HOLLYWOOD LIBERATION ARMY

GOOGLE LIKES TO WATCH

Looks like Google is getting into the burgeoning online video space in a big way.  They've announced they will begin archiving and indexing personal video footage submitted by the 'masses', in what they see as an experiment in video blogging.  Seeing that the ultimate video search engine is probably one of the internet's holiest grails, it's not suprising.  I wonder if they will tie this in with Blogger as well.

CNET News.com   

ATOM FILMS SHORT BECOMING VIN DIESEL PIC

Most people trying to break into the movie industry still think the film festival route is the way to go.  Truth be told, film festivals, as evidenced by the last Sundance, are becoming stale.  The new route to enter the movie business will be through the Internet.  As an example, Blur Studio, makers of the short film "Rockfish" which has been playing on AtomFilms, have just announced that they are teaming up with Vin Diesel to make a sci-fi action CGI feature film based on the short.  Diesel will lend his voice to the lead character.  Tim Miller, who wrote and directed the short will direct the feature film.

 

Cinescape

FIRST 'BLAIR WITCH', NOW 'THE STRAND'

Former "Blair Witch" director and co-creator launches "The Strand" on March 15, this time using the Internet to actually release his new content [a new webisodic], rather than just as a marketing platform.  His choice of distribution is not suprising considering the fact, in his words, that "There are a handful of executives out there who are the gatekeepers of what gets made and seen -- or not," Myrick said. "I've pitched so many ideas and come away frustrated. So we just decided to do it ourselves."  Gee, I wonder how many times we're gonna be hearing that in the future.  Note to gatekeepers:  Think about quitting your day jobs.

 

Hollywood Reporter

VIDEOS QUICK, EASY AND AUTOMATIC

A new program called Videora combines BitTorrent and RSS to automatically download a computer user's favorite videos. It's another application the entertainment companies will likely hate and consumers will love.

Wired

BLOGTELEVISION.NET

BlogTelevision.net mines over three million blogs daily to find videos for your entertainment. We find and highlight the videos that people are talking (read: blogging) about! Nothing censored; updated six times a day. [unmediated: Tracking the tools that decentralize the media]

CinemaMinima

MORE FREE P2P TV ON THE WAY

German company TC Unterhaltungselektronic plans plans to launch Cybersky, a P2P TV file-sharing network at the end of January or early February. Inventor Guido Ciburski claims his new service will allow broadband users to easily share TV shows in near real-time. Based on the description in The Independent, it sounds like it emulates a combination DVR and server, using a television attached to a computer. Ciburski thinks he can beat legal challenges because P2P isn't technically distribution. He's already been to court over an ad-skipping device -- and eventually won.

You've got to like a company with a FAQ that starts with "What t.f. is Cybersky-TV?"

PaidContent.org

MOORE WAS EXPECTED FOR ONLINE VOD BOW

Just how far from the big time is Internet video-on-demand?

Enough that even the heavily publicized online premiere of "Fahrenheit 9/11," the year's hottest political film, drew a mere 89 viewers for its one-time showing on election eve.

Variety.com

HLA: Interesting, but hardly a litmus test for online VOD in general and in the future.

ESPN.COM TO DEBUT ORIGINAL ANIMATED SERIES

"The Sports Guy" is getting his own show--on ESPN.com.

Bill Simmons--who pens "ESPN.com's The Sports Guy" on the popular online site, as well as a column in ESPN The Magazine--voices his own character for the animated series, which debuts on Nov. 24 on ESPN.com. The series consists of 11 one-minute episodes, and is produced in conjunction with Funny Garbage, the New York and Los Angeles-based production company behind Comedy Central's prime-time puppet show "Crank Yankers."

HLA:  This is the model of the future.  Thousands of sites putting out their own little 'niche' shows.

MediaDailyNews

INTERNET TV COMPANY SURVIVES WITH NICHE EMPHASIS

"The Internet will do to cable what cable did to broadcasting," predicts Dave Gardy, CEO of Internet TV pioneer TVWorldwide. The Washington state company carries a mix of archived and live streaming on 20 niche channels includuing USVets.TV, terptv for University of Maryland sports and HomelandDefenseTV..."

PaidContent

AOL CUES UP THE VIDEO

America Online is set to introduce a free, ad-supported video service in a move to diversify its business and seize on a burgeoning sector of online advertising.

The Internet service provider, a unit of Time Warner, will open AOL Video to the public in the coming weeks, Tom Bosco, AOL's director of broadband sales development, said in an interview Thursday. It also will debut Netscape Video, an on-demand video entertainment service, before the end of the year. The moves will follow last month's launch of video programming on AOL Instant Messenger.

America's Network

HLA:  Looks like everyone wants to be a video 'portal' now.  Netscape Video should be another boon to Internet moviemakers and moviewatchers alike.