Over the last few weeks, with my frenzied Comic-Con postings and scouring of the internet for the latest Tr2n and Wolverine trailer, I was pretty convinced that anyone casually looking at my blog would think I was a dude.
Then Salon's Broadsheet clued me into this site that looks at your browser history and assesses your likely gender based on the ratio of men to women who visit those sites. The editor was pretty snarky when it rated her 99 percent male. "Oops! I guess today we forgot to visit our usual stomping grounds: iVillage.com, QVC.com and BettyCrocker.com. Instead, we've been reading super-serious man stuff like the New York Times, Reuters and the BBC." But there's no judgment--it is simply basing it off of the typical visitors for these sites.
So, drumroll please... the site was 91 percent sure I was female! The typically male things I did was read the news, investigate the value of our house, and look at how-to videos (instructables.com) and funny videos (funnyordie.com). The most male-skewed site I visited was Wired (only 41 percent female). But I also do our banking, travel arrangements, event planning, and work in education, which all tend to skew female (if you remove my work-related surfing, the site's only 60% sure I'm a woman).
So what was the most female thing I did? View socially-conscious videos, I guess. The viewers of Current.com, which as you might remember is Al Gore's user-generated video site that allows users to program it's cable TV channel, is apparently 61 percent women.
So then I guess it was a smart idea for Current to start airing a special segment in their InfoMania show called "Target: Women" only, it's no Lifetime channel. Instead, Sarah Haskins, my new favorite webceleb, skewers the way that advertisers and network programmers market to women. If you like Tina Fey and The Daily Show, you'll think she's hilarious. Here's her take on cooking guilt (makes me rethink whether I want a Crock-Pot).
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
I Called It! Dr. Horrible Available on Hulu!!!
Last week Wednesday I did a post on what might be the next step in distribution for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog after it's limited release on the internet earlier this month. In short, I said it would be a good idea for Whedon to put it on Hulu, at least for a time, so more people could discover it rather than only releasing it on DVD and iTunes. Well, it's up there today as the featured program as soon as you arrive! Here's the best 42-minute web musical about an aspiring super-villain ever created, featuring Neal Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day, with limited commercial interruptions between Acts I, II and III (hit Play, or click to view full screen).
Update: The L.A. Times says this will eventually also be licensed to MySpace, and eventually Yahoo!, AOL and others. And NewTeeVee says it will be available for just four months on Hulu.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Snickt! Wolverine Escaped from Comic-Con!
The trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine is on the loose!
By the time you read this, these links will probably be dead, so quick, click them now! (Update--too late, they are gone, but this link might still work)
Part 1
Part 2
About all I knew of Wolverine was from Saturday morning cartoons and a few borrowed comic books from my cousin. He was hairy, ill-tempered, and he smoked--eww! Then came Hugh Jackman in X-Men--yum!--all entangled in love triangles with a self-sacrificing sensitive side.
Well, enough of that! This prequel takes him back to his surly fanboy roots--it's all claws and gnashing of teeth. Tony-winning actor Liev Schreiber plays nemesis Sabretooth, but by far the the loudest whoops during the trailer were for Taylor Kitch (Friday Night Lights) as Gambit, the charming, card-throwing Cajun thief--might Jackman have just introduced the heir to the throne?
By the time you read this, these links will probably be dead, so quick, click them now! (Update--too late, they are gone, but this link might still work)
Part 1
Part 2
About all I knew of Wolverine was from Saturday morning cartoons and a few borrowed comic books from my cousin. He was hairy, ill-tempered, and he smoked--eww! Then came Hugh Jackman in X-Men--yum!--all entangled in love triangles with a self-sacrificing sensitive side.
Well, enough of that! This prequel takes him back to his surly fanboy roots--it's all claws and gnashing of teeth. Tony-winning actor Liev Schreiber plays nemesis Sabretooth, but by far the the loudest whoops during the trailer were for Taylor Kitch (Friday Night Lights) as Gambit, the charming, card-throwing Cajun thief--might Jackman have just introduced the heir to the throne?
One Degree: Will Ferrell and Mothers
Wow, I had a lot of new visitors last week! Since some of you are new, I'll reintroduce the game I've got going called One Degree. It's like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, except in this case, you need to figure out what movie or movies two actors other than Kevin Bacon have appeared in together, rather than connecting a string of movies.
First, the answer to last week's challenge. Ron Perlman recently starred in Hellboy 2 as the title character. His co-stars from Hellboy rejoined him in the sequel, but Perlman has also worked with the actors playing the royal elf family. I knew about Luke Goss (Prince Nuada), who worked with Perlman on Blade 2, and later learned that he had also appeared with Anna Walton (Princess Nuala) in The Mutant Chronicles.
But connection that I thought was the coolest was with with 85-year old actor Roy Dotrice--as soon as I saw him appear as King Baylor, I knew I had seen him before. In 1987, Perlman starred opposite Linda Hamilton (before she got buff for Terminator 2) in the TV show Beauty and the Beast in the title role, while Dotrice played his adoptive father.
So, speaking of parents, here's the new challenge. In the past I just named two actors and asked for the movie they were in together, but I'm rephrasing this to make it Google-proof.
First person to post the answer gets bragging rights! Answers next week! Here's a Will Ferrell clip to get those neurons firing:
First, the answer to last week's challenge. Ron Perlman recently starred in Hellboy 2 as the title character. His co-stars from Hellboy rejoined him in the sequel, but Perlman has also worked with the actors playing the royal elf family. I knew about Luke Goss (Prince Nuada), who worked with Perlman on Blade 2, and later learned that he had also appeared with Anna Walton (Princess Nuala) in The Mutant Chronicles.
But connection that I thought was the coolest was with with 85-year old actor Roy Dotrice--as soon as I saw him appear as King Baylor, I knew I had seen him before. In 1987, Perlman starred opposite Linda Hamilton (before she got buff for Terminator 2) in the TV show Beauty and the Beast in the title role, while Dotrice played his adoptive father.
So, speaking of parents, here's the new challenge. In the past I just named two actors and asked for the movie they were in together, but I'm rephrasing this to make it Google-proof.
What actress played the stepmom of one of Will Ferrell's characters and will be playing his mother in a movie coming soon?
First person to post the answer gets bragging rights! Answers next week! Here's a Will Ferrell clip to get those neurons firing:
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Ryan Higa's Movie Title Revealed, Along With Behind the Scenes Footage
Last month I wrote about Ryan Higa being the most subscribed teen vlogger on YouTube and predicted his movie deal was with Derek Zemrak. Tonight he, and friend Sean Fujiyoshi, posted behind the scenes footage from his film, which we now know is titled Ryan and Sean's Not So Excellent Adventure and it does seem to be with Zemrak's company.
As best as I can tell, the plot may combine familiar elements from his videos (big green ball and friend Tim Enos make an appearance) and possible Scary Movie-type movie parodies (there's a character that looks like Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd). As for my concerns of about the ladies Zemrak likes to feature in his movies, well, I was half right: there is a scene of Ryan getting rubbed down by a rather top-heavy lady, but Sean is getting rubbed down by Helga Fawntanilla. As best I can tell, they are going for a Harold and Kumar vibe. No word yet on a release date for DVD--I can't imagine this is really going to theaters, despite the ending of this video.
As best as I can tell, the plot may combine familiar elements from his videos (big green ball and friend Tim Enos make an appearance) and possible Scary Movie-type movie parodies (there's a character that looks like Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd). As for my concerns of about the ladies Zemrak likes to feature in his movies, well, I was half right: there is a scene of Ryan getting rubbed down by a rather top-heavy lady, but Sean is getting rubbed down by Helga Fawntanilla. As best I can tell, they are going for a Harold and Kumar vibe. No word yet on a release date for DVD--I can't imagine this is really going to theaters, despite the ending of this video.
SNL Stars Wait in "The Line"--Will their online series take off?
Sure they're big on Saturday Night Live, but will Bill Hader and Seth Meyers' new 11-episode video series The Line be a hit online? Should they let their geek flag fly free?
Josh's girlfriend is breaking up with him on the sidewalk: "Josh, this is hard for me, okay? I mean, we were together for a long time..." His gaze shifts across the street to his friend, who is frantically waving at him from in front of a movie theater. Josh, trying to hold on to his relationship, has vacated the coveted spot at the front of the ticket line for Future Space, a huge sci-fi blockbuster debuting in 11 days, and a trio of jealous line-campers are about to enforce the "five minute rule" and usurp his position. "Just give me one..." he pleads as he dashes back to tag his territory and restart the countdown.
Josh is played by Bill Hader, best known as an impressionist on Saturday Night Live and for his roles in Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He co-wrote the series with SNL writer Simon Rich, while fellow SNL performer and head writer Seth Meyers directed. Here's a clip from episode two, "The Five Minute Rule:"
Unlike TV, the short format of online video doesn't give writers time to muck around--you've got to hook the viewers in the first episode (3:19 in this case), get them to tune in again and bring their friends. The first episode, which debuted on July 22, started a little slow, as Josh and his friend Duffy, who camped in line together in high school back in 1996, set up their spot at the front of the line. We are introduced to three guys dressed in white jumpsuits as "The Triplets of Cybar" (or are they costumes?) whose running joke is that they are supposed to speak with "one mind, one voice" but the third guy always ends up missing his cut-off cue and rambles on. So far, it's not as laugh-out-loud funny as The Guild or Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which I wrote about two weeks ago, but as with those series, it's starting to pick up steam in the second episode. In this episode, which was posted on July 25, Josh is literally dumped--his girlfriend played by Liz Cackowski (who also played his wife in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) has unloaded all his worldly possessions on the sidewalk in front of the theater.
Unlike Felicia Day's The Guild, which was self- and PayPal-financed, and Dr. Horrible, which producer Joss Whedon hopes will make money via iTunes and DVD sales, The Line, produced by Broadway Video (Lorne Michael's company), features product placements for upcoming Columbia Pictures movies (owned by Sony, which is sponsoring The Line). These placements are both subtle and jarring--I was puzzled when another camper randomly starts talking about his step brother, until I finally noticed on the third viewing that the camera had panned down to them from the movie poster for Step Brothers.
The series is posted to Crackle (Sony's site), Hulu (a partner of Sony), and YouTube, where they can be viewed with advertising. However, it's not clear why it is posted at YouTube at two channels: Crackle's Cspot channel with ads, and TheLineFutureSpace without ads (Perhaps they are in a catch-22 here: they want to track how much of the volume is based just on The Line, as opposed to the strength of the established channel, but new channel TheLineFutureSpace doesn't have the subscriptions or viewership alone that would qualify for ads).
Also, the YouTube tags for the series feature the Judd Apatow movies Hader and co-star Joe Lo Truglio have appeared in (like the upcoming Pineapple Express which will also be plugged in the series), but I don't see any evidence that The Line is being marketed to it's most natural demographic: fanboys. Hader is an avowed Star Wars fan and both he and Meyers are huge comic book geeks, as demonstrated by the video below from Wizzard TV. Day, who wrote The Guild based on her addiction to World of Warcraft, networked with her fellow gamer geeks to the hilt to get her show noticed. Hader and Meyers ought to play up their nerd cred to get more viewers, but it's like they are ashamed to have their secret identities outed to the mainstream, where they are currrently regarded as cool (you can just hear the fanboys now, calling out "Gooble gobble, one of us!")
Finally, if they are going after Judd Apatow's demographic (a frattier group of kids), why not put this on SNL alum Will Ferrell's site Funny or Die, where Apatow's already got a presence? The product placement in the series supports Columbia Pictures, which is part of Sony. The fact that they don't makes me think Sony sees the series as more than just a commercial for their movies; it's real content and part of a play to build up the channels they have a stake in, Crackle and Hulu.
There is a plethora of web video experiments going on this year and writers, producers, networks, and web portals are trying to figure out the best formats for storytelling and making money with web video. As it is, episode one of The Line has had 14,000 views in five days and the episode two has had 10,000 in two days across Crackle.com and both YouTube sites; about 70 percent of the views are from the CSpot channel on YouTube which has 10,000 subscribers. Dr. Horrible had two million views on three episodes in a similar time period, so it's not a lot. Network TV will cancel a show after one episode if the ratings aren't high enough. Fortunately for Hader, Meyers, and Broadway Video, they're not on network TV and these fledgling online networks have nothing to lose by leaving their videos up while The Line builds an audience. Nonetheless, let's hope the marketing and storyline for the series gains more momentum.
Josh's girlfriend is breaking up with him on the sidewalk: "Josh, this is hard for me, okay? I mean, we were together for a long time..." His gaze shifts across the street to his friend, who is frantically waving at him from in front of a movie theater. Josh, trying to hold on to his relationship, has vacated the coveted spot at the front of the ticket line for Future Space, a huge sci-fi blockbuster debuting in 11 days, and a trio of jealous line-campers are about to enforce the "five minute rule" and usurp his position. "Just give me one..." he pleads as he dashes back to tag his territory and restart the countdown.Josh is played by Bill Hader, best known as an impressionist on Saturday Night Live and for his roles in Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He co-wrote the series with SNL writer Simon Rich, while fellow SNL performer and head writer Seth Meyers directed. Here's a clip from episode two, "The Five Minute Rule:"
Unlike TV, the short format of online video doesn't give writers time to muck around--you've got to hook the viewers in the first episode (3:19 in this case), get them to tune in again and bring their friends. The first episode, which debuted on July 22, started a little slow, as Josh and his friend Duffy, who camped in line together in high school back in 1996, set up their spot at the front of the line. We are introduced to three guys dressed in white jumpsuits as "The Triplets of Cybar" (or are they costumes?) whose running joke is that they are supposed to speak with "one mind, one voice" but the third guy always ends up missing his cut-off cue and rambles on. So far, it's not as laugh-out-loud funny as The Guild or Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, which I wrote about two weeks ago, but as with those series, it's starting to pick up steam in the second episode. In this episode, which was posted on July 25, Josh is literally dumped--his girlfriend played by Liz Cackowski (who also played his wife in Forgetting Sarah Marshall) has unloaded all his worldly possessions on the sidewalk in front of the theater.
Unlike Felicia Day's The Guild, which was self- and PayPal-financed, and Dr. Horrible, which producer Joss Whedon hopes will make money via iTunes and DVD sales, The Line, produced by Broadway Video (Lorne Michael's company), features product placements for upcoming Columbia Pictures movies (owned by Sony, which is sponsoring The Line). These placements are both subtle and jarring--I was puzzled when another camper randomly starts talking about his step brother, until I finally noticed on the third viewing that the camera had panned down to them from the movie poster for Step Brothers.
The series is posted to Crackle (Sony's site), Hulu (a partner of Sony), and YouTube, where they can be viewed with advertising. However, it's not clear why it is posted at YouTube at two channels: Crackle's Cspot channel with ads, and TheLineFutureSpace without ads (Perhaps they are in a catch-22 here: they want to track how much of the volume is based just on The Line, as opposed to the strength of the established channel, but new channel TheLineFutureSpace doesn't have the subscriptions or viewership alone that would qualify for ads).
Also, the YouTube tags for the series feature the Judd Apatow movies Hader and co-star Joe Lo Truglio have appeared in (like the upcoming Pineapple Express which will also be plugged in the series), but I don't see any evidence that The Line is being marketed to it's most natural demographic: fanboys. Hader is an avowed Star Wars fan and both he and Meyers are huge comic book geeks, as demonstrated by the video below from Wizzard TV. Day, who wrote The Guild based on her addiction to World of Warcraft, networked with her fellow gamer geeks to the hilt to get her show noticed. Hader and Meyers ought to play up their nerd cred to get more viewers, but it's like they are ashamed to have their secret identities outed to the mainstream, where they are currrently regarded as cool (you can just hear the fanboys now, calling out "Gooble gobble, one of us!")
Finally, if they are going after Judd Apatow's demographic (a frattier group of kids), why not put this on SNL alum Will Ferrell's site Funny or Die, where Apatow's already got a presence? The product placement in the series supports Columbia Pictures, which is part of Sony. The fact that they don't makes me think Sony sees the series as more than just a commercial for their movies; it's real content and part of a play to build up the channels they have a stake in, Crackle and Hulu.
There is a plethora of web video experiments going on this year and writers, producers, networks, and web portals are trying to figure out the best formats for storytelling and making money with web video. As it is, episode one of The Line has had 14,000 views in five days and the episode two has had 10,000 in two days across Crackle.com and both YouTube sites; about 70 percent of the views are from the CSpot channel on YouTube which has 10,000 subscribers. Dr. Horrible had two million views on three episodes in a similar time period, so it's not a lot. Network TV will cancel a show after one episode if the ratings aren't high enough. Fortunately for Hader, Meyers, and Broadway Video, they're not on network TV and these fledgling online networks have nothing to lose by leaving their videos up while The Line builds an audience. Nonetheless, let's hope the marketing and storyline for the series gains more momentum.
| Episode 1 (7/22) | Episode 2 (7/25) | |
| YouTube: thelinefuturespace | 432 | 130 |
| YouTube: Cspot | 9,178 | 7,701 |
| Crackle | 4,460 | 2,326 |
| Total on 7/27 | 14,070 | 10,157 |
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