Wilson Cleveland with Felicia Day, who guest starred in "Webventures"
Want to know more about "The Webventures of Justin & Alden"?
Last week I said I was going to be interviewing the multi-talented Wilson Cleveland, producer of "Webventures", co-founder of CJP Digital Media and new media veteran. I asked if anyone had any questions for him and Huck, Eva, Osiramon and Bryan all stepped up. I put their questions and mine to Wilson and he replied with some really in-depth answers. Part 1 is on PinkRaygun.com today.
Part 2 tomorrow...
The second part of the interview is out tomorrow where Wilson talks about the Streamys and offers some advice to aspiring web video creators.
The Webventures of Justin & Alden - finale now up!
So then, what did we learn?
If you haven't seen the finale of Webventures then get watching now!
Mild Spoilers Ahead!
I don't want to give the ending away. It would take too much time since the conclusion is immensely fast-moving and, like sponsors Trident gum, layered. I suggest you watch it at least twice because you're bound to miss things otherwise. Of course Felicia Day is magnificent and she gets the prize (or she will eventually, one would think), but she isn't (dare I say it?) the star of show. Justin and Alden, or rather their (groan) "Manlationship", are/is the star. And don't forget to watch right up to the end because the last shot is priceless.
The healing power of cheese
As cheesy and contrived as the whole conceit is, it completely works for me. I said before that it was pitched perfect(ly) and the conclusion never wallows or grates. It just...works. And, more than that, it has helped me come to terms with the Streamys 2010. It has exorcised some of the bad mojo because Justin and Alden embody the spirit of what I wanted the Streamys to be about: having a dream, making it happen and hot vampires. Er, no...Friendship, journeys well travelled and bromance. Er...getting all your acquaintances together and putting on a show? Well, something like that, anyway.
Question time - Who IS Wilson Cleveland?
Wilson is a veteran of webseries creation and is the person behind the people behind "Webventures". Or something like that. What does that mean? I have no idea. And so I will be interviewing Mr Cleveland later today about his roles, what it was like to work with folk such as Sandeep Parikh, Tony Janning, Sean Becker and Taryn Southern, and what the future of branded webseries might be.
Give me your questions!
Sometimes, dear readers, you have to earn your keep. I can't be expected to think of everything, all the time! Mr Cleveland is expecting some intelligent questions and I have a deadline. So, rack your brains and send me your questions so it looks like I know what I'm talking about. Come on - I've not asked you to vote for anything in ages, so really you - owe me! Please?
The Webventures of Justin & Alden: now on your intertubes!
What would YOU do to get famous? This is an interesting question and one that Justin and Alden are working through at the moment in their wacky Webventures. Episode three is now out and our hapless duo find themselves mixed up with some bad - and hot - company (with guest appearances by Scott Chernoff, Adam Leiphart, Jessica Rose, Douglas Sarine and Taryn Southern):
Sticking it to the basics Webventures is multi-layered, not unlike the Trident Gum so artfully placed within each episode. On one level it is a buddy movie with the familiar standards of the less-than-smart slacker and his even-less-smarterer friend who are fighting against 'The Man' to achieve a dubious goal (where 'fighting' equals 'driving around in apparent circles', 'The Man' is their obscurity and the dubious goal is fame. And Felicia Day.).
Webventures is also a road trip where the guys live and love and learn. Just, you know, with not much of any of those things actually happening.
On another, slightly more elevated level, it is a stark indictment of the paucity of ambition in today's youth, where the only motivation to do anything is driven by a desire to achieve that most ignoble of goals - FAME! They want to live forever. They want to learn how to fly. Fame! Remember....What were we talking about again? Oh yes. Pie.
And the last layer is the same as the first. Like pie. It's a snappily-written comedy that manages to knit together most of the stars of the webseries firmament into a mostly-believable* narrative where product-placement literally provides cohesion. Where we go back to the future to when soap operas were a legitimate form of entertainment (and advertising), and George Washington roamed the earth.
What have we learned? Webseries can be funny, knowing, informative and pay the rent. And former Presidents might try to jack the gas out of your ride.** You can tri-denting their reputation but once you've chewed it over you'll gob-solutely admire their tongue-in-cheek humour and won't want to burst their bubble.***
And now for something completely different.... Don't forget that Goodnight Princess Act 1 and Act 2 are now up on YouTube. The final Act 3 will be out next Monday and you can find out more here. We've had some really positive feedback so far - so yay for trying something new!
* My suspension of disbelief might be calibrated differently to yours ** I'm trying not to hold Sean Becker responsible for Kenny's recent troubles, but I think we all know who the culprit was. *** You can blame Hubby for these. Sandeep and Tony have now legitimised his obsession with puns and now he Just. Won't. Stop.
