2010 in Review: February

I had to go back and look at what I did in the month of February.  I always have a gig in Chicago, but the rest of the month was kind of a blur.  However, I have a lot of fun photos that really capture my month:

1.  We were in Chicago and away from all of our significant others on Valentine's Day, but this was a really fun champagne and chocolate-covered strawberry filled evening with my pals, Melody Freeman and Ted Napolitano.

2.  I finally got behind that door and found out what Club 33 was all about.  It is a must for any Disney geek and it is my most popular post of 2010.  What's behind that door?  Unicorns, rainbows, and all the magic of Disney.

3.  Chicago is the most enthusiastic city we hit with Toyota Live each year.  We even gave away a 2010 Prius live onstage which was so thrilling, the winner grabbed me in a huge bear hug when she was declared the winner.  I'll be back in February 2011 and hanging on the jumbo LED wall again.

4.  This was the first infomercial I had shot in awhile and it became my first in a series of four infomercials that I shot in 2010.  It was a great day on set with fitness expert, Jennifer Galardi.  If you want to see the final results, wait for me at 2 AM on your TV or click here.

5.  The Streamys "For Your Consideration" screenings were in full force in February as I covered the red carpet for Koldcast TV at the Fall of Kaden and Blue Movies showing.  Here I am with eventual Best Director nominee, Scott Brown, of Blue Movies.  You can see some of the footage from this evening here.

Come back tomorrow at Red Carpet Closet for a review of March 2010 with Atlanta, paparazzi photos, A Good Knight's Quest premiere and more!

Behind the Scenes of The Web Files Buzz, Episode 1

Yes, we brought you something different this week, the inaugural episode of The Web Files Buzz. Sandra and I have been toying with this idea for awhile, but it took some time to figure out how we wanted to execute the episode. I have received a lot of questions about this format: Is this the new format of the show? Is the old format gone? The answer is "sometimes" and "no". We will do a Buzz show every few weeks to mix it up in between our longer, more formal interviews. As the web space grows, we have to grow. Viewers want us to get in depth with their favorite shows, but we do not want to forget those shows that are up and coming. So, I think the new format serves an important purpose. We had a lot of fun shooting these shorter segments and I think delivered an action packed episode.

We kicked it off with the IAWTV "For Your Consideration" Screening of The Fall of Kaden and Blue Movies, both Koldcast TV web series. I did an in depth piece on the evening which can be read here: Fall of Kaden/Blue Movies. I haven't seen the Koldcast footage yet, but hopefully, it will be released soon. The Koldcast shoot talked more about the fantastic idea to hold a IAWTV screening and it is a format now being wisely copied by others before the Streamy ballots are due. I think it will also give web series creators, Adam Leiphart and Matt Double (Fall of Kaden) and Scott Brown (Blue Movies) even more deserved face time with the IAWTV voters.

Our second segment featured one of my favorite web series stars, Brittney Powell, of Safety Geeks: SVI. We caught her in between an appearance at the Xena convention on a Saturday afternoon. If you didn't know, Brittney has quite an impressive resumé as she played Brunnhilda on the series amongst other high profile roles. Xena has a strong female following, so while we didn't shoot inside the convention, there were a lot of women running around the lobby of the LAX Marriott trying to get a glimpse of Brittney. Popular girl! Anyway, I wanted to discuss the Safety Geeks: SVI calendar since it's a great way to think outside of the box in terms of marketing their web series. The cheeky pin-up girl theme also brings Tom Konkle and Dave Beeler along for the fun. Check out the cast's calendar at Amazon: Safety Geeks Calendar.

Finally, we rounded out the episode with a visit to Jonathan Nail on the set of his upcoming show, SOLO the Series. The set was built inside his garage and we had a chance to climb inside to take a closer look. Jonathan's show has created a lot of buzz over Twitter and I am glad we were able to see what those 140 characters were all about. He also showed me the pilot after the shoot, so get ready for a comedic, sci-fi ride sometime in 2010.

It was a day for cupcake shirts and many of you asked where you could purchase my shirt after I posted the photo on Twitter. Well, it was purchased at the Union Square Christmas fair in NY by a friend of mine. She tried to track down the designer, but we were not able to find her. However, you can find similar cupcake shirts online, just google "Make cupcakes, not war". I also took a close-up photo of my crew badge. Jonathan made me an honorary crew member of Team SOLO. Let's just hope I don't get stuck in space like he did.

Be sure to check out our first episode of The Web Files Buzz here: Episode 1. It is our fastest rising show to date, so we appreciate your views and feedback. On Wednesday, we go back to our usual format with an interview with Epic Fu creators and the 2009 Streamys winners for Best Hosted Web Series, Zadi Diaz and Steve Woolf.

Red carpet photos courtesy of Bernie Su of Compulsions.

Behind the Scenes of Legend of Neil

Okay, all of you Legend of Neil fans have me baffled. Never in the 29 episode history of The Web Files have I received such interesting and rather, uh...odd feedback. Many of you are obsessed with the decor of Sandeep Parikh's apartment. From the oranges on the table to the decorations on the wall to the lack of decorations on the wall, you all had something to say. I think a lot of you want to help Sandeep out or maybe there are some ladies out there looking to add a woman's touch to the place. Regardless, Sandra did add the oranges to the table, a bit of color for the interview. I have no idea if Sandeep is looking for decorating tips, but hopefully, he will check out my blog and add his 2 cents.

**UPDATE** I have a clarification and a turn of events.......Sandra DID NOT add the bowl of oranges, Sandeep DID! So, he is the one who added a bit of color to his coffee table and I think that is a lovely decorating idea. So, maybe the naysayers should be taking tips from Sandeep? I am calling this on DecoratorGate 2010!

On to more important things, the interview! I think Sandeep was very clear that while his show is higher profile than some of the other web series out there, it is not a huge money maker. He sells merchandise to supplement the production costs for the show. While we didn't see all of that during the episode, you will notice a pile of shirts to my right during the show and the t-shirt I wear during the opening. Another question that wound up on the editing room floor that I think is really important to ponder: "Would their show been as successful today on YouTube as it was back in 2007 when they first launched?" Tony Janning responded with an honest, "I don't know." It is a huge challenge to launch a web series on YouTube because the site is so saturated with content. It is tough to stand out amongst the crowd. Now, Legend of Neil was going to be successful, regardless of YouTube, but it may have taken more time to find an audience had they launched it in 2010.

I had to watch this episode several times to refresh my memory about the behind the scenes action. I looked back at the calendar and realized that we shot the show on December 14th, 2009, so it was almost two months ago. It isn't often that we bank shows that far in advance, but we sometimes we have to work with shows that have deadlines like series premieres or finales. That is why you saw episodes with The Bannen Way and A Comicbook Orange before you ever saw Legend of Neil. Both episodes were shot in January well after Legend of Neil shoot, but they aired before the Sandeep/Tony episode in order to accommodate their season premieres.

And yes, I did get a chance to wear Link's hat and check out all of The Legend of Neil props. I know there are a few jealous fans out there. So, that was a really fun treat for me. If you haven't seen the episode, check it out here: Legend of Neil.

Wednesday brings our first episode of The Web Files Buzz featuring "the buzz about the biz....the web series biz". Highlights include the red carpet of the IAWTV screening of Fall of Kaden and Blue Movies, checking out Brittney Powell's Safety Geek:SVI calendar, and a set visit to the upcoming web series, SOLO the Series by Jonathan Nail.

Finally, a shout out to Casey McKinnon for kicking all of the boys' butts in January. We had a male heavy slate with Dorm Life, The Fine Brothers, and The Bannen Way in the month of January. Little Casey's episode of A Comicbook Orange not only exceeded our expectations, but the views on that episode are HUGE. I like seeing a female whooping some ass in the industry. Congratulations, Casey and Rudy!

IAWTV Screening for Blue Movies and Fall of Kaden

Tuesday night, I had the opportunity to cover the screening of Fall of Kaden and Blue Movies for
Koldcast TV and The Web Files at Cinespace in Hollywood. Web series creators, Matt Doubler and Adam Leiphart for the Fall of Kaden, and Scott Brown for Blue Movies, made a wise and strategic choice to hold a "For Your Consideration" screening for the International Academy of Web Television (IAWTV). It was a terrific opportunity to get some of the members to watch their series on the big screen and, hopefully, garner a nomination or two.

Me giving the thumbs up to my cameraman before interviewing Blue Movies creator, Scott Brown.
In a field that has grown tremendously in the past 12 months, this was an excellent way to stand out in the crowd. Why not take a page from the Miramax Academy Award handbook? It worked for Shakespeare in Love at the Oscars in 1999 and I think it could work in the web series world as well. Rumors of screeners and postcards being sent to the IAWTV members abounds lately. What have you done to make your web series stand out during this crucial nomination time?

Doing my opener for The Web Files segment on the red carpet......
Inside the screening room, IAWTV members and the rest of the audience were treated to a hilarious PSA/Streamy Consideration video hosted by the busiest host in the biz, Shira Lazar: For Your Consideration. Creativity is key and we saw that in abundance on Tuesday night. Two radically different web series coming together to produce an unforgettable night. Wisely, these shows do not fall in the same categories: Blue Movies is clearly a comedic look at the porn industry and Fall of Kaden has the grittiness and edginess to fall into the dramatic category.

Interviewing the cast and creator of Blue Movies........

This year is a game-changer in web series, with the high production values of new shows like The Bannen Way to a greater emphasis on the 2nd Annual Streamy Awards, the web space continues to makes its climb to the top. We have a long way to go, but I think there is light ahead.

Mark Gantt of The Bannen Way and I talking about the upcoming award season......

Thank you to Marti Resteghini and David Samuels of Koldcast TV for giving me the opportunity to host their red carpet coverage for Fall of Kaden and Blue Movies. I will post the video here soon. Stay tuned!

Thanks to Matt Doubler and Adam Leiphart for photos 3, 4, and 5. If anyone has additional photos from the evening, I would be happy to post them here.