Hollywood Powerhouses Turn To the Internet Amidst Strike Uncertainty

Last year, a Writers Guild of America strike brought Hollywood to a standstill, prompting many to start seeking different methods for creating and distributing entertainment.

Now, as a Screen Actor Guild strike looms, a few of those pursuits are starting to see the light of day, as well as new developments that have raised interesting questions regarding the future of Hollywood as it functions today.

“Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” is the latest brainchild of Joss Whedon, creator of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Angel” and “Firefly.” Neil Patrick Harris (“How I Met Your Mother”) stars in this super-villain-themed musical as a mad scientist whose ever-present thorn in his side, a do-gooder known as Captain Hammer, is played by Nathan Fillion (“Desperate Housewives”).

According to the Web site, the three part mini-series was born out of the frustration Whedon felt during the Writers Strike, and how there was no other viable avenues for people to use other than the current system.

“It started as a podcast,” Whedon said in an interview with AccessHollywood.com. “I missed writing songs, but I had no structure to present them in.”

Whedon thought “Dr. Horrible” would be a perfect way for him to write more songs, using the set up of an audio diary left by a super-villain as a jumping off point.

“That never really got off the ground as most of my stuff doesn’t. During the Writers Strike, everyone was saying, ‘Let’s create Internet content,’ so I talked to different companies about partnering like everyone else,” Whedon continued. “Dr. Horrible was the thing I would pitch saying ‘And here’s the thing you’re not going to buy because it’s too awesome,’ and I was right. When it became clear I was going to have to do something myself, it was clear the only thing I was going to do was a musical named ‘Dr. Horrible.’”

It is Whedon’s hope that “Dr. Horrible” will show others that a professional quality piece of entertainment can be made with a small budget specifically for the Internet and be financially successful in the long run.

When asked if he created “Dr. Horrible” to set an example for others, Whedon respond “I’m not exactly Moses leading people across the Internet. Yes I’d like this to be an example, but obviously my circumstances differ from others. I can call in a lot of favors I’ve spent years acquiring that other people might not be able to. It’s very difficult to not make weird things for the Internet now that I know I can.”

Whedon, who is also the executive producer of the upcoming “Dollhouse” for FOX, has leveraged the social networking Web site MySpace in order to promote the self financed “Dr. Horrible.” Zach Whedon, Joss’ brother and a writer on HBO’s “Deadwood,” created an introductory comic to Captain Hammer, with art by Eric Canete, which can be found in the myspace.com comics area.

“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog” Episode 1 hits the Web today, followed by the second on July 17 and the third on July 19 – all of which are only available for free until Sunday, July 20. After that, the mini-series will be available to download for a small fee, with hopes to eventually release it on DVD with extras and a commentary track (which is rumored to be a musical as well). Find more info and the episodes themselves at “Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog”.

And now, Internet search giant Google is getting into the animation game as well.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a new deal between Seth MacFarlane and Google will have the “Family Guy” creator producing 50 two-minute shorts, entitled “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy,” to be displayed on the Google owned video sharing site YouTube, as well as on external sites using Google’s popular AdSense program.

”[It’s] not a series, it’s a group of Internet shorts,” McFarlane explained to Access. “Each one is its own little segment, it’s like a sketch show for the Internet.”

By leveraging the Google AdSense program, in which Web sites across the globe are able to create revenue from their work by hosting Google provided ads, MacFarlane’s latest comedic offering could potentially be seen by more viewers than FOX is able to reach.

MacFarlane will take a portion of the profits generated from ads running on the shorts.

However, there are a few red flags that have been raised already, one of which was NBC’s poorly received “quarterlife” & “California Dreams” Internet series, which may indicate the public is not ready to make the jump from small screen to smaller screen.

When queried about the “Cavalcade” and Google, MacFarlane said, “It’s something different. It’s a risk and it’s untried and I respond to that. This is a wholly new medium and what we are trying is something that’s not been done before. That appeals to me, anything where I could fall flat on my face and fail miserably appeals to me.”

The Hollywood Reporter goes on to theorize about possible bad blood between News Corp., owner of FOX, as well as the Internet social portal MySpace, and MacFarlane over the Google deal, thinking that News Corp. could have used the “Family Guy” property in the same way but hosted it on MySpace.com, which fits more with the demographic of the show, and would likely have a greater draw due to brand recognition.

Another Internet-only offering is “Carpet Bros.”, created by former SNL writer Matt Piedmont and starring SNL alums David Spade and Tim Meadows.

“Carpet Bros.” is the story of three brothers in the ‘70s who attempt to save their recently passed father’s business, Rancho Cucamonga’s home of discount rugs Carpet Galaxy, from the bank due to a massive debt and others wanting to buy the Galaxy out. The irreverent comedy (which is equal parts “Royal Tenenbaums” and “Studio 57”) is produced by 60 Frames Entertainment, an online distributor of original content.

When asked where the idea for “Carpet Bros.” came from Piedmont told AccessHollywood.com, “I fill notebooks with literally millions of ideas. 60 Frames called me up during the [Writers] strike and said we have money for you and I said okay. I didn’t think it through too much, it was one of the ideas I had in my notebook.”

60 Frames positions themselves as the first company “specifically focused on financing and syndicating Web content, in an environment where artists maintain creative freedom, significant profit participation, ownership and control over their properties.”

Piedmont said his time with 60 Frames has been wonderful.

“We hammered out a great deal where I have final cut. They’ve been very pro-artist and very diligent about getting the stuff out there in a way that’s quality and staying on top of it,” he added.

60 Frames’ Web site claims there will be upwards of 50 series in production by the end of the year. The site currently hosts 20+ shows, including offerings from Jerry O’Connell, as well as the comedy group “Kids In The Hall.”

Comedy is not the only genre to be found when talking about Internet specific entertainment.

“30 Days of Night,” a popular horror comic series written by Steve Niles with art by Ben Templesmith, was adapted to the big screen in 2007 by Ghost House Productions to some limited success.

Ghost House Productions has continued the franchise by offering two Web series set in the same universe as the film. The first, “30 Days of Night: Blood Trails,” is a prequel to the film and follows an addict that sells information on bloodsuckers to a local New Orleans vampire hunter, whose final payday may cost him his life.

The second serial based in the “30 Days of Night” universe, “Dust to Dust,” is set to launch July 17, starring Shawnee Smith (“Saw”). Both serials can be found at http://www.fearnet.com, a portal for all things horror and only available online or onDemand in partnership with Sony Pictures.

Fortunately for Hollywood professionals and aspiring creative individuals, the Web has offered a myriad of ways to distribute their content that were not possible a decade ago. As a result, the distribution model that created most of the large studios within Hollywood today is starting to erode, as more and more options for the end user become available.

“Hollywood never changes for the better or worse. Hollywood is Hollywood. The writers and the unions will always be abused. The work will always be boiled down. People who are just pretty will be propped up as movie stars. Great scripts will be torn apart. At the same time some amazing stuff comes out of that system,” Whedon commented when asked if the Internet has changed Hollywood. “Ultimately, the Internet is proving to be the disintegration of the studio system as we know it, but I think that also applies to television when that showed up and somehow we made it to the ‘70s when a lot of good movies were made.”

Piedmont sees the Internet as a just another tool, one that “gives a good platform if you are willing to go down that path and get off the gravy train. I think the hurdle for some people is ‘Do I really want to spend all this time to do something for the Internet? It’s the responsibility and the effort of the artist to be willing to use it as a tool.” Part six of “Carpet Bros.,” the finale of this season, can be found at 60 Frames on Wednesday, July 16.

As the landscape continues to change, it remains to be seen who this will benefit more — the viewer, or the creator.

Only time will tell.