Tag Archives: web series

AMC debuts ‘Walking Dead’ webisodes

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Today AMC uploaded a six-part web series set in the Walking Dead universe. “Torn Apart” tells the sad tale of how mother-of-two Hannah transforms into the iconic “Bicycle Girl” zombie Rick Grimes is forced to kill in the pilot episode. You know, the one pictured above. The webisodes are directed by Walking Dead FX specialist (and now co-executive producer) Greg Nicotero. Sit back and enjoy this bloody vignette; it’ll surely whet your appetite as the season 2 premiere of the Walking Dead looms. It’s under two weeks away: October 16 at 9PM.

Here are direct links to the webisodes: PART 1 // PART 2 // PART 3 // PART 4 //  PART 5 // PART 6

Mortal Kombat web series set to debut April 12 [Update: Episode 1 out now!]

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Can you remember way back to June 2010 when a live action Mortal Kombat-themed video hit the ‘Net and instantly went viral? The nearly eight-minute short film garnered critical acclaim and its maker Kevin Tancharoen (Fame) quickly climbed the latter of popularity. Tancharoen’s intent was to pitch his vision for a reimagined Mortal Kombat movie to Warner Bros., the company that owns the rights to the video game and film franchise. Taking baby steps, the studio has granted the director/choreographer the rights to make a 10-part web series based in the MK universe. The web series–now officially titled Mortal Kombat: Legacy–will serve as a promotional crossover as it will debut April 12, one week prior to the release of the new Mortal Kombat video game. It has been confirmed that the following actors from the the 2010 viral hit will return in the upcoming web series: Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager) is Sonya Blade, Michael Jai White (The Dark Knight) is Major Jackson ‘Jax’ Briggs, and Darren Shahlavi (300) plays Kano. This week the production team unleashed this all-too-brief fight sequence from the series which stars Jax taking on Kano (update: and this trailer).

If this web series turns out to be anything like last year’s spectacular reboot, we are all in for a very big treat. Anticipate the 4/12 debut and on that day point your browser to Machinima’s YouTube channel at precisely midnight PST.

Update (4/12): Episode 1 is out now! I’ve replaced the embedded video above with the twelve minute ep, which happens to include the Jax/Kano fight sequence teased late last week. The production value is through the roof, something that shouldn’t come as a surprise if you watched the summer short. Episode 1 introduces many of the main characters and places them in a stylistically gritty MK universe I think you’re going to fall for. No more chit-chat, mash play and enjoy Mortal Kombat: Legacy, part 1 of 10. Keep tabs on this YouTube channel for upcoming eps.

Update 2: Character stills have been found and placed in the gallery below. Also, jump after the break to watch a video interview featuring director Kevin Tancharoen, stars Jeri Ryan and Michael Jai White, and MK co-creator Ed Boon. In it they discuss the making-of the web series and what’s in store for the future.

Continue reading Mortal Kombat web series set to debut April 12 [Update: Episode 1 out now!] →

Reminder: Kiefer Sutherland’s web series ‘The Confession’ premieres tonight on Hulu

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The Confession, fully previewed here, is a thriller that follows a hitman (Kiefer Sutherland) who has a theological discussion with a priest (John Hurt) about why his victims deserved to die. The series streams exclusively on Hulu; 10 five-to-seven-minute webisodes have been produced. The first batch of “chapters” have been made available to watch starting today. In “Chapter 1” Sutherland enters a Catholic church confessional where he confronts a priest at gunpoint and forces the holy man to listen to his sins. Sutherland makes it a point that it has been 35 years since his last confession. The episode switches back and forth between the confession and action-packed flashbacks highlighting the hitman’s misdoings. Having watched the first episode I can say though this new character is not Jack Bauer, Sutherland certainly can’t contain the man he played for so many years. Also of note, 24‘s composer Sean Callery has produced the music for this series, and you can hear (ever-so-slightly) hints of 24‘s sound effects. Whether or not you’re a fan of the genre-defining FOX show you should make some time to watch this top notch, high caliber series being distributed over the web. Graphic scenes do pop up, so if you haven’t signed up for a free Hulu account you’ll have to do that to access the video page.

Watch the intense trailer above, then head over to Hulu and stream the first three chapters of The Confession.

Felicia Day is ready to up the ante with new ‘Dragon Age’ web series

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BioWare, the studio behind the role-playing game franchise Dragon Age, has tapped web series guru Felicia Day to produce a brand new series based in the world of the game. Dragon Age: Redemption takes place in Ferelden, the same environment Bioware’s original Dragon Age and upcoming Dragon Age 2 games are set in. Day, who penned the story, will play Tallis an Elven assassin who she describes as being “headstrong, she fights dirty, and she has a really sarcastic sense of humor.”  She adds, “I wanted to bring a modern sensibility to a fantasy character in a fantasy world.” Day teamed up with director Peter Winther (associate producer of Independence Day), cinematographer John Bartley (Lost‘s DP), and props extraordinaire Greg Aronowitz to up the ante in terms of web series creation. “They are going to take this a step above what we have seen on the Web before,” says Day. Comedy web series The Guild this is not. Expect higher production value and kick-ass action sequences to boot. More than serving as a marketing device for Bioware (and parent company EA), Redemption will further propel the art of the web series into an entirely new realm of respectability…certainly if Felicia Day has anything to say about it.

Last night Day was a featured guest on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and there she premiered a teaser trailer for the series. Watch the trailer above and click after the break to find the Fallon segment. Dragon Age: Redemption is slated to begin its six-episode run this summer.

[Via USA Today] Continue reading Felicia Day is ready to up the ante with new ‘Dragon Age’ web series →

‘The Guild’ gets picked up for season 5

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Do you watch the fantastic web series The Guild? Well I’ve got some great news for you: sponsors Microsoft and Sprint have picked up The Guild for a fifth season! In case you’re living inside a bubble, the long-running web series follows the on- and off-line lives of a group of MMORPG gamers. The wildly colorful characters and the laugh-out-loud words they speak to one another were imagined by co-creator and writer Felicia Day. Says Day to GigaOm, “We’re lucky that we have such an eager fanbase and that our numbers have stayed so high. Partnering with Xbox increased our fanbase in a real way–it introduced us to millions of people who never would have seen it before.” She adds, “Every season has had a different style and sensibility. That has been on purpose. We’re always exploring different aspects of our characters. This season will be no different!”

After last season’s cliffhanger of an ending, it’s expected that Day will take the gang to a convention for the game they play. According to co-creator Kim Evey, cosplayers may or may not be involved. Director Sean Becker, confirmed to helm season 5, adds to the conversation. “The convention based story line will allow us to take these characters further out into the unknown (meaning away from their computers), which will be new to us as well on the production side,” he told Tubefilter. “I look forward to personally exploring this new environment as well as seeing the characters interact in it. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and by fun I mean extremely hard work.”

If you aren’t caught up on all the seasons, run–don’t walk–to portals like Xbox Live, MSN Video and the Zune Marketplace to watch them. I can confidently say that The Guild is bar none the greatest web series of all time. And I’m not just saying that because I contributed to the production of season 4. It’s smart, funny, witty, and best of all it’s a feel-good comedy that always leaves you wanting for more. Expect season 5 to hit the ‘Net this summer. But will season 5 be the last? According to Day, don’t even think about. “For the end of this season, I have an idea for what I want to do and it’s definitely not closing a door. I’m definitely not planning to make Season 5 the final one. The characters are a vast well. I can’t stop coming up with ideas for them.”

[Via GigaOm; Tubefilter]

Kiefer Sutherland transitions from ’24’ to upcoming web series ‘The Confession’

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The trials and tribulations of Jack Bauer have come to an end, so what’s next for the incredible actor who played our nation’s hero for eight years?  In a surprising move, Kiefer Sutherland has decided to test the Internet waters in an upcoming web series produced by Sutherland, Chris Young, Joseph Gomes, and Maura Mandt.  It’s called The Confession and Sutherland stars as “a hitman who has a theological discussion with a priest (played by English actor John Hurt) about why his victims deserved to die.”  The series, written and directed by Brad Mirman, was shot in New York during the snow storm last month over nine days.

Sutherland shared with EW his excitement about this new project.  The origin story: “It came about in such a different way,” Sutherland said.  “I was meeting a couple friends of mine, who wanted to introduce me to Chris Young (of Digital Broadcasting Group). I know so little about the internet, but that’s what a lot of friends do for work. Most of that stuff being produced for the internet is comedy, very much like Jackass kind of material, which is great but didn’t appeal to me. Chris started talking about wanting to do a drama, but his criteria was so different. A drama in five-minute episodes! It was one of those things, like a puzzle over the course of the lunch. It can’t be that complicated to figure out a story in five minutes, right? I couldn’t, and it frustrated the crap out of me. So I went home that night, still thinking about it, and it stayed with me for three days. I was falling asleep when I literally got this idea of a confessional.”

He thinks that creative content distributed over the Internet is the wave of the future.  “None of us were paid what we normally get paid,” Sutherland admitted. “Everybody found their own challenge in it, and that was the reason to do it. All of us believe very strongly that the internet is the future, the largest network in world, with the ability to reach a big audience.” Continue reading Kiefer Sutherland transitions from ’24’ to upcoming web series ‘The Confession’ →