Sounds like someone is finally capitalizing off of hipsters in a non-ironicfashion (which, for a subcultre that prides itself on irony, is an interesting twist).
In the TheWB.com‘s new web series, Rockville, CA., twirly mustaches and played-out trucker hats will presumably abound throughout 20 episodes set in the world of indie rockers and twentysomethings working in the music industry. We’ll watch them converse about Baudelaire and Glassjaw as they rock out to real bands in a fake venue – club ‘Rockville’ – in L.A.’s Echo Park.
Created by youth-targeting magnet Josh Schwartz (The O.C.,Gossip Girl), and tagged with music supervisor cohort Alexandra Patsavas, Rockville CA is being toted as the new The Hills for this region of La-La land, with a focus on the neighborhoods around Sunset Boulevard between Alvarado Street and Elysian Park Avenue.
Animus Cross is most definitely delving into unchartered territory. You won’t find any traditional web fare here—no scantily clad teens, silly jokes, or other web one-offs. Instead, in its first episode, Animus Cross begins to unfold a much deeper story. Set in the Northwest after the Civil War, and starring Jerry L. Buxbaum, Harold Phillips, Jeff Hime, Trish Egan, Dave Steen, and Kathryne Bukowski, Animus Cross appears to be the web series worlds’ first historical thriller.
Creator A.L. Steen is fully aware of the unique landscape she’s chosen for the series. “I wanted to make my life as difficult as possible, obviously,” says Steen. “A creature feature set just after the Civil War is not exactly the subject matter most people doing a web series would choose.”
The production value of the series is impressive and the authenticity of the world created within the show is extraordinary. Even more impressive is the fact the first three episodes were shot for a combined budget of ten thousand dollars, and that’s complete with impressive stunts, horses, wagons, and perfectly-costumed actors. Filmed in and around the Lake Pend O’Reille, Idaho area, the cast and crew had to contend with surprise on screen cameos from real life creatures, like a moose.
The sprawling backdrop of the Northern Idaho wilderness is the perfect setting for the post-Civil War era story and Steen has a personal interest in the era. “I had a great-great grandfather and his five brothers who fought in the Civil War. Three of them spent time in two of the worst prisons and all six of them lived through the war. They inspired me to write about the harshness of that time.”
With both the harsh challenges of daily life, and an unknown creature to contend with, we don’t envy these early American settlers—but for the sake of this intriguing series, we do hope at least some of them survive.
Steen is documenting the progress of the show via her MySpace page, and the show’s blog. Episodes will debut on the fifth day of every month, with a nine episode run.
With the world’s attention turned away from the political blood-sport of election season, we at Tubefilter News don’t want to leave you hanging—this week’s picks are all about conflict. From playful sparring, to full on combat, these shows aren’t afraid to expose the truth: we all love a good fight.
Big Book of Lies Andrew Leeds’ and Dave Lampson’s delightful ‘Woody Allen’-esque series, Big Book of Lies, is set to the backdrop of Lampson’s home away from home, Buenos Aires. No topic is sacred or safe, from the duo’s charmingly irreverent and occasionally witty prose turned dialogue. This episode, one of our favorites, matches Andrew (played by Andrew) against his love-interest-cum-sparring-partner Laila (Rebecca Whitehurst).
Goodie Bag TV : “Macs vs. PCs” In this latest installment from Kirby Ferguson‘s Goodie Bag TV, rival gangs of Mac and PC faithful clash on the street of New York, sing, dance and ultimately fight to the death. It’s kind of like West Side Story meets The Evil Dead. As Joshua Cohen points out, “you’re missing the good stuff if you stop watching before the 2:00 mark.”
Break A Leg
The Brothers Baranovsky’s treatment of life in Hollywood concludes with an epic battle between warring guilds in the season finale of Break A Leg, where an “adult-sized” Gary Coleman leads the Child Actors Guild against an uprising of exploited children.
A few weeks ago, Daisy Whitney reached out to ask Josh and me what we saw happening to web video in 2009. Our responses included some wishes in addition to predictions, and we’re ecstatic to have them enunciated by such a credible source for industry news.
This has got to be the strangest topic to do a series on, yet at the same time it’s absolutely perfect for the web-series format. The show isn’t for me, a single guy in my thirties so far removed from having a child. I can’t totally relate, but I can appreciate it for its many merits. Creators Laura Brennan, Rachel Leventhal and Jennifer Maisel are smart, solid writers with a taste for the dark, which I love.
The show is about a self-obsessed thirty-something couple considering child rearing, but giving the faux baby a shot first before jumping headlong into pregnancy. Missy Yager plays Madeline, the relatively incompetent “mom” of the faux baby and is the star of the show, while Lucas Bryant plays the chronically annoyed husband, Harry. Both actors are spot-on with their comedic delivery and their somewhat ornery, edgy characterizations.
After watching the first episode where Madeline gets the baby from Dr. Greenfield, well-played by Leslie Hope, and eventually breaks its arm off, I was a little concerned this was a one-note joke that would be played out pretty quickly. But then the second episode takes the couple to a coffee shop where they are forced to discuss their new “baby” with every passerby that sees the stroller, and I realized, oh, this is brilliant. Not just because you can imagine the multitude of scenarios that people with infants go through, but also because these two characters are the least likely to have children and that’s exactly the point of the show. They might actually arc! Or at least continue to be bad “parents” to a faux baby, which is kind of hilarious in and of itself.
I gotta say, I’m not totally in love with some of Charlie Stratton’s directing choices, though, specifically his use of jump cuts in both episodes so far. In episode one, he jumps in on the baby like the classic Hitchcock device from The Birds, and I can’t tell if it’s dated, if it’s the sound design, or what, but it just isn’t working as intended. In episode two, it’s where Harry goes from being a jerkoff, telling the truth about the faux baby, to his series of jump cuts where he’s making up birth stats. The camera angles get weird and the lighting is off. Otherwise the direction is fine and in some cases, great—it’s just these little things getting under my skin and since the shows are only around five minutes in length, every little nuance is magnified.
So, I’ve recently said this about another show, but I’ll say it again, this one isn’t really for me, but I get it and I get why and how it’s good. It’s a smartly written, well-acted, humorous show that’s both dark and somehow warm (because at least these parents-to-(may)be are trying). Kudos and good luck.
Well, this is a bizarre little ditty by writer-director Chuck Rose. It feels like a short film without an ending. Which could be a good thing, because if each show feels that way, then we’ll be slyly pulled along and drawn into the lives and relationship of these people. If not, then this show could crash and burn real soon.
Side Effects is the story of suicidal divorcee, Paul, played beautifully by Arye Gross, as he tries to get a refill of his Seconal because the first batch didn’t quite do the job of killing him. His pharmacist, Jo, in a subtle performance by Amanda Tepe, is aware of what Paul is trying to do and tries to suggest at first that it’s not worth doing because his wife wasn’t that great to begin with, then when that doesn’t work, she slides into a suggestion on the better way to do it. Both are nice little story turns as we realize two things: a) your local pharmacist knows a hell of a lot more about you than you realize, and b) she might just be in love with you.
It doesn’t really dawn on Paul that Jo is an admirer until the very end of the episode, so when it does, it’s a sweet moment. The entire story is nicely nuanced in this way like a good short film and I’d like to think that Rose has it in him to continue this trend, but it takes some real talent, or at least a real, clear voice to maintain the pace he’s established. I guess it remains to be seen. In the meantime, take a look at this one. It’s not flashy, but it’s better than competent and could become something really special if Rose really has the chops he’s displaying in this small, quietly intriguing piece.
[Ed. Note: We know you guys don’t always agree with our reviewers’ opinions, so please post a comment to let us know what you think of the series! Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3]
What could be sweeter than a documentary that follows two hobos as they travel the country, hopping freight trains and championing the cause of the poor and helpless by solving crimes the police didn’t have time for? I have no idea, but vbs.tv’s series Thumbs Upis surely a close second.
Meet David Choe – a world traveling, hitchhiking, freighthopping, writer, artist, and even ex-con (he spent three months in Japanese prison) – and his nephew Harry Kim a.k.a. Horny Kim a.k.a. Guam Cruise a.k.a. Igloos Hong. For a vacation, these two decided to travel across the country with one rule and one rule only – there could be no traveling expenses. They accept all rides; they just aren’t going to pay for any of them.
This week Scion Broadband (bB) launched Fist of Oblivion, a nine part action series featuring Kung-Fu fighting puppets. Inspired by genre films of the ’70s, F.O.O. tells a story of an ex-cop and Kung-Fu master who’s on the hunt for the man who framed him for murder. We caught up with director-creator Roman Coppola about his “tale of revenge, Kung-Fu, and righteous puppets.”
Tubefilter: Can you tell us about the story? Roman Coppola: The series tells the story of a cop who was set up for a murder that he didn’t commit, but he’s a bad ass and once he gets out of prison he’s driven to find the true culprits.
Tubefilter: What was your inspiration?
Coppola: I grew up on TV shows like Police Woman, Baretta, Streets of San Francisco and Kojak. I thought it would be fun to do something in this genre and thought it would be especially fun to do a violent action drama with puppets.
Tubefilter: How does Fist of Oblivion work with the stereotypes typical of genre films of the era?
Coppola: We fully embraced all the corny stereotypes so my collaborators and I felt very at liberty to draw from all sorts of action movies and TV shows.
Tubefilter: How instrumental was the web in realizing your project? What does the web offer that other mediums can’t?
Coppola: Since the web is a such a new venue, there’s a kind of wild west spirit out there—where anything can go. Because work can be shared so easily you might stumble upon an audience that you never knew you had.
Tubefilter: Is this a sustainable model for filmmakers?
Coppola: This is my first experience with a show that’s specifically intended for the web, but I’d like to say yes. I guess it’s a matter of getting enough people to tune in and if they enjoy the show then maybe we’ll be able to make some more.
Tubefilter: Any juicy details about you’d like to tease our readers with?
Coppola: All I can say is that there’s lots of kung-fu action, ninjas, throwing stars, a pair of Mexican killers known as Los Twins and a maniacal villain out for revenge.
Catch new episodes of Fist of Oblivion every Tuesday until December 30.
Is your favorite Tom Cruise movie Cocktail? Mine too! I like how he portrays a cocky, unconventional bartender (as opposed to a cocky, unconventional fighter pilot or cocky, unconventional race car driver). Well, Brian Flanagan fans, there’s a new web reality series called On the Rocks that vows to find America’s best bartender and give our dexterous barkeep a run for his money. $#%& me sideways is right.
One would think a web series centered around the mixing of drinks and those who mix them would get a bit tedious. But maybe things will be interesting considering there’s $100,000 on the line for the winning mixologist:
BBC America has this discomforting reality documentary (that sounds like I’m being redundant, but with all the Christopher Guestknock offs out there, you gotta be clear) called My Fake Baby. It centers on perfectly normal, perfectly healthy grown adults who buy these realistic-looking baby dolls for thousands of dollars modeled from submitted photos. They treat and care for these little-lumps-of-plastic like they were the real thing. Here’s my five word review: Really creepy. Depressing at moments.
Now that phony babies have made it onto our shores, it only makes sense they would make it into our web shows. Thanks to Strike.TV, we now have Faux Baby (Fake Baby. Real Drama.).
This one joke series (which, for me, was preceded by a KY Jelly ad which is ironic because a condom ad would’ve been much more fitting) follows neurotic Madeline (Missy Yager aka Betty’s friend, Sara Beth Carson on Mad Men!), who is ambivalent about parenthood with her husband Harry (Lucas Bryant).
Alex Patsavas is chatting on her Blackberry pacing the sidewalk outside the Sunset entrance to The Echo. It’s a decently mild fall afternoon and her black leather coat and dark rim glasses blend perfectly in this neighborhood — this is Echo Park after all. We’re 100 yards from the intersection of Sunset and Glendale boulevards, smack dab in eye of the anointed hub of LA’s thriving indie rock scene.
Playing The Echo or its Silver Lake sister club Spaceland is an aspiring band’s right of passage as it hones its sound and cultivates the affections of music scenesters. Seven nights a week The Echo and its underground appendage The Echoplex pump out the latest in local and traveling indie acts. Beck, The Decemberists, Autolux, Band of Horses, Dntel, GoGoGo Airheart have all graced the stage, but they aren’t really who you come to see. You come to discover. You come to be in on something the mainstream hasn’t picked up a whiff of yet.
You wouldn’t know it passing by, as her unassuming presence and disarming smile could be confused with any other thirtysomething music fan, but Patsavas is Hollywood’s indie rock kingmaker. On the other end of that Blackberry call is most likely one of her dozens of label contacts working out clearances for another hand-picked song she must have in one of her roster of hit TV shows — Gossip Girl, Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy, Chuck, Numb3rs.
She’s single-handedly catapulted lesser-known bands into mainstream adoration complete with the accompanying jaw-dropping boost in album sales. LA-based Rooney struggled selling copies of their debut album until Patsavas chose them in 2004 for a cameo on an episode of the The O.C. thereby vaulting sales and making them a household name for the teen drama faithful. She can also take credit for Death Cab For Cutie (The O.C.), The Fray (Grey’s Anatomy) and The Killers (The O.C.).
O.C. and Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz has been a fan of Patsavas for a while, and it’s no surprise he chose the queen of TV soundtracks to team up with him on what is no doubt the most musically ambitious web series ever put together: Rockville, CA.
Hollywood Returns
LA’s Eastside is a neighborhood steeped rich in entertainment history — it was after-all, the birthplace of Hollywood’s film industry going back to the early days of silent movies. But before Hollywood was Hollywood, Mack Sennett‘s silent film studio dominated the business atop its Echo Park (then called Edendale) perch, with stars like Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, and Bing Crosby cutting their teeth on his stages.
It was only a matter of time before Hollywood would return to this hallowed ground. This time it’s in search of a cool that abandoned the TMZ-obsessed westside clubs years ago.
We head inside, downstairs to the cavernous basement that is the Echoplex, now bustling with the business typical of any TV shoot. Deep greens and reds beam from overhead stage lights, painting a colorfully dark set akin to some sort of cosmic playground. There must be sixty or so people down here, including about a two dozen fashionable young extras out of Central Casting set to serve as this episode’s adoring headbobbers.
It dawns on me that this whole setup could have been easily recreated on a soundstage. There’s nothing visually unmistakable about this place that meant production had to be centered here. They’ve even dressed up a wall with a six-foot black-on-white sign plastered with “Club Rockville” reminding us that it isn’t The Echo or The Echoplex at all, at least not in a physical sense. But the venue choice was no accident. Schwartz and Patsavas knew exactly what they were going after — the idea of The Echo — an authentic cool that you just can’t tap from a replica.
There’s No Place Like Home
Back upstairs, we catch a few minutes with Phantom Planet, this episode’s main attraction. They’re just finishing up a spot on Extra! and roll naturally from one interview into another, veterans of never-ending PR rounds most of us will never experience. We shake hands as they sit on the nearby barstools, assuming the positions they seem to know too well with front man Alex Greenwald plopping down front and center. There’s a relaxed cool about these guys. It could be that they’re finally home after a grueling seven-month tour, back in the club they used to play and watch fellow LA bands on random Tuesdays.
“We’ve seen so many shows here,” Greenwald tells me, “and it’s the same sound guys from the club so it’s totally comfortable, totally easy to get in the swing of things.” Of course the dolly tracks, catering spread, and suite of cameras don’t go unnoticed by the band. “It’s a little strange though that downstairs where there’s usually a security guard and a ticket counter, now there’s just tons of clothing racks.”
I stay clear of talking of the Jason Schwartzman days of the band, the pre-2003 days before Josh Schwartz called them up after seeing them play the Whisky years before, insisting that their track “California” be the theme song for his fledgling pilot for The O.C. Instead, I want to know about their web video exploits, about their side of the explosion in creative activity in music and video online.
Greenwald and his mates have a pretty active YouTube channel (Phantom36), even throwing up live acoustic vids for nine straight days at one point. Their creative style fits right in with the YouTube UGC set — crafty, somewhat amateur effects laid over various rhythmic tracks and the occasional title cards. (See: “Atlanta is Haunted” below)
On the road they end up watching a lot of TV online and even a few web series. “Drunk History,” replies guitarist Darren Robinson when I ask which web series they like best right now. The others chuckle in agreement, clearly having all watched together. They also hit their laptops to catch up on Tim and Eric, a surreal sketch comedy show that is Adult Swim’s most-viewed non-animated program. It’s probably not a coincidence that co-creator Eric Wareheim directed the band’s latest music video for their new single “Dropped.”
“Dropped” and “Raise the Dead” are making their debut as singles in Rockville, lending the series some of that cutting edge cred it needs to avoid being cast away as just another teen pop drama du jour.
Playing Themselves
The whole 20-episode series takes place in the club, centering around a group of twentysomethings trying to make it up the ranks of their music industry jobs. Today’s scenes are all about Alexandra Chando (As The World Turns) and Andrew West (Privileged), or Alex and Andy as they introduce themselves to me. Chando plays Deb, a young A/R rep at a small label assigned to scout the club’s rotating bands for the next breakout. West plays Hunter, an online music marketer, a title so vague that “he himself doesn’t even know what that means,” says West of his character. “The character reminds me of myself and a lot of my friends,” he adds mentioning his time spent at Eastside clubs supporting the local bands. “This is my stomping ground. And Hunter is definitely a guy I’ve met before many times.”
Chatting with the young stars I can see Schwartz’s casting prowess staring back at me. Chando’s Deb is an East Coast transplant who started in the music business at 16, with one of those lucky gigs that turns passion into profession. Chando herself is straight East Coast — New York via Pennsylvania — turning her early community theater hobby into a contract role as Maddie on As The World Turns. She’s also a bit of a music prodigy from what I’ve learned, even singing the National Anthem at a few baseball games.
“The writing was just so smart – very realistic and natural,” Chando tells me of her choice to do the project. “I really connected to the character and the way that she speaks.” I’m curious to know what working on a web series even means to these budding TV stars. Is this just another job on a charted path to A-list opulence?
“It’s a whole new medium,” Chando muses of the web. West picks up on that, “I think it can really be this cool new form of entertainment.” He’s clearly excited about the prospects of working on a platform his generation is rabidly adopting as their primary means of accessing and experiencing entertainment. “I’m on the internet every day,” adds Chando, suggesting this is a series they would actually watch even if they had nothing to with it. My guess is the same could be said of their co-stars who aren’t on set today – Ryan Hansen (Veronica Mars) and Mighty Rasta (My Wife and Kids).
It would be too easy but too careless to call this series The ‘Burg set in Echo Park. Hipsters there, hipsters here, sure why not. But it isn’t the scenester archetypes that are at the heart of the Rockville story. It’s the music. Chando puts it well, “without the music, it would just be another typical show in a club.”
Later we head back downstairs where Phantom Planet has taken the stage, ready to belt out their “Dropped” and “Raise the Dead” to the Club Rockville faithful. The crowd of extras shuffles up to the stage, but the 1st AD urgently needs more bodies to fill it out. Perhaps the order came from director Norman Buckley. Brady and I are recruited for crowd duty and it’s hard to say no to this guy.
Suddenly we’ve crossed the line – feeling oddly enveloped in the story we came to cover. But so is everyone else around us – the PAs, the grips, the wardrobe folks – they all beam with an inculpable energy you don’t find on a typical film set. We are all transfixed by the band, some jumping, some clapping, all of us transported to Club Rockville. A camera finds Chando and West in the crowd leaning on a table then pulls back to weave through the room in a playfully orchestrated dance.
The authenticity is legit. Phantom Planet works through their two-song set a few times, each one besting the energy of the previous take. Hollywood has indeed arrived in Echo Park, but it treads lightly. The club is still open every night and the whole operation has to pack up and be out by 6pm to prep for the Happy Hollows show later that night.
It will be months before the series takes the stage on Warner Bros.’ new online portal TheWB.com, complete with bonus features like full versions of all the band’s performances. But for now, we can’t quite get the sound of Phantom Planet out of our heads. For Rockville, after-all, the music is the story.
Gene Siskel didn’t like trailers. Roger Ebert says his late, great partner “hated them so much he would stand outside a theater until they were over. If he was already seated in the middle of a crowded theater, he would plug his ears and stare at the floor.” Grace Randolph doesn’t share the classic critic’s sentiment.
In her just launched, Next New Networks movie review program Beyond the Trailer, Randolph shows viewers select scenes from new theatrical releases before explaining the film’s “industry expectations,” divulging “behind the scenes gossip,” and taking a camera crew to New York City’s streets for “audience reactions.”
The show’s intended to go “beyond the fast-cuts and god-like voiceovers to find out what you’re really getting when you buy your movie ticket.” Here’s a summary in audio/video form:
Doogtoons (Tilzy.TV Page) has brought the internet bite-sized funny since 2005 and, though the series has seen its share of much-deservedpraise, its creators have finally found the deal they deserve.
Beginning last Saturday, Eli’s Dirty Jokes will appear weekly on Cinemax. The show that’s clearly derivative of Doogtoons shares its distinct character with short, animated dramatization of jokes told by the 79-year-old Eli Buchalter. He’s the accountant for web studio GoPotato.tv, which produces the show.
That signature sardonic drawl met with a striking sincerity…
Liz Gannes of NewTeeVee reports that this was the first such deal brokered by Plentitube, a new company that connects content creators to television networks and advertisers.
An interesting sign of an industry that seems to mature by the day.
Sounds like someone is finally capitalizing off of hipsters in a non-ironic fashion (which, for a subcultre that prides itself on irony, is an interesting twist).
With both the harsh challenges of daily life, and an unknown creature to contend with, we don’t envy these early American settlers—but for the sake of this intriguing series, we do hope at least some of them survive.
It dawns on me that this whole setup could have been easily recreated on a soundstage. There’s nothing visually unmistakable about this place that meant production had to be centered here. They’ve even dressed up a wall with a six-foot black-on-white sign plastered with “Club Rockville” reminding us that it isn’t The Echo or The Echoplex at all, at least not in a physical sense. But the venue choice was no accident. Schwartz and Patsavas knew exactly what they were going after — the idea of The Echo — an authentic cool that you just can’t tap from a replica. 
