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Go Speed Racer Spoof, Go!
Speed Racer is the big movie this weekend (though it will supposedly be stomped by an Iron foot). And if you’re a Speed freak there’s a spoof over on AtomFilms (where I used to work) that is a dead-on parody called Race Speedster.
It runs a little long, and the subject matter is a over the top (crystal meth anyone?), but the voice acting and stiff animation are brilliant.
And if that gets you in the mood for the real thing, Hulu is running the classic animated series right now (video after the jump).
Vid-Biz: Circuit City, Upfronts, Bebo
Circuit City Opens Up to Blockbuster; rental chain and Carl Ichann allowed to conduct due diligence on the company, Ichann may fund buyout. (paidContent) (previous coverage)
TV Nets Upfront Ad Sales Forecast to Be Down this Year; poor economy, writers’ strike and lower ratings are forecast to translate into a drop in ad buying of between 2 and 14 percent. (TVWeek)
Bebo Delivers One Billion Videos per Month; social network provides open platform so publishers can use their own player. (Beet.TV) (previous coverage)
ESPN360.co to Serve up Women’s Tennis; site will stream more than 70 matches from 11 events. (Multichannel News)
Facebook Launches American Gladiators Application; users can play games based on the show’s challenges. (The Hollywood Reporter)
SNL Gets Political; sketch comedy show creates political mini-sites featuring videos from the current and past seasons. (NBC.com)
This Week’s Net Neutrality Cheat Sheet
It’s Friday. The weekend everyone’s been working for is here. The last thing you want to read about is proposed Net Neutrality legislation making its way through Congress. But there were two developments on that front this week that you should at least be aware of, so to make it easier for you, we created this handy-dandy chart.
| Bill Title | Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008 (H.R. 5353) | Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (H.R. 5994) |
| Sponsor | Rep. Edward Markey (D.-Mass) | Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), Rep. Zoe Lofgen (R-Ca.) |
| Tactic | Authorize the FCC to monitor broadband network operators. | Uses antitrust laws to keep broadband network operators in line. |
| Concerns | House committee split along party lines. Republicans fear FCC will over-regulate. | Antitrust suits can be drawn out and expensive. |
Essay: Can We Stop with the Video CE Hardware Already?
Silicon Valley is littered with the carcasses of set-top boxes that were going to revolutionize entertainment. Rather than learning from this grim history, however, some kind of failure torch is being passed from one generation of dying-out hardware makers to a new breed angling to take a prize that just isn’t there.
MovieBeam is emblematic of both the failures of video CE’s hardware past, and the futility of its future. After floundering for years, being bought and subsequently killed by Movie Gallery, MovieBeam is now in the process of being sold to Dar Capital for $2.25 million. Is that a bargain or a big waste of time and money?
We’re guessing the latter. The only companies who have shown any success in getting consumers to adopt set-top box hardware for video content on a massive scale are the cable and satellite companies (OK, the telcos are making strong headway, too).
And it’s not like a bunch of no-names have tried.
Pauly Shore Goes After Polygamists
Pauly Shore rose to fame in the 90s through a combination of stoner antics on MTV and various catchphrases (he was the weeee-zuhl). But it’s been a long time since Encino Man, and Shore is now taking to the web for a documentary-type series called Pauly Shore’s America on Ripe TV.
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“It’s not a joke. Not some spoof, know what I mean?” Shore insisted in an interview with NewTeeVee on Thursday. “I’m interested in the news. The news to me is funny. I mean the things that happen in the news aren’t funny, but to me comedy comes out of tragedy.”
One of the more recent tragedies in the new was that of the infamous Texas polygamist sect. His quest to interview members inside the group are chronicled over five episodes being released over the coming weeks.
Rossellini Gets Freaky in Green Porno
If you ever wondered how dragonflies mate, let Isabella Rossellini demonstrate in her online series Green Porno, which went live this week.
Each episode shows Rossellini dressed in a different lo-fi (yet elaborate) bug costume to show how they have sex. It’s not freaky because it’s about animals doin’ it, but because the straightforward, clinical manner in which Rossellini speaks, combined with her pronunciation, makes words like “vagina” and “penis” haunting. Especially since she’s dressed like a giant fly mounting another fly.
Zune: No Plans to Police Content
The Microsoft damage control machine kicked into high gear yesterday afternoon, denying that the company was working with NBC on filtering software for the media device. From the Microsoft Zune Insider blog:
We have no plans or commitments to implement any new type of content filtering in the Zune devices as part of our content distribution deal with NBC.
Saul Hansell of the The New York Times Bits blog posted an update to his original story:
Vid-Biz: NBC, Logo, Second City
NBC Shows Available to iPhone Users; using the Wi-Fi connection lets you stream episodes in QuickTime directly from NBC’s site. (Silicon Alley Insider)
Logo Launches Largest Online Library of LGBT Video; site to offer more than 1,200 video clips featuring full episodes and snippets from shows like Big Gay Sketch Show and Curl Girls. (LOGOonline.com)
Second City Getting into Online Video; “The Second City’s Quarantine” will launch with 6 or 7 mini-shows, as well as work from the comedy troupe’s alums, including Steve Carrell and Tina Fey. (The Hollywood Reporter)
MTV Shows Off “Podbusting” Technique; network breaks up commercial pods to make ads indistinguishable from the show’s content. (The New York Times)
FCC Pulling Plug on Wilmington, N.C.; test city will switch off analog TV signal five months ahead of the national transition. (Broadcasting and Cable)
ABC Opening “Digital Bureaus” on College Campuses; journalism students will have a shot at getting their work on the network’s digital and broadcast platforms. (Variety)
Viral Video Gets Direct-to-Video Deal; the spoof 305 goes from the web to feature-length film to be released on DVD. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Comcast to Test Bandwidth Caps?
Comcast is reportedly considering monthly caps on bandwidth usage and may charge customers who go over these limits. DSLreports writes that users would get to use up to 250 GB per month and be charged $15 for every 10 GB over the limit. When contacted for comment a Comcast spokesperson told DSLreports:
“Comcast is currently evaluating this service and pricing model to ensure we deliver a great online experience to our customers. We have not made any changes to our current service offerings and have no new announcement to make at this time.”
Comcast has said it will start targeting bandwidth hogs, and this could be the way they do it. If you’re wondering if you’d have to pay extra, Silicon Alley Insider did some quick math and here are a few highlights of what 250 GB represents:
SuperDeluxe Sinks into Adult Swim
This is no joke. PaidContent wrote last night that Turner will fold comedy site SuperDeluxe into Adult Swim and lay off much of the SuperDeluxe staff. Turner sent us the following statement this morning:
“Effective immediately, we will begin transitioning the content of Super Deluxe.com to Adult Swim.com and merge the operation of both sites. This move allows us to grow more strategically and create a richer, stronger platform that builds on Adult Swim’s number-one position with young adults.”
The move isn’t a surprising one (we predicted it back in November) given that Adult Swim was a much stronger, edgier brand for Turner. Why compete against yourself when you’re also trying to fend off the likes of College Humor, Funny or Die and Comedy Central? Not to mention upstarts like My Damn Channel and 60Frames and all the sitcoms the network is putting online.
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