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14 Dec 2011 10:23

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Culture: Louis C.K. sells DRM-free comedy special, profits handsomely

  • I really hope people keep buying it a lot, so I can have #(&!loads of money, but at this point I think we can safely say that the experiment really worked. If anybody stole it, it wasn’t many of you. Pretty much everybody bought it. And so now we all get to know that about people and stuff. I’m really glad I put this out here this way and I’ll certainly do it again.
  • Comedian Louis C.K. • Expressing pleasure at the success of his self-produced comedy special, “Live at the Beacon Theater.” The comic, currently on an upswing as a result of his hit FX comedy “Louie,” did something fairly novel with the release model for the special — he threw it online himself, charged $5 for streaming or a digital download, passed on the DRM, and made a point of asking nicely for people not to throw the video on torrent sites. (Some did, but they were roundly criticized by their Pirate Bay peers.) The result of Louis C.K.’s move? In just its first couple of days on sale, it sold 110,000 copies, leading to $500,000 in sales and $200,000 in pure profit. He puts it like such: “This is less than I would have been paid by a large company to simply perform the show and let them sell it to you, but they would have charged you about $20 for the video.” Which means, guys, that Louis C.K. is a genius apparently. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jun 2011 13:41

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Culture: So, Stephen Colbert has his own PAC.

  • Making a better tomorrow, tomorrow.
  • The slogan for Stephen Colbert’s PAC • Yeah, you read that right. Stephen Colbert now heads a PAC, and he can raise money and run ads for candidates at his choosing, so long as he has the money. The main battle Colbert has been fighting, though, is when he has to disclose what he’s paying for the ads. As long as they air during his show, he won’t have to say how much he’s paying because of a media exemption. In trying to get an exemption, Colbert was able to expose some loopholes in the law, causing for a pretty narrow ruling on it…which is a good thing, as it leads to more disclosure from big companies contributing to political campaigns. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Aug 2010 01:33

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Culture: It’s official: Will Ferrell’s new movie is an actual freaking hit

  • $35 million the size of the opening for “The Other Guys,” Ferrell’s new buddy-cop flick with Mark Wahlberg
  • $47 million the first-week box-office of Ferrell’s biggest opener, “Talladaga Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Aug 2010 22:53

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Culture: Will Ferrell: Meet a guy really desperate for another hit

His last movie, the huge-budgeted “Land of the Lost,” got completely upstaged by “The Hangover.” So, he needs “The Other Guys” to kill it at the box office. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jul 2010 11:53

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Culture: Drew Carey: “The Price Is Right” no longer has a fat host

Who cares if Bob Barker reportedly thinks he’s a lowsy host? He just lost 80 freaking pounds, and he did it the old-fashioned way: Healthy eating and exercise. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 May 2010 01:00

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Offbeat: Icelandic politics so bad, comedy parties are winning elections

  • Reykjavik better hope these jokers actually bring Disneyland. Tina Turner, eat your heart out. This commercial is not only laugh-out-loud hilarious, it was incredibly effective, too. Jón Gnarr of “The Best Party” got more than he bargained for when his just-created party won 34.7% of the vote in the city’s local election, topping everyone else and securing six out of the 15 city council seats. Gnarr has the comic sensibility of Ricky Gervais without the use of the letter C. (And more promises of towels.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Mar 2010 14:48

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Culture: Seth MacFarlane’s comedy somehow less funny on YouTube

  • This YouTube clip includes two things: One, a 30-second commercial for Priceline done in Seth MacFarlane’s patented animation style, and two, a not-funny one-minute clip that was seemingly rejected from a episode of one of MacFarlane’s three TV shows. If it couldn’t make it into three different TV shows, you know it sucks. This one, however, is a bit better. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

14 Feb 2010 10:18

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Offbeat: We like stores that tell us exactly what they are, too

  • “I don’t need no Papa John’s, I go straight to Pizza!” This comedy rap, “Stores That Tell You Exactly What They Are,” is clever as heck, and has a killer guitar-driven beat to boot.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jan 2010 09:36

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Culture: CBS decides Jack Benny’s legacy worth more to them hidden away

  • Basically, CBS has decided that it could cost too much to pay a lawyer to figure out if they can release these films – or even turn them over to Benny’s fans and family for release – and so it has decided to simply abandon them, sealing them back up in the vault forever.
  • Boing Boing blogger Cory Doctorow • Regarding CBS’ decision to block the release of a set of old Jack Benny masters to the late comic’s fan club, for purposes of remastering. The network blocked the decision despite the footage being public domain, the fan club getting consent from Benny’s family, promising to pay for the remastering themselves, and being genuinely good-intentioned. These 25 episodes were thought lost forever. Now they’ll be locked away in some vault instead. Lame. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Jan 2010 03:10

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Politics: Corny country comic Ray Stevens is still around, still sucks

  • 36 years ago, this guy was responsible for one of the cheesiest, corniest songs to ever become a No. 1 pop hit, “The Streak.” (In his defense, Owl City’s blatant Postal Service rip-off “Fireflies” might be cornier and cheesier.) Since then, he’s maintained a cult audience, but in recent years, he’s taken to releasing topical country “comedy” songs about current events, with a far rightward lean. This one, “We the People,” threatens congressmen who vote for health care. And it has a million views on YouTube. Who are these million viewers, and what are they doing searching for “Ray Stevens” on YouTube? It’s not even funny!
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
 
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