Indie Spotlight: “Movie Buff” Riffs On Recent Movies

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. 

This edition of Indie Spotlight is sponsored by Tongal.

A six-episode web series has figured out a narrative method for riffing on current pop culture. The Horseshoe Cinema channel is home to Movie Buff, which follows the life of a somewhat-schlubby film podcaster.

Movie Buff is one of four web series on Horseshoe, a YouTube channel run by Andy Viner and Charles DeRosa. It stars Andrew Wynn as Paul, the series’ titular film lover, who hosts “Ohio’s #1 movie podcast.” In the first episode, viewers quickly learn that Paul’s leads a fairly sad existence. He has only a few thousand fans and he has trouble booking guests for his podcast, which leads him to invite a number of colorful characters to join his program.

Each episode features a recently released movie or TV show, giving the series a “ripped from the headlines” feel. A Grand Budapest Hotel episode makes fun of Wes Anderson and his scarf-clad fans, while the most recent Game of Thrones edition takes on the subject of spoilers (it also features an appearance from Kirsten Eggers, who we’ve written about in this space before.)

Movie Buff‘s simple premise allows plenty of space for Paul and his guests to hash out some reasonably funny film commentary. Wynn’s deep sonorous voice helps the whole experience feel like a real podcast, too. Fictional Ohio film buffs have it good.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Corner Shop. A young man gains control of his father’s corner store in this British web series.
• My Life As A Video Game. A gamer is sucked into video game worlds in a web series with stylistic similarities to Video Game High School.
• Other Men. A drama about a gay man struggling through his first year in a new city.
• EconPop. This web series explores the economic principles behind the plots of well-known movies. The latest episode takes on WALL-E.

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.

This edition of Indie Spotlight is sponsored by Tongal. Tongal is changing the way creative work gets done, by making it accessible to people everywhere. For brands, studios, and causes, Tongal’s innovative platform provides continuous access to a global network of creatives, offering fresh ideas and insights, and top filmmaking talent to bring them to life. Tongal’s collaborative, merit-driven process enables everyone to focus on the work they do best. The result is outstanding content delivered with great speed and efficiency. Tongal is based in Santa Monica, California.