If you happened to miss the shaky-handycam nauseating joyride that was Cloverfield last summer then you probably should stop reading. You wouldn’t be the only one who doesn’t know who Michael Stahl-David is, but that’s forgivable. The hyphentated Cloverfield star, who also spent time on the Black Donnellys, is making his web debut with the premiere of Michael Stahl-David: Behind the Star on Crackle this week. Basic concept: a young rising star tries not to let his newfound fame go to his head when clearly it already has.

Tilzy.TV made the apt comparison to the faux-reality Clark and Michael series from last summer boasting breakout Michael Cera in pretty much the same concept. His performance so far seems to fall safely on the line of satirizing his devious alter ego rather than just hinting at it. The tricky part is the unproven star is playing with his own nascent image currency here with his name all over it.  No doubt a charmer, this move will probably pay off in terms of upping his web cred, taking some cues from Ashton on mixing mediums.

The new series, co-created by Stahl-David and Jeremy Beiler screened yesterday as part of Sony’s event at the New York Television Festival to a favorable crowd. New eps come out every Monday on Crackle.

Filed under: Articles, Comedy, Crackle, Crackle (Sony Pictures Television), News, Web Series by Marc Hustvedt
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David Wain promised me his third season of Wainy Days would be “bigger, wilder, sexier” than the previous 20 episodes of his irreverent, self-deprecating, MyDamnChannel comedy filled with “frustrated romance and absurd heartbreak in brownstone Brooklyn.”  He’s certainly kept his word.

Not only is there a recreation of the actor’s actual conception with Jeffrey Ross and Janeane Garofalo playing the roles of David’s hippy parents (whose dirty talk is inspired by the shtetl), but Shelly (Elizabeth Banks) gets especially frisky in the season finale:

The best part is after Wain witnesses her first remission into sexual addiction: “Shelly, I feel like ever since I met you last July it’s been nothing but one failed romance after another.  It’s like I’ve had 26 distinct adventures and if my life were a web series, I’d just think that’s enough already,” to which Shelly responds, “Ugh! You’re so meta!”

Read On…

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Joshua Cohen
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A couple weeks ago, TubeMogul launched it’s Marketplace which compiles show information and viewer data that helps interested advertisers target the perfect audiences.  Well, TubeMogul just got a little bit cooler with Tilzy.TV reviews.  Anyone covered by Tilzy.TV with an active showpage can opt-in to having this information displayed on a TubeMogul Marketpace listing.

So, what are you waiting for?

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Jamison Tilsner
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For Your Imagination, known for producing and distributing web shows like Break a Leg, Dad Labs and Kyle Piccolo: Comic Shop Therapist, is announcing later today their new web comedy portal Axis of Comedy. The site brings together eight top web shows with a reported 10 million monthly views combined.

The lineup looks solid, a good mix of style, with only three of the eight coming out of FYI itself. There’s two from Hayden Black: Abigail’s X-Rated Teen Diary and Goodnight Burbank. FYI’s set include Break a Leg, The Patrice Oneal Show and Kyle Piccolo. Rounding it out there’s Dinosaur Diorama’s hipster satire The Burg, along with The Retributioners and Kirby Ferguson’s Goodie Bag TV.

FYI CEO Paul Kontonis will be speaking this afternoon about the new site as part of Digital Day at the New York Television Festival. I caught up with Paul at the conference and he’s excited to have all these shows in one place. While the site is a bit lacking as far as community features, Kontonis sees the portal as an “entry point to the comedy brands and each one has user features on their own destination sites.” So instead of hijacking the interactive experience built up on each site, it’s really more of a place to find shows you might like by association.

While these eight will be the starting lineup, Kontonis says they plan to add more in early 2009. They will be steering clear of one-off videos that clutter up sites like Funny or Die, but may be adding some sketch comedy down the line.

I have to admit, I’m a little unclear of the plan here. The cross-polination benefits of connecting one show’s audience with another could be notable, but that relies on those audiences now coming to the AOC site to watch the shows they are already watching elsewhere. Without building a regularly updating lineup of shows and without any way to interact with the shows at the site, winning over repeat visitors could prove difficult. The spirit of web creators helping each other out is admirable however. We’ll probably see more promo videos like the one above starring the Break a Leg cast, and if they can interact with the other show stars then the audience swapping could work out.

Filed under: Articles, Channels, Comedy, News, Production Companies by Marc Hustvedt
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Turbo Dates, this promising little program on comedy portal Fun Little Movies, known mostly for their mobile shorts, has the makings of a decent series. There is some heat behind this series, which is created, written and directed by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Carribean, Shrek) and produced by Jocelyn Stamat, On the site there are only two eps posted, ‘Ep 8: Potion’ and ‘Ep 2: Men Are From Mars’, which is a little frustrating to me because I enjoyed these two enough that I want to see more. For now, they’re not embeddable, so you’ll have to head to their site to check them out.

So, now questions arise, where are the rest? Are these the best? Will I ever be able to see any new ones?  At this point, it’s not clear. Word is that 10 episodes are in the can and should a sponsor get on board, Rossio said he could do 100, reports Andrew Wallenstein.

It’s pretty amusing, actually. The first, ‘Potion’, about a bachelor that brings a love potion to a speed date, is a sharp concept with a very funny turn at the end that I did not see coming. And the actors are quite good, Alexa Havins and Nic Wegener, both of whom give solid line deliveries with spot-on timing. The writing is simple, nothing special, but gets to the point well and quickly and the production is again simple but great. The second ep, Men Are From Mars, about a single woman who meets what is either a total geek or an alien from outer space is less funny, but short and sweet enough to leave me wanting more. The casting is once again strong with Terryn Westbrook playing the jaded single girl and Kyle Rankin playing the mystery man.

Ultimately, Turbo Dates turns out to be a well-executed great short form concept, the rollout of which seems, to be unfortunately, mismanaged. So this review is two-fold, it’s a review to say first, this is a good show worth watching. I’d come back for two minutes of this from day to day or week to week. However, I have no idea when or if to come back because the site itself gives me nothing but these two non-consecutive episodes and no information regarding the future. Just a soft launch to drum up some interest? So, please funlittlemovies.com, do your fun little movies justice and give me something, anything to work with so I know where and when to come back for a second, third or fourth visit of this potentially great series, Turbo Dates.

Filed under: Articles, Comedy, Fun Little Movies, Reviews, Web Series by Jonathan Hludzinski
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Ever wonder what it’s like to be a rising star?

Michael Stahl-David starred in the award-winning, overnight success Cloverfield.  Despite a sudden rise to fame, good looks, talent, fans and apparently amazing upper-body strength, Michael has remained humble.  Don’t believe me?  Just ask him.

With that self-referential hubris that’s become a stalwart Hollywood style, Behind The Star captures the inanity of a self-obsessed entertainment culture at least as wryly as Clark and Michael (Tilzy.TV Page), but with an added sting.  The first couple installments are truly funny, charming and – if you’ve ever known an aspiring star grappling with a first success, or an ambitious roommate struck with unwelcome envy – it’s pretty uncanny.

Co-creator Jeremy Beiler (Stahl-David is the other creator) is a member of sketch-comedy troupe FreeLoveForum and is a video producer for the New York Times.

Behind The Star premiered today on Sony’s Crackle.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Jamison Tilsner
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Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld’s Jake and Amir is the entertainment equivalent of 1990s potato chip slogans – once you start watching, you can’t stop and/or there’s no way you can watch just one.  Here’s a sample, but be warned, you’ll be salivating like Pavlov’s dog for more:

The two twenty-somethings were fortuitously seated across from one another when College Humor moved to its snazzy New York City headquarters just north of Union Square.  By day, Amir works on writing, producing, and acting in shorts for CHTV, and Jake looks at cute college girls.

But after hours and when they’re not Hardly Working, the pair takes on the persona of a hostile, odd-couple relationship rife with one-way adolescent infatuation and awkward workplace hijinks.

Read On…

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Joshua Cohen
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TubeMogul, the internet video syndication and analytics company, IndieGoGo, the social network “where independent film happens,” and Indy Mogul, the Next New Networks DIY filmmaking network, are hosting “Where Internet and Film Collide,” an evening of cocktails and networking for film/internet creators.

The party starts TOMORROW Tuesday, September 16th at 7PM at Taj (48 West 21st St. NYC). 

To RSVP, email rsvp@indiegogo.com.

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Jamison Tilsner
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Heavy is hurting, at least according to Vallewyag. The tech-focused gossip blog reports that the fratacular, teen-and-early-20s male-focused video site is looking for a buyer as its investors plan to refocus their energies and resources on the Husky ad network.  This comes after July layoffs and a civil lawsuit filed earlier this week by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The CSPI is troubled by Heavy’s latest installment in their reenactment-of-a-popular-tv-show series, where the stars are recast with actors all belonging to the same niche community.

First we saw geriatrics with stunted vocabs in Over the Hills.  Next we watched ladies who could eat Carrie Bradshaw on the way to a dinner date act like ladies who lunch in Flex and the City.  And now a small cast of men with dwarfism play Hollywood’s favorite faux celebrity crew in Tiny Entourage.

Read On…

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Joshua Cohen
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The New York Television Festival, which is the widely recognized as the first of its kind, aims to unite artists, executives, industry figures, and fans to celebrate the medium of TV and to help shape its future. Well, that future is right HERE on the internets, and the folks at NYTF have acknowledged the importance of this emerging medium by devoting an entire afternoon to web video.  We’re pretty impressed.

Digital Day – this Tuesday, September 16 – consists primarily of some seemingly worthwhile panels and seminars about web video – Promoting Your Web Series, What Works on the Web, How The Internet Has Shaped Television – a whole bunch of screenings and showcases – from EQAL , maniaTV, Independent Comedy Network, Hungry Man TV, FYI, and more – AND a live taping of Gary Vaynerchuck’s Wine Library TV (Tilzy.TV Page).

Be sure to check out the Sony Pictures Television premiere of their new online series Michael Stahl-David: Behind the Star (A Video Biography) – a “mockumentary follows Mr. Stahl-David in his quest to become an A-list movie star following his leading role in the hit movie, Cloverfield.”  Josh will be leading a talkback session with the creators and star after the screening.

All the events are FREE, open to the public, and MSN will be hosting complementary refreshments.  What more could you possibly ask for?  We’ll see you there!

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Jamison Tilsner
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Tubefilter is heading to New York this weekend for the New York Television Festival. I’ll be speaking on a panel this Sunday (9/14) called “The Web Series Producer’s Guide.” Some terrific panelists on there as we look into what’s working and what’s not in terms of launching, promoting and building a strong audience for web series. If you’re a series creator in New York, or even thinking about getting together, I definitely recommend coming by the Festival.  Sunday’s events are free to the public, so come check it out and say hi. You can follow me on Twitter for more timely updates from the panels.

The NYTVF is in its 5th year and is right at that intersection of telelvision and the internet. There’s an Independent Pilot Competition, as well as four days of panel discussions, network premiere screenings, and other special events designed to honor television as an institution and as an art form. This year the Festival will have its first-ever Digital Day, a day-long event featuring free screenings, panels, and seminars designed to recognize the producers and content creators making their  mark on emerging digital platforms.

They’ve even set up a channel on MySpaceTV with a number of decent spoof trailers. I’ll be updating throughout the Festival, as there will be some first glimpses at the fall’s hot new web projects, including the world premiere of LG15: The Resistancee the new EQAL follow-up to lonelygirl15. There’s a lot to look forward to:

• EQAL Premiere and Discussion – The Resistance
Miles Beckett and Greg Goodfried, founders of EQAL and creators of lonelygirl15 and KateModern, will speak about the creation of their newest highly anticipated online series The Resistance which will make its world debut live for the Festival audience.

• Sony Pictures Television Premiere and Talkback
Sony Pictures Television will preview the new online series, Michael Stahl-David: Behind the Star (A Video Biography).  The mockumentary, which premieres Sept. 15th on Crackle, Hulu, Verizon Mobile and YouTube, follows Mr. Stahl-David in his quest to become an A-list movie star following his leading role in the hit movie, “Cloverfield.”  The event features a screening of the pilot plus the premieres of episodes two and three, followed by a talkback with creators Jeremy Beiler and Michael Stahl-David.

• Adobe Tutorial and Demonstration
Adobe will offer free tutorials to established and aspiring Web producers and content creators on Adobe Production Premium and Adobe Flash Media Interactive Server.  The first will demonstrate how Adobe Production Premium software can improve workflow and optimize productions, while the second seminar will highlight the advantages of Adobe Flash Media Interactive Server as a content delivery platform.  Adobe will raffle off free versions of its software to members of the audience at each session.

Full schedule and ticket info can be found at www.nytvf.com.

Filed under: Articles, News, Tubefilter by Marc Hustvedt
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A great many creators of comedic endeavors, from film to television to web content, follow the credo, “If this joke doesn’t make you laugh, the next one will.”  It seems that all you need to leave viewers thinking you’re funny is a decent ratio of a couple gems for every couple hours of content.

Take Saturday Night Live. Everyone can easily recall wanting more cowebell, but few remember with as much alacrity those jokes that bombed or the slow pace of the majority of the sketches.

The job of a comedian is to make the audience laugh, and the more jokes you throw at them, the more opportunities you got.  This seems to be the strategy behind Crackle‘s web series Comedy Gumbo.

Created by Payman Benz and Sean Becker of Awkward Pictures and billed as the sketch comedy show for those who don’t have time for a sketch comedy show, Comedy Gumbo does its best to give its audience as many chances to chuckle as one could possibly fit into a six-minute episode.

Read On…

Filed under: Tilzy.TV by Taylor Tepper
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