Behind the Scenes of Urban Wolf

I came upon this series at last year's iTVFest and The Web Files interviewed Laurent Touil Tartour on the red carpet.  Along with Oz Girl and MERRIme.com, this series had quite a bit of buzz surrounding it.  When it was announced in March that Sony/Crackle.com had licensed worldwide global distribution rights for Urban Wolf, no one was surprised.  The series is THAT good.  Fast forward to the iTVFest Fundraiser in April where someone whispered that Laurent had just signed a deal with Michael Bay's The Institute, and I knew we had a big web series success story on our hands.  The show launched May 13th on Crackle.com and I have to say, I was really inspired by his story.

Once the details for The Web Files interview were in place, I was asked to submit my questions to Laurent because of the language barrier.  Now let me preface this by saying I NEVER give my questions out before, but I knew Laurent was a bit nervous, so I sent some general questions over with the caveat that my interviews are free flowing.  I thought he would be fine throughout the interview, and I was right, he was.  Laurent is charming, smart, and a good storyteller.  Obviously, his charm came through on the screen as Web Series Today made a comment about my flirtatious interview with him. Hey, he's French, he's got an accent, that's a good reason to flirt!

I'm so pale, our makeup artist, Melissa Anchonodo, is doing her best to warm me up with bronzer.  I was that day glow white.

The reason this series stands out amongst the pack is its cinematic feel and the utilization of mise en scene.  You don't hear the main character utter a word until Episode 7, and boy, is it effective.  The other thing you have to remember is that Laurent is French, so he dove straight into the web series world through the festival circuit.  I think this is really important to point out. I have been talking about Publicity and Web Series lately and I truly believe that this a great way to stand out from the pack. Laurent hit Comic Con, iTVFest, AFI DigiFest, and Sundance New Media Lab all within the past 10 months.  Of course, the challenge is getting accepted into the festivals, but I think it is an avenue web creators should continue to explore. 

Finally, if you notice in the photo below, we have no poster on the wall.  Yep, that was added in post by our amazing graphics artist, Michael "Cobra" Ledin.  Cobra is one of my Technical Directors for Toyota Live during the year, and he kindly offered up his expertise for this episode.  He's a wizard with a computer and he is pretty darn funny too.   

So, go ahead, be inspired, and watch our interview with Laurent Touil Tartour on The Web Files:

This and That....

It's a week of celebrations for our friends at Movies You May Have Missed as they celebrate their one year anniversary. The Web Files was able to interview Juan Bagnell and Lee Buckley last year and it was our first crossover episode. I appeared on their show and they appeared on ours. Be sure to check out their anniversary show filled with fun clips of the last twelve months. I am thrilled to make a cameo too! Congratulations, Juan, Lee, and the muscle behind the camera, Marie Bagnell.

Although this wasn't planned, our latest episode of The Web Files also features a movie review show called Stupid for Movies. I will have a behind the scenes blog up soon, but check out the episode with Mike Rotman, Wade Major, and Mark Keizer. I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I enjoyed filming it.




Web Series Today also wrote a nice feature on our latest episode. (And uh....a "feature" on my T-shirt.) Be sure to stop by, the site has had some great discussions and debates about the current web space lately.

From entertainment to fuel cell, I am always thrilled when I have the opportunity to represent the Advanced Technologies team at Toyota, so my two days at the National Hydrogen Association Expo was no exception. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by the Toyota area to check out the latest concept in fuel cell, the FCHV-adv. He is constantly followed by a crowd of photographers and cameras, so it was a wild scene. I gave him the highlights of the technology and he asked some great questions. Then he posed by the Power Control Unit, a great photo op for Toyota and the Governor knows exactly what he is doing in those photos. He is a master at publicity....oh, and he smells good too. (He joins the Wayans Brothers as some of the best smelling celebs in Hollywood. Is it weird to notice these things?)

The master of the perfect publicity shot......Governor Schwarzenegger. However, I look like I am praying he will love the vehicle.  Photo courtesy of The Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

Me talking to the Governor about the FCHV-adv. Photo courtesy of Stephen Carr, The Long Beach Press-Telegram

Finally, for the musical theatre geek out there:  check out Every Little Step.  It follows the casting of the Broadway revival of the legendary musical, A Chorus Line.  The documentary will make your heart soar and bring you to tears all in 93 minutes.  Watch it, talk to me about it, and bring out your inner geek!  I promise it will inspire you.