Posts Tagged ‘Film’

Film Reviews!: The Social Network

October 6, 2010

Hello all my shway-keteers!  (wow, that needs work).  I know it’s been a LONG time but I’m back in what I THINK is “the saddle” and I’m ready to start the bloggin’ once again.  I’ve decided to add reviews to the site for a very significant reason:  I think it’s all I have left to offer.  After I made the startling discovery of what the kids are calling “the Twitter,” I realized that anything that I could want to share or distribute over the internet could be done in 140 characters or less.  Film, however, my most lasting love in this life, yearns to be discussed.  Film and television and entertainment, as a whole, cannot be critiqued or evaluated in passing.  It needs elaboration.  So I’m going to start throwing the proverbial hat in the critic’s ring, in the hopes of expressing what I feel is (terribly) wrong with cinema (maybe even some things that are right.  Yay?)  My approach is simple.  I will discuss the piece in general, its flaws, positives, indifferent moments, then I will rate it on a scale of 100.  100 being a perfect movie, 50 being an average movie and 0 being one of the worst movies ever made, a completely inconceivable pile of filth that didn’t deserve the print it was delivered on.  So don’t think of it as a grading scale, think of it as a full, 100 point bell curve.  AAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNDDDDD we’re off!!!

David Fincher has a knack for making mainstream movies both beautiful and relevant.  This is a skill that is absolutely paramount to acquire in the industry as Hollywood generally ends up splitting the bill during the fiscal year, funding a plethora of movies geared solely towards profit margins, as well as a more meager slate of flicks designed to seduce the academy towards the end of the year in order to keep the studio in a ‘respectable’ light. His filmography reads of some of the most successful films (both financially and critically) in the past decade.  Se7en, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and now, The Social Network.  The through-line in most of his work, is an attention to pace and fluidity.  Fincher is nothing if not masterfully-kinetic.  He can take a dialogue-deluged script and shuttle it along at speeds reminiscent of Michael Bay or Brett Ratner, while STILL maintaining the story’s integrity, imagine that!

A fairly base hypothesis for why the man has such a mastery over his craft would lie in the years of time he spent as a music video director for roughly ten years from the late 80′s to the early 90′s.  Being forced to tell a story in around three minutes with little to no dialogue set to music is a task that will develop a sense of energy in your work.  Just ask any film school grad.  And while these are all simply wild hypotheses, I seem to be able to feel fully validated in them as The Social Network exists entirely almost as one long, beautifully shot music video.  That’s not to take anything away from the movie, necessarily, it just speaks to the overall tone that Fincher has set, and I want to believe that that tone is set from an intentional, psychological place.

My generation, one of the very first to basically grow up with Facebook (To date myself, I first signed on to Facebook my senior year of high school.  I was attending a university during high school so I had a .edu e-mail address, allowing me access), seems to have become defined by our succinct attention spans and constant yearning for diversity and multiplicity in all facets of life.  We work fast, we play fast, we rest fast, and if something isn’t up to our immediately-gratified standards, we have no problem trimming away the fat, throwing away the fluff, and digging in to something else, something more immediate, something more enticing.  The internet, the very overarching topic of discussion in The Social Network, has given us every bit of information and ability to create/interact with the rest of the world.

And this is precisely how Fincher’s latest endeavor feels.  It feels like a 120-minute-long music video hurtling along at a 3-minute video’s pace.  And yet, it never feels sloppy.  It never feels forced.  Fincher is able to fully realize his world, in his time, on his terms within this seemingly expanded frame.  Of course, he also had all the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly together, as well.  Trent Reznor’s score is a spot-on parallel for the action onscreen.  Every feeling, memory, and discussion caught on film seems to be perfectly buoyed by Reznor’s techno-tronic score.  While they highlight the different moments of each beat perfectly, they also manage to retain a sense of universality and act as a thread throughout the entirety of the production in order to keep the pace marching forward.  The overall emotion and ‘feel’ of the film itself is, ironically, conveyed through one of the most mechanized, digital scores of all time.  And yet, it works.  It perfectly works.

The cast of this film is quite impressive, as well.  Jesse Eisenberg has yet to disappoint me as he plays an emotionally disjointed version of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg.  Eisenberg does a perfect job of bringing screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s interpretation of Zuckerberg to full-form as an emotionally misguided, driven, slightly misogynistic genius who sees the world in less than a three-dimensional sense but, instead, more of a binary code.   Andrew Garfield, our Godsend of a new Peter Parker, plays Eduardo Saverin.  Zuckerberg’s only true friend and the start-up CFO of thefacebook.com.  Garfield handles himself so well in the part of the ironically emotional and turbulent business end of the company, trying to act as a moral compass for Zuckerberg who he worries is simply getting swept up in the tides of the of fame as Facebook begins to become a larger and larger monster of itself.

And the supporting cast really adds so much to this film, as well, Rashida Jones works perfectly as the inevitable angel of reason to Zuckerberg’s beastly temperament.  Justin Timberlake continues to bowl over the competition by playing the greasy, snarky, but strangely-likable Sean Parker, founder of Napster, and one of the original entrepreneurs of the peer-to-peer revolution.  And Max Minghella, Josh Pence, and Armie Hammer respectfully play the suing trio behind Harvard Connection who look to profit off of Zuckerberg’s fortune.

The acting is absolutely spot-on, and is a testament to Fincher’s casting abilities and his artistic prowess as a director of actors.  Eisenberg shines the brightest in his highly nuanced, yet specified portrayal of Zuckerberg, yet this is perfectly acceptable, given the weight which Eisenberg is expected to uphold.  The glaring problem that The Social Network does run into is it’s slight emotional disconnect with audiences.  What is usually a monumental cinematic fault really becomes nothing more than a blemish on Fincher’s otherwise fabulous narrative.  In what may have been an effort, or even an after-effect, of producing a film centering on Generation Facebook’s digital dependency, The Social Network at times feels as though it is moving too fast or glazing over moments too casually that otherwise may desire to be fleshed out in other works.  And yet, that’s exactly what this entire parable of Fincher’s is all about.  In the age of instantaneous ALL things do move faster than we may desire them to, things may get lost in translation.  All we can do is sift through what we have and do the best to make moments of connection happen in an age where people feel much more comfortable giving out a webpage than a phone number.

It should also be noted that Sorkin’s script is not one for accuracy, in multiple facets.  While no one knows PRECISELY how the story went down, it should be noted that glaring inconsistencies have already been brought up with certain key elements of the film.  Zuckerberg has denied any wanted involvement of his own in attending any of the final clubs that the film almost seems to base his creation of Facebook on.  Zuckerberg is still with his Chinese-American girlfriend that was actually with him as Facebook was coming to fruition.  There is no failed relationship debacle with a one, Erica Albright, which caused Zuckerberg to spiral out of contral that one, fateful night.  Further, Sorkin seems to turn his girlfriend into a Facebook groupie, painting her as nothing more than a clinger-on after Facebook’s founder begins to reap the enormous rewards of his work.  While there are considerably others that I have been told of yet I am not adroit enough to have caught, it stands to be noted that Zuckerberg is painted in an increasingly negative light.  He is an anti-hero, at best, and the overall arch of the story is in the hopes that Zuckerberg will ‘see the light’ and realize the error of his ways.  It does an incredible job of making a story more fantastical, it just doesn’t seem fair to base a character off of an actual human figure and then paint in such a light with such distinct colors.

All that aside, The Social Network is an excellent cinematic achievement that manages to bring together all the filmic ingredients that best make a ‘good’ movie.  The flick’s tone, thematic construct, and score are among some of it’s strongest moments and give it an absolute edge over most of the other entries into 2010′s moviescape.

Performances: 88/100

Cinematography: Aesthetics: 84/100

Score: 94/100

Script: 80/100

Final: 84/100

Koldcast’s 15 Most Under-Appreciated Comedians

July 26, 2010

Koldcast.tv is a great site for digital content of all sorts, but today I found a simple blog post that I found incredibly interesting.  As a MONSTROUS comedy nerd, I tend to value and follow certain comedians that most people don’t care at all about, if they’ve ever even heard of them.  Which is quite a shame.  Because for every unfunny JB Smoove and Pauly Shore character out there that has struck enormous mainstream success, 30,000,000 other MUCH-funnier, MUCH-more-cerebral, MUCH-more-deserving comics are still struggling with a fan base not much bigger than their immediate friends and family.  That’s why this list of the Under-Appreciated made me so happy!  And while certain people on here have just recently blown up (or are just about to) the list still mostly rings true for these funny people.  First, here’s the actual link to the post itself.  Below I have quickly and succinctly gone down the list and analyzed Koldcast’s suggestions.  If for nothing else, it would be a small victory if just one of these artists received a smidgen of recognition off of this list.  So, without further ado:

1.  Andy Kindler

While Andy Kindler IS great, he just recently landed the VERY cushy, coveted title of being a judge on NBC’s Last Comic Standing.  Kindler has been doing comedy for YEARS and after all the writing gigs and stand-up, it is extremely refreshing to see him in such a great position.

2. Matt Berry

Berry is actually one of my favorites from this list.  I fully agree that his voice is like a soothing chorus of angels against a light thunderstorm in the background of my mind.  He is absolutely hilarious on Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, and exceptional, as well, on my favorite, The Mighty Boosh.  American audiences need to wise up to this man’s incredi-mazing-ness right quick.

3. Peter Serafinowicz

Another incredibly talented Brit who seems to appear all across the board, but still hasn’t achieved that massive name success that so many comedians bank on to further their careers.

4. JB Smoove

This entry I outright disagree with (as referenced above).  His style of EXTREME over-the-top comedy punctuated with random yells and the most trite, predictable comedy I have seen in years, keeps you rolling your eyes and groaning through his entire set.  To add insult to injury, Comedy Central just recently gave Smoove a half-hour special to MC.  While I love Comedy Central dearly, they do have a problem with just handing loud, overbearing, unfunny people money (i.e. Carlos Mencia).

5. Andy Daly

Andy Daly has been plugging away at the comedy scene for years now.  While he’s not quite my brand of ha-ha, he has been at it for years continues to weave in and out of random groups and circuits with relative ease.

6. Aisha Tyler

Tyler is hilarious and represents a demographic with almost zero representation in the comedy world, the demographic of fangirl.  Tyler’s comedy is hilarious and generally tends toward the nerdy side, which usually leaves audiences either scratching their heads or simply disregarding what she says as not true, because the woman looks like an Amazonian.  She’s incredibly tall and gorgeous, to boot, so when she starts on a Slave Leia Cosplay story, many have trouble imagining her going to lengths to perfect the tin bikini.  Content aside, she is INCREDIBLY deserving of greater recognition and more roles in front of larger audiences.

7. Michael Hitchcock

Hitchcock I, myself, have not heard of, yet I have seen Waiting for Guffman.  That being said, an acolyte of Guest’s is usually not right up my alley.  His humor is generally too dry for my tastes (and as an avid fan of Stephen Wright, that’s TRULY saying something).  What I’m trying to say is that I can’t pass judgment, though I would like to.

8. Jessica Walter

Walter is someone I know when I see her, but, once again, I don’t know enough to comment!

9. David Pasquesi

Ditto.

10. Terry Crews

Terry Crews has always been hilarious.  With his Old Spice campaign and his role in the upcoming move The Expendables, I don’t know if this man needs much more exposure.  Mr. Crews may be right where he needs to be.

11. Molly Shannon

While I do dearly love Molly Shannon, I will say this, she has had more than her time to shine.  Shannon was a formidable presence on SNL during its third most popular streak, in which Tina Fey was writing and Will Ferrell was still performing every minute of.  Shannon even had multiple engagements after SNL, with movie and TV deals (remember Kath and Kim, anyone?) yet simply couldn’t capitalize.

12. Kristen Schaal

Schaal is an all-around talent, more-often-than-not actually taking to the stage, rather than the screen.  Her work transcends SO many different formats, however, and it would be lovely to see what she could do on a larger scale.

13. Nick Swardson

Swardson is hilarious.  His illustrious stand-up career has never seen a lull and he has consistently had his hand in Happy Madison’s productions, either writing, performing, or both.  In the Fall, however, Swardson will finally get his own sketch show on Comedy Central!

14. Amy Sedaris

Sedaris seems to have been everywhere and seems to have done it for the last 15 years.  I first came across her on Stranger’s With Candy, but between hawking her book and just making guest appearances, she pervades ALL FORMS OF MEDIA.  She even narrated a PBS special on the history of American comedy.

15. Robert Smigel

Smigel has written for SNL and Conan and is responsible for Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, The Ambiguously Gay Duo, and DAAAAAAAAAAAAA BEARS!  In some form or another, people know Robert Smigel.  They just don’t know…Robert Smigel.  I’d be very interested to see what the man is up to currently, and what he has in store for the future.

Johnny Depp Slated to Play First American Dr. Who

July 2, 2010

Hello, my pretties!  It’s been so long since I’ve spoken with you (all three of you), but this Summer has easily been the most hectic of my life.  So I’m currently trying to readjust.  While doing so, however, I wanted to fire back up the rantsite and dish on some Who-news that I just received word of via Twitter (I don’t care what anyone says, that site is just plain genius), hopefully I’m not too rusty at wringing my fists in the air while attempting to type words.  I have only recently fallen under the spell of the Dr. Who-nomenon (See what I did there?) that has dominated the BBC on-and-off for the better half of the century, and after falling for it, it has become impossible to revert back.  David Tennant is my current favorite portrayal of the good Doctor with Matt Smith following closely behind (It takes a LOT of work to make bow ties cool).

Long story short, I’m just starting to get into the show and TRY to understand the YEARS of backstory that come with the character.  Part of the appeal of Dr. Who, for me, anyway, is that it is a thoroughly British show with the most strictly British writing teams, fan bases, producers, and talent.  It appears to exist much like the Doctor does himself, in a microcosm outside of the norm.  For the Doctor, that norm is time and space, as he can transcend either.  For the show itself, that norm is Hollywood and hyper-mainstream-American production.  Of course, if a product is garnering money, buzz, and cult attention, Hollywood will never be far behind.  Just today, news broke of Johnny Depp being in talks to star as the first American Dr. Who in one of the film installments to the series.  While multiple bloggers have already weighed in on the obvious casting, my favorite points have still been made by Tom Chivers at the TelegraphHere’s the article.  Basically my problems are as follows:

1. Hollywood will see Depp interested/starring in the role and automatically consider the series to be viable, at which point they will acquire it with their boatloads of money and ruin everything the series has ever strived towards, all in that order.

2.  Depp is an American.  While I may seem like a Benedict Arnold by renouncing my own American people’s ability to play British, I would submit that we do it all the time.  Much flap was made about the casting behind The Last Airbender (which I hear is a really great flick, BWAAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAA), and I myself have decried the crime that is remaking Let the Right One In a year after the original simply because American audiences don’t fancy subtitles.  So I would further like to submit that an American Dr. Who could only work with an extremely adept actor (Depp does pass this qualification relatively easily) who has as expansive a knowledge of the Who-niverse as any British citizen would (Which I doubt Depp has).  Dr. Who is so thoroughly ingrained in British culture that you can find references to the series throughout the last 6 decades across all different forms of pop culture.  What I’m trying to relate is that a British actor, born and raised in the United Kingdom, will arguably bring a working knowledge and informed relationship to the Doctor that any average American will only be debriefed on in rehearsals and table-reads.  Unless, of course, Depp has had a life-long love affair with the series of which I did not know about.  I’m always open-minded!

The bottom line is that Dr. Who exists outside of the sphere of Hollywood influence that has SO oftentimes ruined the nearest and dearest characters closest to our hearts.  Dr. Who represents a foreign commodity that is not ours.  Almost a cultural natural resource of the United Kingdom.  And in the last 50 years or so, Hollywood has managed to become a major colonial force in the cultural world.  Exploring and acquiring foreign entries into pop culture and twisting them to become thier own.  Look at Kath and kim, Death at a Funeral, and Dragonball, just to name a few (This is a great list of roughly 17 total entries from the AV Club).  With a penchant for ruining franchises that have experienced great runs on their own, I am extremely trepidatious of this deal, to say the least.  That being said, it would be interesting if former Who showrunner Russell T. Davies got all the elements right, properly brought the Doctor overseas and then exploded the phenomenon onto American soil, making the Doctor the most popular he’s ever been.  Man, I play a great devil’s advocate.

Ghostbusters 3 is a Myth

April 28, 2010

As a big Bill Murray fan, I must say that my propensity to find everything he does as instantly witty probably make me biased towards him in this ongoing struggle.  However, I simply don’t care.  Murray has come out unabashedly denouncing talk of a third Ghostbusters as nothing more than mere “myth.”  Murray came out after being grilled on the prospect of the new film to cinemablend and stated

It’s just really the movie studio. They love the franchise, they’d just like to re-create it again. All this talk is just talk. It drives me nuts, it’s just people talking…Until someone actually creates a great script it’s just hogwash, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s interesting that people are interested in it, they’d like to see it. It was a great thing, it really was fun. Maybe it should. And if it’s such a good idea, then someone will write the screenplay.

Murray went on to further lambaste the project, of which you can find the rest of his derogatory sentiments on /Film. Overall, I find Murray’s position incredibly refreshing. How often, when faced with a mega-profitable franchise with the certain propensity for marketing and toy revenue to explode through the roof, do stars turn down deals such as this? Murray clearly isn’t excited about the prospect of another Ghostbusters sequel and rightfully so. The property is beloved by many and, really, doesn’t merit a sequel. The original 4 ‘busters are all in the twilights of their careers. The only feasible story would be about the squad coming to grips with the one ghost they can’t defeat, time. (You see what I did there? How’s that for verbal imagery? Eh?). This theme (which circled the web for awhile as the script for the third film that was in development) has been told so many times and certainly doesn’t constitute a retelling at the expense of the dearly-held Ghostbusters franchise. And before anyone preaches about the possibility that a third foray into the franchise could reap positive results, let me just remind you what a wonderful franchise Indiana Jones was before Shia LeBeouf, aliens, and lead-lined refrigerators came into the fray. And do I even have to mention Star Wars at this point?

Top 10 Craziest Casting Conundrums

April 19, 2010

Hello, my little chickadees!  After ANOTHER ridiculous hiatus I am back, and better than ever!  I simply couldn’t let 2/3 of April go by without a post so I will phone-in this quick link that I found on Cinematical, which is just a phoned-in link from Josh Spector over at comedy.com about the tumultuous world of Hollywood casting that has the ability to change at any minute, up until the finished product.  This Top 10 was fascinating as it included casting FAILS regarding Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Jim Carrey.  If you look at nothing else, however, check out the entry on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Matthew Broderick beat out some of the biggest names of the last twenty years to play hookie on screen.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

March 23, 2010

 

I want this to be an actual movie, IMMEDIATELY.  This short, put together by the celebri-sponsored team over at Funny or Die, consists of some of the best comics currently working.  A slightly embellished telling of the Weird One’s life which paints the picture of an alcoholic Al overcoming adversity and his own demons with the help of his parents, his lover, Madonna, and, of course, Dr. Demento.  Weird Al deserves an awesome send up on a monthly basis for his contributions to all that is funny funny ha-ha, so seeing Patton Oswalt, Paul Scheer, Olivia Wilde, Gary Cole, Aaron Paul, and Eric Appel produce this and slap it on Funny or Die made my day.  h, and, of course, Al gets in on the fun, himself.  Click below for fun times!

Weird

Honest Movie Titles

March 21, 2010

College Humor has yet to fail me.  This directory of what the leading movies of 2009 SHOULD HAVE been called is extremely true to form, even if some of them are a bit disheartening.  (As much as I loved Up in the Air, College Humor could not be any more dead-on).  Click below for the listtttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!

Honest Movie Titles: Oscars 2010

Ghostbusters 3: The Search for More Money

March 18, 2010

Sony and I rarely see eye to eye.  And with this latest development, they continue to strain our relationship.  Accorfing to Collider, working off of a story from Vulture (that’s right, folks!  You got it here THIRD!  WOO HOO!) it would appear that Columbia wants Ivan Reitman to step off of the newest installment in the Ghostbusters line.  Columbia apparently isn’t completely sold on Reitman’s ability to further the franchise and deliver on the twenty-years-in-the-making THIRD installment of the movie that made proton packs a household name (at least it is in THIS household).  To even move the project forward, four of the integral members of the first production, Murray, Akroyd, Ramis, and Reitman all must agree to the production before action can be taken.  I love this clause and I wish it was upheld more often in film.  Sequels made without the originator’s approval have frequently failed to inspire anything more than pure drivel.  But, this deal makes the project in itself all the more suspect.  Even when everyone had stated that they were signed on and excited before, Murray seemed lackluster about the whole process, at best.  He had publically made statements likening his enthusiasm for a third ghostbusters to his enthusiasm for the second Garfield film.  This recent development involving Reitman being politely asked to step away from the project makes me wonder how in the world the project will get off the ground, with Reitman being needed to give the go ahead to a project he’s being asked NOT to direct.  Meanwhile, this can’t create much confidense in Bill Murray for the franchise, as he already seemed tediously signed on out of a general respect for his co-workers more than anything else.  With Reitman out of the loop, Murray may see the writing on the wall, become all the more disenfranchised, back up his lot and leave.  And, to be honest, it would be the remedy to the ensuing storm that I have seen on the horizon since this project was announced.  This has always sounded, to me, like a studio-contrived attempt to suck more money out of the franchise in a point in Hollywood history where sequels, prequels, and reboots have been proven to be financially viable in lieu of original content.  After the success of the soul-crushing Indiana Jones 4 release, studios have had no reason not to go back and revisit twenty year old franchises with large fanbases (see: cash money).  The sooner this whole debacle falls apart, the better we will all be.

This is the article from Collider.

Bitch-Fest Wednesday: Moviefone’s Top 25 Funniest People Working in Hollywood (Right Now)

March 17, 2010

I’ve got problems with this list, BIG problems.  That being said, however, what this list does at least do is compile an overarching docket of comedians who are currently winning at Hollywooding.  I’ll let you follow the link to see the list for yourself, but some of my gripes are:

*Spoilers ahead (if you actually care about spoiling a Top 25 list)*

Mostly they have to do with placement rather than actually being put ON this list.  I understand the rationale behind LISTING all of these actors, but the stack-ranking involved has left me baffled.  For Instance, I have no idea why Elizabeth Banks is #14 on this list, ahead of Russell Brand, Ricky Gervais, and Ken Jeong.  Granted, she was in Role Models and Zack and Miri, and has played a couple of laughs for the Apatow gang in the past, but can ANYONE give me a reason that she should be ahead of the incredibly talented and devoted people behind her who have been creating and performing in comedy for years?  To further bitch, how is Anna Faris even farther up the list at #11?  Funny in the Scary Movies, yes, and pretty good in Observe and Report, but how far have we ACTUALLY seen her stretch?  She has adequately portrayed slapstick-ditzy and train-wreck-of-humanity, to great laughs.  That’s basically it.  And now that I mention it, I think I’m going to copyright both of those…

In addition to ranking wrong, I feel that this list is labelled wrong, as well.  This list is compiled of strictly Film and Television actors, nowhere on this list can producers, stand-ups, or late-night personalities be found, all of which, I would argue, constitute “Funny People Working in Hollywood.”  My notable ommissions would include Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Judd Apatow, Eddie Izzard, Craig Ferguson, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, Chelsea Handler, Jo Koy, Loni Love, Josh Wolf, Guy Branum, Whitney Cummings, The It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Gang of writers, producers, and actors, and the list could go ON AND ON AND ON AND ON…

To wrap up, I feel that the most egregious error comes with placing Paul Rudd at #1.  I’m certain that there are some die-hards out there that will greatly take offense to that, but let’s face it, Rudd is our generation’s leading straight-man.  An important position for comedy, sure, but his range is CERTAINLY no greater than that of Bill Murray, Sacha Baron Cohen, Steve Carrell, and Tina Fey, just to name some of the accompanying members of the list.

Moviefone’s Top 25 Funniest People Working in Hollywood (Right Now)

The Internet, Porn, and Chat Roulette

March 16, 2010

Technology is RAPIDLY changing our everyday lives, and it is no more prevalent than in the realm of entertainment.  As technology becomes more and more advanced, one would think that the need for liver interaction and community would be completely eradicated in exchange for the glossied, hyper-air-brushed, pristine world that film, video, and new media can give us through editing and cinematography.  I’m not even adverse to this direction, but the simple fact is that it is not completely accurate.  I was on Current.com the other day when I watched their episode of Vanguard (an EXCELLENT documentary program, btw) which was on Porn 2.0.  The intent was purely research, OF COURSE…*ahem*…Anyways, the creator of Kink.com (I know, it’s hard to keep a straight face for ME, I can’t imagine how you guys reading this are doing it) which is one of the leading pornographic hubs which has embraced the digital age, said that piracy and the rampant availability of content on the internet was DESTROYING their profits, so they knew that they had to turn to different strategies of entertainment to retain customers and continue to be viable enough to draw out a buck from the everyday consumer.  Ironically, the format that Kink has decided to go with is that of developing their live community.  Kink has invested in developing a sense of communion amongst viewers that can only be established by presenting live, original, exclusive content to their paying customers, which additionally provides an outlet for group interaction.

As creepy and far-fetched as the above trist may have seemed, it has been festering in my mind the last few days and became even MORE apparent when I found this video online of someone messing with others on Chat Roulette.  For those who don’t know, Chatroulette.com is a site where you interact with other webcammers on a totally random basis.  You have no idea who you will get and you can skip to the next person at any given time.  Kind of like speed dating only with even LESS commitment.  The overwhelming complaint of Chatroulette is that it is almost entirely comprised of lonely guys looking to show off their packages.  This, however, opens the doors wide open to an entirely different, improvisational use for the site and further makes me wonder if live performance is, in fact, not dead, but simply being reformatted to fit the newest parameters of our digital society.  Check out the video below and give Pianochatimprov some HUGE support on the Youtubes.  He deserves it!


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.