So it’s about time the world’s most prominent sketch comedy brand begin to innovate with new media, instead of using it simply as an ancillary distribution tool.
NBC and Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels are in talks to develop a new on-demand video Website that would feature an array of comedy clips built around the late-night franchise, according to sources.
The project is in an early stage of development, but it likely to include a mix of sketches from SNL’s archive, as well as dress rehearsals and original made-for-web series.
If you’re like me, then lately you’ve been starved for good, original horror content, whether in theaters, on TV or on the web. There’s just nothing scary out there anymore (though I have yet to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua). Like Showtime’s Masters of Horror and NBC’s Fear Itself, Fewdio’s Nightmare Houseis a weekly web series of standalone scary stories rather than a continuing narrative. Running between two and ten minutes each, Nightmare House’s sole purpose seems to be to make audiences soil themselves (no comment as to the current dryness of my own Fruit of the Looms).
Consisting of writer/directors Drew Daywalt and David Schneider (Stark Raving Mad), and actors John Crye (The Prestige), Paul Hungerford (Las Vegas) and Kirk Woller (Flags of Our Fathers), Fewdio’s NightmareHouse strives to bring audiences original and scary horror content around the idea that each story has to showcase something that actually terrifies each filmmaker.
There are currently nine shorts available, with a reported eleven more to follow, on Fewdio and on their YouTube channel with new shorts posted every Wednesday. The films are simple and to the point, with shocking punchlines that are effective whether you see them coming or not. Featuring decent production values and some nifty makeup FX, Nightmare House is one of the better web shows I’ve seen. The majority of the episodes manage to do more in two minutes than most recent horror films — by the way, the filmmakers of Mirrors and The Happening owe me $14 each.
The best of the bunch are those that prey on universal fears; things everyone has experienced in some fashion like driving home alone on a dark road (“Creep” ), or a frightened child waking up her parent in the middle of the night (“The Easter Bunny Is Eating My Candy”). My personal favorite is “Breach,” where a man is continuously harassed by his burglar alarm going off, only to find there’s no one setting it off. Some nifty camera work, plenty of suspense and a startling ending makes “Breach” a perfect example of the Fewdio boys’ achievements.
The short films will also be making the rounds on the big screen, several of them will be screening this month at horror festivals including Toronto’s After Dark Festival, Austin’s Fantastic Fest and LA’s Screamfest.
Have you ever wanted to punch Zac Efron in the face? Did you ever think High School Musicalneeded to be more like Maxim? Did you think anything needed to be more like Maxim? Well then, this one’s for you.
NSFW PHM stars a couple of white guys, a blond chick, a brunette chick, a chick with huge fake boobs, a black guy, and a stoner guy who seemingly has spaghetti for hair. Actually, Taryn Southern (who, evidently, has done a little bit of everything on the web) writes and stars alongside Mark Hapka (who was in a mockumentary that featured both Gary Coleman and Ron Jeremy – “Whatyoutalkinbout Ron Jeremy? Oh, yeah. Your huge johnson.”).
But come on, we know who the real star is. Dennis Haskins is in this! It’s a testament to the enduring power of SBTB, that everyone on the cast is still working. Except Lark Voorhees. So what has Haskins been doing all these years? Evidently, eating. Eating Lark Voorhees. (Now that would be a GREAT web series.)
The first episode, “First Period” (yes, it’s exactly what you think) encompasses the introduction of the new girl, Sandra, and the fact that she is a virgin. Then everybody breaks into song. Not a bad idea for a four minute spot. If only the pilot was as inspired as its premise.
Saturday Night Live executive producer Lorne Michaels and NBC are reportedly launching a standalone SNL web comedy site according to B&C. The new site will feature deep collection of SNL clips as well as un-aired behind-the-scenes and dress rehearsal footage. Also on the site will be original web comedy series such as Broadway Video’s The Line, from SNL’s Bill Hader and Seth Meyers.
Meyers, head writer on SNL, hinted that the new comedy site was in the works on the October 7 edition of ESPN columnist Bill Simmons’ podcast The BS Report.Given the recent ratings spike NBC has enjoyed from SNL’s irreverent election satire, including Tina Fey’s spot-on portrayals of Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, this seems like striking while the iron is hot. NBC-Universal has been late to the web game insofar as building out a standalone site for original web content mixed with a healthy on-demand library. Its investment in Hulu most likely has something to do with the hesitation, as the SNL clips have been one of the leading draws to the year-old portal. But jumping in with the resurgent SNL franchise headlining, NBC-U could have a real player here.
No word yet on any of the original web series slated to come out through the yet-to-be named site. Check back for more details on that front. For those that missed The Line during its brief summer run on Crackle, here’s a little taste:
James Gunn, creator of the recently launched and wildly popular new comedy web series PG Porn, sat down with Tubefilter for an interview. How does the man who breathed cinematic life into Scooby Doo (twice) rock a sound bite? Details below:
Tubefilter: Thanks for taking time out of your day.
James Gunn: Glad to do it.
TF: Can you tell us how PG Porn came about?
Gunn: About eight years ago, my brothers and I came up with the idea. I was working on some shorts for Xbox and we thought, ‘Why don’t we make porn for people who like porns but don’t want to see the sex?’ At the time, it was an idea for a short, and even then nobody was watching short films anymore, so I held onto it until now.
TF: Was it your idea?
Gunn: No, it was mostly my brother Sean.
(Author’s Note: I, the interviewer, am also named Sean, so I was wondering if he was appealing to my narcissism, because JG has a remarkably charming phone presence. I also wanted to point this out so the reader is aware this interview was conducted by a person with a normal name (Sean) and not some strange presence named Tubefilter, or worse, a person whose name is Tubefilter.)
TF: There are quite a few Gunn brothers in Hollywood. You’re practically Latter Day Baldwins.
Gunn: We prefer to be called ‘The White Wayans’.
TF: So did you cast Sean in an episode?
Gunn: Yes, he is in ‘Genital Hospital’, which also has Belladonna in it.
(Author’s Note: Belladonna is, like, the most unspeakably talented porn star on Earth who does things, regularly, in her films, which challenge both description and the tensile strength of various body parts.)
TF: Was it difficult to sit behind the camera and watch your brother about to get it on?
Gunn: Well, there’s no sex in PG Porn. That’s the whole point. The pizza guy shows up…and they end up eating delicious pizza.
TF: Did it ever get a little close to happening?
Gunn: Belladonna really went after Sean. He was on Gilmore Girls, after all.
TF: Do you use actual porn scripts?
Gunn: No, and you’re not the first person to ask me that. I think they quoted something like that in the [Hollywood] Reporter piece. These are new scripts. We paired up Hollywood actors with adult stars.
TF: I’m sure you cast people you knew for the Hollywood roles. How did you cast the adult stars?
Gunn: First off, Sasha Grey was so hot. I cast adult stars I really like. If you watch the entire series, there are some similarities. After it was over, I found out I definitely have a type. It was just fun to make. The guys were happy to hang out with these smoking hot girls on set, and the girl were so happy doing something new. Yeah, I cast my favorites.
TF: I guess you did a lot of research for the episodes?
Gunn: We watched a lot of porn.
(Author’s Note: JG sounded genuinely exhausted when he said that.)
Gunn: Each episode is set in a different style. There’s late 80s, early 90s. One’s in a classic 70s style. It’s all there. But they all end kind of the same way. Something tragic usually happens before they get to sex, so it never happens. There’s a sort of Charlie Brown trying to kick the football that we carry through.
TF: For two dudes who don’t know each other, we just talked a lot about porn. Let’s change the subject. Do you think The Watchmen will be thumbs up or down?
On a spartan construction site with Ikea cabinetry, Nathan Fillion (Dr. Horrible‘s Captain Hammer) masterfully channels every male porn star ever into befuddled Chris, an aloof carpenter with big arms, a nail gun, and amorous intentions. Fillion is opposite adult film star Ari Giovanni, whose (type)cast as nubile, neglected housewife, Mrs. Grimes.
When the two meet while the foreman’s away, things quickly get hot and heavy, but just at the point where the action starts to turn XXX, Giovanni gets nailed.
Conceived by James Gunn with brothers Brian and Sean, PG Porn seems like a novel idea. With its well executed production – a tongue-in-cheek amalgamation of cheap sets, bad music, scratchy footage, and over-the-top acting from the the last three decades of porno – and sex/star/sex-star appeal, it’s no surprise the first episode “has gone venereal” and racked up nearly 500,000 views in less than a week.
In light of the recent production deal between NBC and 60 Frames, rumors have been buzzing about the joint venture’s new slate of shows, especially the newest John August comedy creation The Remnants. August just posted two minutes from the middle of the pilot (above) up on Vimeo.
August describes the show as, “A comedy about a group of squabbling survivors in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. Tonally, it’s a cross between The Stand and The Office.”
The two minutes posted are undoubtedly funny and intriguing, not to mention well-cast. The show stars Justine Bateman, Michael Cassidy, Ben Falcone, Ze Frank, Ernie Hudson, and Amanda Walsh. Sprinkling a little comedy along with a hefty serving of post-apocalyptic drama is an amusing concept. The show’s teaser hints at the possibility of some human-like Sean of the Dead-stylezombie enemies.
Regarding the future of the show August told us, “I’d say there’s no release date because there’s no start date and no real plan for getting one, other than off-stage discussions with potential sponsors. I’d love to shoot 8 to 10 of these as a block if it works out.”
For the sake of the audience, and a rosy perspective on the recently trendy apocalyptic narrative, we do too.
OMG, Tubefilter has a new look! Well, it felt like the biggest story of the week, but we were probably a little biased. We thought last week was the end of this stock market tanking nonsense, but apparently we were wrong. Luckily there were plenty of new web series this week to keep us busy with talks of Doomsday and the End of Days. After Judgmentlaunched this week along with its sister series, Before Judgment, taking a Lost-style look at the same apocalyptic event from different time perspectives. We saw a dystopian look at the Mushroom Kingdom with the Mario Bros. while the Aussies gave us a gritty indie conspiracy series, The 21 Conspiracy, and screenwriter James Gunn is toying with the word ‘porn’ giving us everything but the sex. Maybe this is the End of Days. But at least Tubefilter looks great right?
Another pimp-slapped hoot-fest from the fine folks at the Groundlings – the groundbreaking L.A. improvisation group that helped launch the careers of many a Hollywood notables (i.e. Lisa Kudrow and Conan O’Brien) and Saturday Night Livers (i.e. Jon Lovitz and Will Ferrell). This weekly, self-titled Crackle original series hits with a good Creole of politically incorrect.
Everyone has a boring day at work, right? But what if you worked for National Homeland Security. Featuring Tim Brennen, Mikey Day, Larry, Dorf, and Edi Patterson, Tapped Episode 1 is a satirical bulls-eye that pierces the Patriot Act and Bush-loving America directly in the heart.
At a small, but packed Helen Mills Theater in Manhattan last Tuesday night, Former Disney CEO, Founder of The Tornante Company and new media studio Vuguru, and prominent Veoh investor, Michael Eisner said that if he was still at ABC, he’d give Sarah Palin a contract – “With that wink she can go a long way.”
As part of the Veoh Insights Series: Watching the Web, Eisner answered questions from Ad Age Television Editor, Brian Steinberg, and (along with a few more Palin quips) spoke about the immense potential of online original series.
Eisner foresees a mass exodus from network television once the web has its first, major, worldwide hit. And even though that hit isn’t likely to occur in the immediate future, he said content creators shouldn’t wait to create original product.
When The Remnants was revealed by Variety, Writer/Director/Producer John August (Go, Big Fish and Charlie’s Angels) decided to post these two minutes of his pilot. Self-described as “a comedy about a group of squabbling survivors in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles” and tonally “a cross between The Stand and The Office,” the concept, it’s creator and cast show promise across the board.
The 21 Conspiracy has been quietly growing a cult of followers Down Under, making the thriller web series from upstart Spaceboy Productions the best kept secret in Australia’s web scene. Since its launch in mid-July, the series has propelled the Spaceboy YouTube channel to #24 All-Time amongst the site’s Aussie partners, and notching over 85,000 views for the series so far.
The first episode (above) quickly pulls viewers into a seemingly normal suburbia marred in a deep mystery we know nothing about. We follow Winston (Liam Andrew Miller) on his journey to figure out what happens to people when they turn 21. Teaming up with a conspiracy group of fellow sub-21 year-olds, including tech-savvy Collin (Kaaran Watene) and a young would-be love interest Ayaan (Chanika Desilva), the group uncovers a web of cryptic clues to secret known only to the 21-and-up crowd. Each episode builds the tension and mystery effortlessly, making you force yourself to click on the next one just to see what happens.
The show’s somewhat minimalist website is littered with clues hidden behind mystery boxes for fans to dig deeper into the storyline. A fan forum has some addicts playing with numbers — 21, 42, 84 — to try to get to the bottom of things.
I had a chance to catch up with The 21 Conspiracy’s 20 year-old Sydney-based writer-director Steve Anthopoulos and find out a little more about the series and his plans for what’s next.
Tubefilter: What are your plans for the season – how many episodes can we expect? Will we find out what the 21+’s are hiding?
Steve Anthopoulos: It’s a ten episode series with a gradual revelation of what the 21 and overs are hiding. In the season finale the truth is revealed and has interesting consequences for Winston and Ayaan’s relationship. Anyone wanting to take a stab at the answer should pay close attention to that.
TF: What was your inspiration for the conspiracy story?
Anthopoulos: I’d wondered about the idea that a child goes through initiations and revelations about the world, like Santa Claus and sex, that completely change their perspective. I wondered if something is still hidden at age 20. I originally planned a short film before releasing a web series was the perfect medium. As I began to write it, I couldn’t help but be influenced by 1984, my favourite book, which becomes more evident in the final episodes.
TF: Wow, you’re only 20 years old and off to quite the start. Are you looking to continue in the web series world or transition to film?
Anthopoulos: I want to work on interesting projects in whatever medium is fulfilling, so although I do intend on moving to feature films, the industry is changing and web series are an appealing format.
TF: How is the show funded? Are you paying actors and crew? Are they receiving any of the back-end from the YouTube partner revenue?
Anthopoulos: The show is extremely low budget. It’s shot on my DV camera, I bought a shotgun mic off eBay for $50 and the actors and crew work for free. The YouTube partner revenue is fun, but it only covers website hosting right now. I’d estimate I spend $50 on props, food and other items each episode. That said, I go to some effort to make sure the budget isn’t too evident on screen.
TF: The series debuted July 16th, how have the early reactions been? Are you planning on distributing it on other sites beyond YouTube?
Anthopoulos: Early reactions have been good. Users seem to enjoy it and YouTube Australia recently featured episode one on its homepage. I do release it as a podcast in the iTunes store, but I don’t have any incentive to move it beyond YouTube as I have a base of subscribers, regular viewers and the series is promoted through the partner program.
TF: Any plans for sponsors for the show?
Anthopoulos: I think an active search for a sponsor would complicate the production more than simplify it, however if interest is there I’d consider it. [Read: Get him while you can.]
So far four episodes have been released, with new ones slated to come out every week. My bet is this one picks up some US love in weeks to come, as there’s still a lack of consistent mystery thrillers from the US web series bunch. The minimalist acting by the young Aussie actors conspires to make the series come off unforced and accessible. Bottom line, this is one to watch and a director to keep an eye on.
