Indie Spotlight: It’s Not Always Easy Being ‘Internet Famous’

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now.  Read previous installments here.

The latest indie web series to cross our radar comes from the Steel City. Internet Famous, created by Pittsburgh-based duo Chris Lee and Tom Williams, shows what happens when an ordinary guy stars in a viral video against his will.

The main character of Internet Famous is Andy (Trent Wolfred), who gains the nickname Angry Andy after he delivers a bitter rant that his roommate secretly records. As the series goes on, Andy must deal with the unintended consequences of his 15 minutes.

Despite this premise, Internet Famous ultimately breaks down to a canvas through which the lead characters can bounce lines of dialogue off one another. In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Williams named Kevin Smith (and Clerks in particular) as a main inspiration. “Being dirty for the sake of being dirty — that’s not really funny,” he said. “That was the conscious effort — we wanted to make it as filthy as a Kevin Smith film but also with heart and with people you actually care about.”

Four more episodes of Internet Famous are on their way, and viewers should expect more of the same: There will be viral video jokes, crass dialogue, and big-hearted, fully-rendered characters.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT:

• LoveFail. This web series shows what happens when weirdos meet on the Internet and try to go on awkward dates.
• Kissing in the Rain. An upcoming series starring the ever-versatile Mary-Kate Wiles and apparently “inspired by a John Green quote we saw once on Tumblr.”
• Still. When you’re in a horror web series, you quickly learn that weird noises coming from the sky are not a good thing.
• Orville Vs. Pedro. These short vignettes take a modern-day approach to the slapstick routines of Charlie Chaplin.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.