Hollywood Clicks on the Work of Web Auteurs [Are candidates paying attention this?]

The NY Times ^ | July 23, 2006 | John Clark

[summer]

Scenes from “MySpace: The Movie,” created by David Lehre. The 11-minute parody of... MySpace and its users has had millions of hits since it first appeared on the site YouTube on Jan. 31.

EVEN as David Lehre’s “MySpace: The Movie,” ... spawned a high-profile feeding frenzy, some of the Hollywood agents, managers and lawyers who were clamoring to represent him didn’t know much about who he was...

“It’s their fear of not being a part of it,” said Scott Vener, Mr. Lehre’s manager...

,,,“Their nightmare is a direct feed from moviemaker to audience,” said Walter Kirn ...

Geoffrey Gilmore, director of the Sundance Film Festival, said: “We are probably at a period of greater change than we have had in the past 50 years. The industry is scared about what they should make and how they should deliver it. What’s the next step? Where’s the development coming from?”

“MySpace: The Movie” first appeared on YouTube on Jan. 31 and since then has had millions of hits, enough viewers to rival big-budget films or TV shows. Mr. Lehre, who is 21 and lived at his parents’ home ...

... Mr. Gilmore also wondered what sort of “filtering mechanisms” would evolve on the Internet, if any. Of course what makes the Web attractive is that there are no gatekeepers — managers, agents, studio executives, or film-festival programmers — to get past. ...

Mr. Kirn predicted that “all of the zoo animals are going to get out.” He continued, “The question is whether they will be paid,” ...

“The Net is going to unleash a hybrid talent and a hybrid sensibility,” he said. “What it needs is an Orson Welles, an unclassifiable polymath. It will reward someone with that kind of talent.

[Argus]

In the past, vaudeville, the Broadway stage, nightclub acts, radio, TV, standup comics, foreign, art and independent films, shows like SNL and In Living Color, rock'n'roll and graphic novels/comic books have all been the "farm teams" from which Hollywood drew and co-opted new talent. Now it's the Internet. The usual gatekeepers will make the selection and the winners will get fame and fortune, while the also-rans will continue to post their videos on the web. It's already happening just this way.

[summer]

I'm such an idiot. ;-)

Hey, maybe you're in this movie! :)

[summer]

The usual gatekeepers will make the selection and the winners will get fame and fortune, while the also-rans will continue to post their videos on the web. It's already happening just this way.

Yes and no on that. Because yes, there's always winners and losers. But, no to the idea that everything is the same as it was before. It's really not the same as it was before. Prior to the internet, there was really no way to reach an audience to rival the size of a network television audience. And, you really did have to know someone who could get you to see someone who maybe knew someone to get you into someone. But, now, with the internet -- the gatekeepers are really gone. They're the "gate runners" now, because the best they can do is run after the talent that's already getting numbers. The online talent no longer has to find them. The gate-runners will run to who's online.

[Dog Gone]

I guess I don't need a my space listing, although I'd like to know if the three chicks who have already emailed me are really chicks.

:-)

[summer]

I think this reply has better spacing:

The usual gatekeepers will make the selection and the winners will get fame and fortune, while the also-rans will continue to post their videos on the web. It's already happening just this way.

Yes and no on that. Because yes, there's always winners and losers. But, no to the idea that everything is the same as it was before. It's really not the same as it was before. Prior to the internet, there was really no way to reach an audience to rival the size of a network television audience. And, you really did have to know someone who could get you to see someone who maybe knew someone to get you into someone.

But, now, with the internet -- the gatekeepers are really gone. They're the "gate runners" now, because the best they can do is run after the talent that's already getting numbers. The online talent no longer has to find them. The gate-runners will run to who's online.

[spudsmaki]

I will respectfully disagree with you, you MUST post on youtube. What else has the horsepower to handle its volume? Man, it has more capacity than Google or akamai. You can post on FR, but anything popular quickly becomes unavailable. Nobody, but nobody, serves up gigs like youtube.

They're not running ads, just burning venture capital. No idea how long this can last, but it's a treasure trove of culture. Where else can you see Dolly Parton on Captain Kangaroo playing a song she never released? Or an old Flintstones Winston ad? Or the Jetsons?

The video clips of Bush, Kerry, Gore are just a hoot. Even LBJ's Daisy Ad that won him the election is there.

You can see, at a time of your choosing, everything from Karen Carpenter to Ann Coulter to the Three Stooges. I suppose the RIAA will ruin this like everything else they've touched, so enjoy it while it's here.

[summer]

ROTFLMAO! You sound like you have too much free time on your hands these days, Dog... :)

[summer]

Yes, for now it's all in one place -- just like everything was once all in Life magazine, or all on network prime time news, etc. But, it will eventually filter out, into niche channels online. And, FR is the place for you know what... :)

[summer]

PS But, I very much enjoyed reading your reply. Even though I respectfully disagree with you as to youtube's value in the longggg haul. In the long run, there will be others...

[summer]

But, here's a question, spudsmaki: Which party will be first to pick up on all this? The Dems have taken forever and a day to realize they need to start creating farm teams to run for elections. And despite Daily Kos' founder's claims to the contrary, FR was up and running FOR YEARS before Daily Kos ever found its way to the internet. And we all know who attracts more radio talk show fans.

So, that is what I am waiting to see: who's smarter? Which party will set up its own YOUTUBE first to reach millions of new voters?

I am betting it won't be the Dems. They may run Hollywood, but seem to lag behind when it comes to seizing the opportunities presented by new media. However, maybe this time I am wrong...time will tell.

[spudsmaki]

What makes youtube a revolution is its technology. Every stinking TV station has a web site with video cuts but they rarely can serve them, and usually do it with a dopey crashable video player. Windows Media 10 anybody?

Youtube runs on any reasonably modern browser that can handle Flash video flv and if you're clever you can save them. Youtube delivers hundreds of millions of videos a day. They're going to be a case study in internet distribution, if only as a postmortem. You really have to appreciate what an advance this is.

As far as making money, they've yet to take in a penny. No billing model, no idea what their investors are thinking.

[summer]

I can go with you on that line of thinking -- that's it's a huge advance in terms of technology. And, frankly, that's something I've come to look for in a candidate: who's into technology? That's an important question to me as a voter.

[summer]

As for the billing and making money part -- I'm guessing someday they will charge a fee to post a video on youtube. Or charge a fee for something else. And, that's probably coming soon, I would imagine.

[Androcles]

Whioch one has higher ratings overall? I have looked at Daily Kos twice and both times found the site irritating to the eye (Let alone politically) and unpleasant. FR's strength is the ease of use, customisable presentation and lack of clutter.

[spudsmaki]

Which party will be first to pick up on all this?

Gosh, how could anyone call that? If you've seen Algore's stiff of a movie you know why word of mouth killed it. And George is such a horror on TV, gawd he has a worse presence than Nixon. And everyone should see the Kennedy Nixon debate.

A JFK will humiliate an opponent on the web and then we'll have our answer. It's hard to believe either party will win this November, political stands are so jumbled up. Just look at energy policy.

[summer]

A JFK will humiliate an opponent on the web and then we'll have our answer

i hear you on that one..

[summer]

And, I agree with other points you made, too.

[summer]

found the site irritating to the eye

I know exactly what you mean. I, too, find FR a much more user-friendly site, and I did not like Daily Kos in terms of design. Also, that found of DailyKos may not have ever mentioned FR outright, but as I recall, his new book does claim to be an early presence on the web, and that is simply not true when you look at FR's history. Perhaps in terms of Dem sites, but, not in terms of political sites in general. Daily Kos was rather late to the game, as were all the Dem sites still around today. FR had them beat by years and years.

[summer]

found the site irritating to the eye

I know exactly what you mean. I, too, find FR a much more user-friendly site, and I did not like Daily Kos in terms of design. Also, that found of DailyKos may not have ever mentioned FR outright, but as I recall, his new book does claim to be an early presence on the web, and that is simply not true when you look at FR's history. Perhaps in terms of Dem sites, but, not in terms of political sites in general. Daily Kos was rather late to the game, as were all the Dem sites still around today. FR had them beat by years and years.

[spudsmaki]

Or a Ronald Reagan, someone with command presence on this new medium. We don't yet really know what it takes.

As far as site design, I adore the simplicity of FR. Using Firefox, I just apple + until the text is large enough for me to read, which is 12 or more points.

The Kos, aside from content, is impossible for me to read. I can't see 6 point text, and increasing it causes the site to disintegrate. Like MS Windows, it's designed for 20 something eyes.