering on our promise to debut high-quality original content on a daily basis, Crackle’s next programming slate combines new episodes of some of our most popular series with fresh new shows,” said Eric Berger, Senior Vice President, Sony Digital Networks. “From series like David Faustino’s Star-ving to the new feature titles we’re adding regularly, we’re a one-stop entertainment destination.”
by Marc Hustvedt on October 27th, 2008
New racy comedy web series Star-ving starring David Faustino (Bud Bundy on Married….with Children) has landed Ed Asner (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant) for a major role, sources close to the star tell us. The Sony/Crackle project looks to be an exaggerated take on David as a down and out actor who’s wife ditched him for a rapper and is now running a struggling porn shop. According to a recent casting notice, “Think Curb Your Enthusiasm crossed with The Real World but very R rated.”
Casting is still in full swing apparently. A recent craigslist ad sheds a little light into what to expect:
1) Osama Bin Laden lookalike – in a very funny episode, David gets a series on Al-Jazeera network and the studio head decides it should be a “buddy comedy” with Osama Bin Laden. 1 scene.
2) Dave’s Mom – must be a Little Person or very, very short (under 4′10). 50-65 years old. Lots of funny but very racy stuff. re-curring role.
Looks like they’re using the lesser-used AFTRA new media contract which means $100 a day plus deferrment for actors. The 13-episode series, produced by FNB Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television, should be up on Crackle early next year. Faustino created and exec produced the project along with Corin Nemec, Todd Bringewatt and Sam Kass. More info to come as the project develops.
