Reel Pop

"Pirates" scribe gets online vibe

Add to the list of mainstream Hollywood figures dipping a toe in the online waters the name of Terry Rossio, a screenwriter with major films like "Shrek" and all three "Pirates of the Caribbean" to his credit. He had himself a screening party last Saturday at his hillside estate in Topanga Canyon for "Turbo Dates (follow link to view)," a series of short-form videos spoofing speed-dating that he produced with mobile distributor Fun Little Movies and co-creator Jocelyn Stamat. He's already shot 10 shorts, and once he gets himself an online deal, he wants to crank out 100. With credits like he's got, Rossio shouldn't have much trouble lining up the right meetings.

Review: Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade...

Perhaps the strangest of the first 10 installments of "Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy" is "Two Ducks Watch 'Meet the Parents,' " which oddly enough depicts two ducks watching "Meet the Parents." As they deconstruct just how unfunny they find the Ben Stiller film with an articulateness not often seen among waterfowl, you might experience an unintended meta-irony watching this absurdist riff: Like "Parents," "Cavalcade" isn't quite as funny as it wants to be.


Then again, "Parents" had it easy; all it had to do was generate chuckles at the local multiplex. "Cavalcade" is intent on jump-starting a new form of entertainment, that of Internet video, and one that commingles comedy and commerce in unusual fashion given that it is being distributed in part as an advertisement for Burger King on Google's ad network.


This foray from MacFarlane, creator of Fox's hilarious "Family Guy," isn't finding great expectations imposed on it as much as it is openly inviting it. "Cavalcade" has been ushered into existence on the wings of multiple fawning profiles in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, which were orchestrated in advance of press screenings and a premiere party. Most old-media productions with exponentially bigger budgets would toss a virgin into a volcano to please whatever god is responsible for getting this kind of attention.

Kutcher looks beyond Blah Girls

Article Templatehttp://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1119669402http://www.brightcove.com/channel.jsp?channel=769341148

I'm in San Francisco this week for TechCrunch50 and Billboard's Mobile Entertainment Live; first stop was Ashton Kutcher and the unveiling of his new video series "Blah Girls." Kutcher's Katalyst Media even put together a TechCrunch-themed Blah Girls episode just for the occasion (see above).

Kutcher spoke to just about everyone in the media here, but The Hollywood Reporter was the only he divulged his future plans beyond Blah: he's got a Web version of his beloved "Punk'd" on the runway, as well as something planned for another passion of his, fantasy football.

In my interview with Kutcher, I found the actor bright and personable; asked him a few technical questions just to see if he really knew what he was talking about, and he didn't blink. The guy is for real. Also had a little fun with him via Flip video...(Andrew Wallenstein)

sxePhil, KevJumba, WhattheBuck "hooking" HBO

Can vloggers act? That's the big question as some of the biggest names on YouTube come together for their own new HBO Web series "Hooking Up" (reported here). sxePhil, KevJumba, Nalts and Michael Buckley of "What the Buck Show" are just a few of the Internet stars assembling for this Internet comedy, which has also attracted Ms. Lonelygirl15 herself, Jessica Rose. "Hooking" is a production of HBOLab, which has a few snippets available of the production on its website.


At face value, the idea makes sense: these guys have huge followings on the Web, so why not bring them together to form a supergroup of sorts. But here's the question mark: Popular and talented as they all are, they aren't actors. Will they rise to the occasion anyway or would they be better off uniting for the kind of series that keeps them in their comfort zone, something like a vlogger-style "Daily Show?" We'll find out Oct. 1, when "Hooking" premieres.

Ashton Kutcher preps Blah Girls

You know you've got some buzz going for your conference when you manage to wangle Ashton Kutcher to shill for you via online video. Believe it or not, TechCrunch enlisted Mr. Demi Moore to promote the upcoming TechCrunch50 event on its blog (he's in the video above with co-principal Jason Goldberg). Turns out Kutcher, one half of multimedia production company Katalyst Media, intends to be one of the lucky 50 ventures presenting its wares at the conference next week in San Francisco (I'll be there).


Kutcher also drops some tantalizing clues that Katalyst is getting into the online video space with something called "Blah Girls"; an image from the program is teased at BlahGirls.com, but not much else is known about it yet. At first blush, I'd guess it will be something like a female version of "South Park" given the cutesy animation.


On the one hand, TechCrunch has to be considered guilty of kissing Hollywood ass for letting Kutcher pimp "Blah" when he's one of about a zillion different webisodes out there that will be trying to find traction in the coming months. Is there anything really special about this besides Kutcher being a producer?


On the other hand, Katalyst has to be given some respect; it has more than proved itself in the TV space by generating bona fide hits like "Beauty and the Geek." Perhaps Kutcher has genuinely earned his way into the TechCrunch50.

Review: "Coma" on Crackle

Think of "Coma" as the anti-"Gemini Division": While the NBC Universal/Sony/Electric Farm series offers a nicely acted story in visually uninspiring fashion, this latest addition to Sony's Crackle.com (seven episodes premiered Aug. 20) is a stunning piece of art direction that makes up for lackluster writing and acting.

Like "Gemini," "Coma" manages to get some recognizable faces in the frame including Michael Madsen and George Hamilton. Behind the scenes, there's some brand names active on the producing side, with Miguel Melendez of Will Smith's company Overbrook Entertainment teaming up with WIMO and Anonymous Content.
Madsen plays a mobster who gets gunned down to the consternation of Hamilton, who hams it up as a crooked mayor in cahoots with said mobster. In the first two episodes I saw, Madsen isn't given much to do given he's in a coma, and Hamilton actually lets loose a a Pacino-esque "hoo-ah!" as if he can't come up with his own patented style of overacting.

Explaining one more iota of storyline feels pointless given the weak plot quickly takes a backseat to some dazzling imagery that mixes influences from comic books and noir. Shadow and light seem to be dancing around each other in every scene, while split screens dice up the imagery with panache. "Coma" wants to be compared with "Sin City" and "300," though lesser films like "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" and "Smokin' Aces" feel like more apt comparisons given both would be forgettable were it not for a full grab bag of visual tricks.

Even bigger props have to go to the soundtrack, which had me scrolling to the credits and hopping on iTunes to download Robin Thicke's "Shooter" and Radio City's "Hop." (Andrew Wallenstein)

Review: Get Hit on IFC.com

I was prepared to loathe the new IFC online series "Get Hit" before I even saw it simply because of the premise: satirizing viral video. A moratorium should have been declared on this concept long ago after South Park covered this territory, as did a Warner Bros. Studio 2.0 creation called Viralcom that wasn't half as funny.

But to my surprise, "Hit" feels fresh (six episodes premiered Aug. 18). Not because satirizing viral video is suddenly original--it's still tired, and I'm willing to pay whoever decides to tackle it next NOT to upload their work--but because "Hit" creators/stars Peter Blomquist and Jeff Wiens, known otherwise as Franco and Billy, are good. Think "Mr. Show," only creepier, more manic and possibly certifiable.


In "Hit," we follow the pair as they demonstrate their effort to replicate the success of their fictional viral-video hit "Ball Kicking Fight Club," which incidentally is a totally genius idea that probably would get about a zillion streams on YouTube. They settle on "Spud Gun Warrior," and document the harrowing process while tossing off pearls of wisdom about viral-video production along the way. For instance, don't ever spend more than $100 on said production. "Anything more and you might as well be making a real movie," Blomquist instructs.


"Hit" lays bare the masochism inherent in viral video with maximum weirdness; it's as if Crispin Glover attempted to try the genre. I'm curious to see what Blomquist and Wiens do next; it takes serious chops doing comedy this strange this well.
(Andrew Wallenstein)

Review: Model.Live

"Model.Live," a new unscripted series from Vogue.TV and IMG, isn't content to be just any show about modeling. No sir. This one is different, you see. "Reality TV just got real" reads the tagline on the show's Bebo page. A similar clarification is issued via voiceover in one  episode, declaring, "This isn't a reality show. You're really going to experience the world of modeling."

If only "Model.Live" could live up to its own billing. Hate to disappoint those holding out hope it would singlehandedly elevate the model-themed reality genre, but "Model.Live" is a totally average entry. (It's not even "live," so what's with that title anyway?) While the production values are fantastic by web-video standards (12-episode series began Aug. 19), you aren't going to see anything here you haven't already seen on CW's atrociously addictive "America's Next Top Model," MTV's bland "8th & Ocean" and VH1's sublimely catty "The Agency."

That's really as much a compliment as it is a dismissal, though. "Model.Live" is like a cheap knockoff of a designer-brand handbag; it's good enough that even discerning viewers of this inexhaustible genre would likely give it a try.

Review: MSN's "Republicrats"

A misleading title like "Republicrats" conjures up a quadrennial criticism attending every Presidential election: For all the bipartisanship on display, many don't see a material difference in choosing between the political parties. But as well-timed as this webisode is to taking on this two-headed monster, "Republicrats" is actually pretty apolitical for a political satire. And while it's funny in spots, its viral potential won't be realized without taking more direct aim at the real-life race.

The 25-episode series, produced by Generate and premiered Aug. 19 on MSN, depicts the fictional presidential run of Sean Masterson, a former weatherman who doesn't seem to possess any greater qualification for higher office than a 12% accuracy rate in climate prediction. If McCain is running on national security and Obama is running on change, Masterson's central theme is...well, whatever you want it to be. That's the main joke behind "Republicrats": Masterson openly appeals to voters to determine what his positions should be. "Opinions divide America," he says in his opening video (above). "That's why I don't hold any divisive opinions about anything."

Review: Gemini Division

If there could possibly be a pitfall to landing top-shelf talent to star in a webisode, Rosario Dawson reveals the problem in "Gemini Division," from Electric Farm Entertainment, NBC Universal Digital Studio and Sony Pictures Television.


It's not that she can't act; she is quite excellent actually as Anna, a cop thrust into turmoil while on a romantic getaway in Paris.


No, the problem is evident in the series' vlog format, most often seen utilized on YouTube by pimply-faced teens. With Dawson's mug spending much of the webisode just inches away from the camera, it should carry an advisory for heterosexual males: The following actress is so jaw-droppingly beautiful that you may find it hard to concentrate on what her character is actually saying. Best to pause the video, contemplate her pulchritude for as long as you need to, and resume play once you've gotten over how unfair the universe is because she is not your girlfriend.