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There’s yet another success story to come out of the writers strike as more Hollywood talent tries to get out from under the studio and network system. But it’s been a long time coming. Finally, Reveille last Thursday has signed a deal with Machinima.com, an entertainment network for the gaming generation. It’s to executive produce and secure sponsorship for the Machinima Comedy Lab, a collaboration with 15 leading episodic television writers from popular TV series like The Simpsons, Futurama, SNL, Seinfeld, to develop original episodic comedy pilots for the Machinima.com network. One of those writers happens to be WGA West President and animation writer Patric Verrone. By securing sponsors for the Lab, Reveille and Machinima.com claim to be creating 
“a cost-effective way to incubate episodic series that can migrate from the Internet to TV with Reveille packaging the most successful series as pilots for broadcast and cable TV”. (Machinima.com is the 7th most subscribed YouTube channel. It became widely known in the entertainment industry in 2006 when the creators of South Park released the Emmy Award-winning episode Make Love, Not Warcraft.) “This partnership [can] create original online content that’s highly attractive to advertisers, while allowing us to make the television pilot process more affordable and effective,” Todd Cohen, Vice President of Scripted Programming at Reveille, said in the press release. Commented Bill Oakley, an Emmy-winning writer and past showrunner for The Simpsons: “Machinima.com lets us put our work in front of an audience that already enjoys our style of comedy and is embracing new forms of digital entertainment.”
Now I have more info on this venture: Sources tell me that the 15 writers or teams have each come up with an idea and written a treatment that can be made into five 4 1/2-minute Internet shorts which can then be sewn into a 22-minute pilot. Machinima.com is still working out the rights from the videogame companies so people are reluctant to give me specifics of any of the show ideas. But they’re all comedies, and the subjects include “prison breaks, paramilitary assault teams, Japanese schoolgirls, alien invasion rock star wannabes, medieval warriors in psychoanalysis, forbidden human/robot love, incompatible cop roommates, a neverending heist, a cuddly Cujo, and avatars gone wild”. Writing these pilots should take the next few weeks, then casting can begin. (Hear that, actors?)
Writers on the Machinima Comedy Lab pilots include: Ken Keeler, Stacie Lipp, Bill Oakley, Max Pross & Tom Gammill, Patric Verrone, Maiya Williams, Chris Cluess, Bill Freiberger, Eric Horsted, Christina Lynch, Peggy Nicoll, Mike Rowe, Loren Segan.
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Good news! More slightly amusing to not at all amusing comedy on the web! Look at crackle, funnyordie, and so on. There are about a thousand unwatchable shorts for every one decent one.
It’s hard to create good television and it’s even harder to create good television packaged in five minute bits. Plus, no professional writer is willing to risk their A material on these low-paying and sometimes no-paying ventures. But hey, if it’s good for Patric Verrone…
Maybe the 15th time is the charm! Or, this will be yet more proof that this is not the type of content people want on the internet and/or you can’t monetize it.
Wow. Now that the SAG TV/Theatrical contract has passed, these shorts will be GREAT opportunities for…NON UNION actors. That’s my guess. Nikki, any info on the per-minute budget thresholds for these projects?
As an artist, you’d be advised to stay away from content like this like it was the plague unless they are covered by the animation guild. The budgets for these thing will likely be tiny, even less than an episode of South Park, if that is even possible. South Park is already the bottom of the barrel when it comes to animation compensation. The WGA looks out for its own. Hard fought for gains in new media for writers does not necessarily translate below the line. It is often the opposite. Be careful.
Didn’t they do this type of thing about ten years ago? I think it was called Icebox.com and I seem to remember it was a huge flop (less we forget “Mr. Wong” by Pam Brady, “Queer Duck” by Mike Reiss, “Meet the Millers” by David Zuckerman, “Jesus and His Brothers” by Al Jean etc.).
But I guess if Elizabeth Murdoch wants to sink her Reveille money into online animated content it’s no skin off of daddy’s nose…
This was in the works for a while. Our fearless WGA made sure all his cronies and wife were hired before the announcement.
It would be revolutionary if the people gave deals to writers who were not “leading episodic television writers.” They’ve been churning out the same crap for years. The internet desires something different, not the same old same old.
This will be a failure, plain and simple.
Look beyond your circle, kids, and you’ll start to make some money. But that requires the ability to spot talent and take a chance, which they seem to be incapable of.
Actors? Casting? Uhhh… No, Machinma is a form of animation created by manipulating the existing characters in a videogame, recording that video, and adding a dialogue soundtrack. Writers – sure, great! Actors – not so much.
Great! Another way to do away with those expensive pilots and all those salaries to actors, writers and producers! Who needs to pay these guys what there worth right. They’ll work for nothing..and then be creative too! In fact, I bet we can get THE BEST writers to do this!!! We should find out who they are and just wait until they try to do something on their own. Wow, we should’ve thought of this internet thing a long time ago
Yep, as someone noted above, Icebox Redux. Same results. I just love it when some of these writers are announced for shit like this, especially concerning The Simpsons. Joe Blow submits a shaky first draft script which is then torn apart by the dozen or so “producers” at Gracie Films, then to have someone brilliant at the top like George Meyer (in his day) re-shred it again. Back down it goes to the “room” from where it emerges “Written By Joe Blow” as a comedic gem. Kudos to Joe, he’s a genius!
It just seems like these writers will be holding back on their best ideas, since this is an untested and unproven model. Why would an experienced writer give his best in this situation? Doesn’t make much sense to do anything but the throw away ideas that have come and gone in the last couple years. That’s why I can’t imagine this will be that successful.
Now, if this was for writers who are trying to break into the business and land their first comedy writing gig, then you’d actually see their best work.
One word…”Quaterlife”. (actually that was 3 words)
Yeah, this is WAY better than a decent WGA contract. Good on you, Patrick Verrone.
Dear Max and Tom,
Well, I for one am ready to work in this new realm. Maybe even with a marionette or two, just to keep Tom happy.
Much good luck, guys.
Anne Ramsay
Look, in the picture. There is 15 faces of where this CRAP entertainment origniates from. We should be striking against the WGA for more quality and less crap.
>>especially concerning The Simpsons. Joe Blow submits a shaky first draft script which is then torn apart by the dozen or so “producers” at Gracie Films, then to have someone brilliant at the top like George Meyer (in his day) re-shred it again. Back down it goes to the “room” from where it emerges “Written By Joe Blow” as a comedic gem. Kudos to Joe, he’s a genius!<<
Huh? Who in this list are you referring to?
Writers getting paid for their work with benefits and money towards their pension? Yay!
As a WGA member, I’m not touching this with Patrick Verrone’s bargepole. These ridiculous little ventures have no chance of succeeding and only serve to undercut what is already a barely sustainable existence in T.V. Imagine if one of these “shows” gets packaged into a series: The model for T.V. development goes from properly budgeted pilots on the air to craptastic mini-sodes on the web with no budget.
Even Wall Street is saying there is no sustainable business model for television on the internet. Yet, the studios are cannibalizing their future earnings without even considering what they’re doing to their own product.
I for one, can’t stand to watch most of the stuff on You Tube with the crappy small screen and tons of unwatchable junk. Except for monkeys. Monkeys make me smile. And penguins. And porn… Wait, what?
I know a couple of the guys (not including Verrone) working on this project, they’re just trying to expand the horizon, ya know? If it works, great. If not, well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?
I fail to see what many posters are complaining about. This venture is about writers having greater control over their work. What’s wrong with that? Given that the president of the WGA is involved, obviously the content produced will be done so in accordance with the MBA.
And yes, it’s true, much of the content made for the web hasn’t been great. That happens when people take risks. But go watch TV or the movies, there’s tons o’ crap there, too. If you don’t like, don’t watch it.
Digital technology is to content creation and distribution what the birth control pill is to sex. Embrace it.
Mike Dieffenbach
I don’t think this is a great idea. Sort of like those one-sheets they staple on phone poles by freeway on-ramps: “BE YOUR OWN BOSS!!!” But it might be a fun way to try odd new stuff. And if even one of these projects work, it might erase all the suck.
It reminds me of a chapter in Malcolm Gladwell’s uneven-but-interesting “OUTLIERS.” In the late nineteenth century, Eastern European Jews slaved in New York’s garment district. But the only barrier to starting their own clothing businesses was the cost of fabric, a few sewing machines and some real sweat equity. This is really the exact same concept, just switch out the sewing machines for Sony HD cameras.
Oh for crying out loud, if you want control, just write it and pay out of pocket to make it and throw it up on youtube. Or better yet draw it yourself like Matt or Seth or Mike. You don’t need any friggin’ WGA ‘gains’ in ‘new media’ to do that. Pathetic.
Little Fat Girl, you are comparing turn of the century sweat shops with billion-dollar media empires? Seriously?
Hm, seems like the new discourse of “hate” has spilled from cable politics to the behind-the-scenes showbiz types. So, what you all are saying is, “Why bother with experimenting with internet programming, it’ll never work.” Yeah, why go from talking movies when the silents are fine? And who wants to listen to radio with moving pictures? All I’m saying is that if you’re a writer and you want to keep working, stay current, change with the times or your screwed and you get bitter and you complain when other writers get work and…oh…nevermind.