“Sometimes we don’t do things we want to do so others won’t know we want to do them.”
— The Village by M. Night Shyamalan
Category Archives: Film & TV
Documentary films: Super Size Me, The Smartest Guys in the Room
Watched two documentary films in the last few days. Super Size Me and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. I was very disturbed by both of these films. Gonna be a long time before I eat another Big Mac (or Sonic Coney, for that matter). My take-away from Enron? Our country is hopelessly corrupt and greedy. And maybe…just maybe… we do not live in the best country in the world. (Gasp!) Don’t bother looking for the Comments link. I’m not in the mood to listen to a bunch of “patriotic” horse shit. If you have something to say, start your own blog.
Current TV
I finally got a taste of current TV tonight (DirecTV 366). I say “finally” because I’ve heard about the channel but never bothered to find it and take a look. I thought it was interesting, fresh. If you’re not familiar with the idea behind the channel:
“We slice our schedule into short segments that we call “pods” — each just a few minutes long. And much of it comes straight from you. We call it viewer-created content, or VC2. Right now, VC2 makes up about a third of our channel — and that share is growing. Anyone who wants to contribute can upload a video. Then, everyone in the Current online community votes for what should be on TV.”
It was sort of like 60 Minutes for people under the age of 70. Very sharp graphics. And they include a little status bar near the bottom of the screen to let you know where you are in the segment. Nicely integrated with their website. I’ll be going back for another taste.
Isn’t that the guy from…?
While watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for the ____ time, it dawned on me that the actor playing Mr. Rooney, the school counselor (Jeffrey Jones), is the newspaper publisher on Deadwood. And, yes, I am aware that I’m the only person on the planet that had not already made that connection.
Randy comments: “Good actor, bad man.” [Smoking Gun]
Altman films “A Prairie Home Companion”
“It is an imagined last show and so it’s in the context of being taken over by a radio conglomerate, which is happening to a lot of radio shows at home.” Written by Garrison Keillor and starring Meryl Streep, Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Kline and Lily Tomlin. [Reuters story]
I always liked the Wolfman Jack scenes from American Graffiti. Something about being on the air, alone in a radio station at night. Something we’ll never experience with podcasting. That real-time connection with listeners in the middle of the night. Sigh.
Forbidden cocktails in a swank pad
I think it’s great that the networks are making episodes of Lost and Desperate Housewives and The Daily Show available as (video) podcasts. But the really cool stuff is fresh, original, creative videos like we haven’t seen before. Like Tiki Bar TV, “Forbidden cocktails in a swank pad.” (Check out Episode 10A, Drinkbot Outttakes)
Four Eyed Monsters is a feature film and a video podcast. “We are still working on distribution for the feature film but for the video podcast we already have that figured out. That is the cool thing about the web, distribution is a non-issue.”
Exactly. There have always been talented, creative people out there making videos. But we couldn’t find them and they couldn’t find/reach us. No more. I watched a few episodes just sitting here in front of my box but I can see where it would be fun to load up a video iPod.
I am now completely in charge of my “radio” choices. I’ve got more of exactly what I like than I have time to listen to. That’s going to happen to my “TV” viewing as well. And every everything else. Sample some of the video podcasts at iTunes and email me your favorites.
Good Night, and Good Luck
Finally saw George Clooney’s movie about Edward Murrrow’s efforts to bring down Senator Joseph McCarthy. No car chases. No gunfire. No explosions. No nudity. Just a bunch of guys talking and smoking and looking terrified. In black and white. There were five of us in the theater. Would love to see the movie again, but next time in the White House screening room with W, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove and…maybe John Ashcroft. One of those movies that nobody ever expected to make a lot of money. Just needed to be made.
DirecTV offers smarter ad
An EarthLink spot came on DirecTV tonight and I noticed little Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down icons at the top of the screen. I punchedthe Thumbs Up button on my remote… the commercial paused…and the following offer was displayed:
“Right now, get a TREO 650 from EarthLink for $199 and get $10/month off EarthLink High Speed DSL. Interested? Allow us to send you a free brochure.”
The options were: “No, thanks anyway.” and “Yes, please send me a brochure!” I chose “No” and the ad resumed. I’m not big on coupons and special offers, but for folks that look for deals, this is a step in the right direction.
Cancellation great for ‘Arrested Development’
Lost Remote offers a fascinating alternative to today’s TV model: “Getting cancelled is the best possible thing that could have happened to Arrested Development. No longer shackled by the whim of a fickle network, “AD” can take advantage of all the technologies now available for video delivery and make more money. The model is just waiting to happen: AD, a pioneer in its style of comedy, should pioneer this, too.”
If you’re in the network business (TV or radio), this is worth a read. [via The Long Tail]
Comedy Central’s Motherload Net coming November 1st
“The Motherload Net will consist of five video-based channels featuring a mix of clips from Comedy Central’s programming as well as original content produced specifically for the broadband network.
“We’ve taken everything that is great about Comedy Central and shifted it into broadband,” explained Comedy Central president Doug Herzog. “They can program it themselves.”
The channels, offering more than 450 video clips at launch, are: Originals, TV Shows, The Daily Show with John Stewart, Comedians, and Cult Classics. Each channel will be updated five days a week, with a total of 50-80 new clips being added each week.”