More Junk on TV?

After buying iFilm only a month ago, MTV Networks has unveiled plans for a new show to run on VH1 called Web Junk hosted by Patrice O'Neal. A retro way of looking at it would be to call it the next generation of Americas Funniest Videos. God knows, the American public never tires of laughing at others meet with disaster, and I'm sure this type of footage will show up, but, really the web-based interactive nature of the show is the opening shot of a whole new world of user-generated content infiltrating television.

In ten years the distinction between internet and TV will be so seamless, we'll know it only in memory. Memories of the old days when art and entertainment came at us from "professionals" and we absorbed, like good little drones will be replaced by interactive platforms. Right now, the shorts uploaded onto iFilms will show on three platforms: TV, the iFilm website, and VSpot, which is a broadband platform also owned by MTV.

I'm not quite sure what VSpot is or what it offers that the other two platforms don't, apparently, an on-demand feature that TV doesn't have, but better speed than you'll get through the website. It seems like for the next few years, at least, we'll have to deal with this patchwork quilt of disseminators, or actually, they are now referring to themselves as aggregators... it's better than what they used to be... aggravators. While the small music files screeching across the internet overturned business models and content in the space of a year, it will take longer with film. For now, don't even bother with your feature films, focus on three minute shorts and get yourself some visibility.

Web Junk promises an easy upload feature, so break out your camcorder and Final Cut Pro, make your three-minute statement and watch it on TV, internet and the VSpot streaming option. You don't have to think of movies only in terms of sitting in theaters anymore, or even in terms of sitting at all. Soon, we'll all be watching each other, not only on reality TV, but reality life.... only this time, with special effects. And don't forget to vote for your favorites... our next Steven Speilberg might be Kelly Clarkson.

Rize

I would call this Mad Hot Ballroom meets The Paper Chasers except that, to compare this film to anything else would do it an injustice. This fresh, inspiring DVD from photographer/music video director David LaChappelle offers an alternative to the shlock constantly put out there for teens. It’s the story of young people on the Rize from the darkest of starts.

In Compton, Watts & East LA, your choices are Crips, Bloods or Clowns. If you’re not aware of the Clowns, you should be. The Clown Academy was started by Tommy Johnson, a.k.a. Tommy the Clown, after the Rodney King riots, in 1992. There are now over fifty clown groups that feature an eye, not to mention butt, popping dancing that is, believe me, very hard to do. The various companies operate as businesses that entertain at parties.

The film compares it to pure tribal dancing, mixing footage of African dance into a montage. There’s full make up and the dancing itself is very primal. It helps these poor kids release their pent-up anger. It gives them a forum for self-expression and a structured setting complete with huge competitions.

There’s a related dance form called Krumping that’s more of a spiritual form of the same dance, which is more about trance. It goes on primarily in the churches but the big competitions feature dance-offs between members of each group.

There’s discussion of how clowning is also spiritual and very much about rising above one’s adversities and staying pure in your art and expressiveness. The mother of one clown is a krumper and she says she just clowns for god, it’s all the same.

Like the hip hop music used to underline clowning, it has stayed a pure artform, relatively untouched by mainstream media. I think this will continue to infiltrate dance the way hip hop slowly filtered its way into white America. The choreography coming out of the winter music awards shows are showing some of the movement and Beyonce took the stripper dance straight up for Crazy in Love, which was a huge video for her, made the song a hit.

This is an important film to see. Make sure you check out the commentary track, which is under “Set Up”. It will give you a lot of perspective about how these groups are viewed by major artists and how articulate they are about their place in society and the opportunities afforded to them in life.

Disney Bites The Bullet

Disney CEO, Iger seems ready to reap the wrath of theater owners over release dates for feature films on DVD. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal yesterday, he pretty much threw down the gauntlet, saying, “In the end it’s going to be more through force than negotiation”. Although Disney will lose some of its theater platform, it obviously the feels the loss will be more than made up for through savings in promotion and reduction in piracy.

Big studios like Disney are seeing the need to focus. The days of unchecked expansion and diversification are long gone and these dinosaurs are searching hard for core strengths on which to build. The future, for Disney, is the DVD format, which has increasingly accounted for its entertainment revenue. Disney is still primarily a theme park company and apparently that emboldens them to take a risk with respect to box office.

Got to give the guy credit for biting that Hank Barry-like bullet, but, somebody has to do it. Iger likened his position to that of the soldier going first over the hill and taking the bulk of the bullets, and I commend him for doing it. At least Disney has lots of bucks on which to fall.

The theater owners need to stop asking for subsidies like cotton farmers and work on their business model. People still want to go out of the house to be entertained, but you’ll need an IMAX screen,. Those have seen some 800% return. They’ll also need some web-access or software available in the lobby instead of making all your money off selling rip-off candy.

Theater owners are a huge part of the problem. They only run the most teen-boy oriented films and leave many other sectors of potential movie goers unaddressed. When the theaters start becoming true entertainment destinations and offer hands-on, creative, movie-oriented activities, they will profit. They’ve been lazy and pampered by the ease of admitting teen, snack eating boys and doing little else. Instead of threatening studios, they should be addressing the needs of their consumers and offering activities and technology through which they, and their consumers, can profit.

Greenmail Anyone?

Carl Icahn is getting increasingly frustrated with the Time Warner board, and he is not a man to be put off for long. It looks like he'll fight for control of the board in May and, if that doesn't work... well, I must admit I wouldn't mind seeing the threat of corporate raiding putting these entertainment conglomerates' feet to the fire. He owns 2.6% of the shares and the company has made disastrous moves, leaving the stock price stagnant for over three years now.

Granted, it hasn't been a good time for the entertainment sector, what with the internet and all, except that they merged with an internet company... an outdated one... I mean, dial-up? They've tried using AOL as a portal, a brand... it's been slow going because the brand doesn't represent anything relevant to people now.

Then, there's the music division debacle. They sold it to Edgar Bronfman in 2003 and he took it out from under the stodginess of the corporate environment, went online and flexible. They're one of the few bright spots in music, showing an 80% gain, but, that's not doing Time Warner any good.

According to Icahn in his letter to shareholders Tuesday, the bloated structure of the company, including a new $800B building, and their refusal to cut costs, is no longer acceptable and is demanding a buy-back and retention of a bigger share in the cable division they plan to spin off.

While it's the need to address shareholders that in many ways causes the problems, making companies so sensitive to each quarter's performance that they resist taking risks and making changes, I support shareholders pulling their weight and targeting these outrageous boards. These boards are extremely powerful and so often go unchallenged. They have dragged their feet for years in addressing the internet appropriately and providing a rational mode of balancing the need for copyright protection with the need for society to have access to our creative bounty.

They have set themselves at odds with technology and their own consumers, in their insane drive to use the internet to gain more and more control over our mediums and the content they contain... and that they own! In the process, they have left the American and worldwide public confused and skeptical. This was shown last Friday as post-Thanksgiving sales featured a sell-off of CDs such as we have never seen. Wal-Mart alone was selling over 40 titles at $3.44.

I have been pondering that fact for days, and I really think the retailers have been put on notice that the tide is turning. I guess they're the first responders. People want digital entertainment. People bought disks that ruined their computers, they see everything going online, they look at the stacks of expensive plastic disks littering their homes. They are paying over $100./month for internet & cable access, plus Netflix. The $30B boom is ending and they (the retailers) know it. Get on board or jump ship guys, because if your customers and retailers don't get you, your shareholders will.