Wednesday, August 1, 2012

INDIE HOUSE: DEVANITY, FUMBLING THRU THE PIECES, ANACOSTIA, THE OUTS, TINY APARTMENT, IN BETWEEN MEN, HUSBANDS & More

ARIANNE ZUCKER: "Drama, drama, drama on the set."
Gossip, secrets, leaks; kudos, picks, congrats - in the Indie Soap Web Series (Indies) world, this is where they live. Listen up: Kevin's Indie House.

DEVANITY, that luscious, lurid nexus of glamour, drama, and camp, has been shooting scenes with soap heavy-hitters Arianne Zucker, Kyle Lowder and Charlene Tilton for season 3 (enjoy our exclusive photos from the set). Showrunner Michael Caruso predicts we'll see a trailer "late September, early October" and promises big, beefy episodes with running times of around 22 minutes each - or longer.

I just happened to be chatting with Arianne on the phone Friday evening, and so I turned the conversation to DEVANITY.  How did it go?

"Michael and I absolutely did not hit it off. We hate each other. Drama, drama, drama on the set... no, I'm completely being sarcastic," she laughed.
He was wonderful. I think he's a great writer. And this year, they're like THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, they're a 24-minute show. I am so proud of the work that he's done, and all the series regulars are fantastic to work with. It's shot like a film, and so it's - obviously - a lot of work: they shoot on weekends. They do a great job and every year it gets better and better. The quality has really grown and I just think he's done an amazing job.

And, you know, they all really "want it." Everyone on the show really wants it to succeed, so I think it's going to do well. I think, you know, there are places that show can go, for sure. Not just because I'm on it (she laughs). I'm only on it for one episode. It's got a full-on DALLAS style dynasty with a 2012 sort of kick on it, and it's just too much fun. I'm just happy to be part of it.
ON-SET ROMANCE:  Kyle and Arianne, together again.
WHO'S NEWS?
- It won't be long now! Hillary B. Smith, Kelsey Robinson, Diane Delano and the gang will soon return with more FUMBLING THRU THE PIECES. Showrunner Julie A. Smith has confirmed an August 15, 2012 premiere - at 6:00 p.m. Pacific time. But when will we get to meet the new characters, played by ALL MY CHILDREN's Bobbie Eakes and KNOTS LANDING's Michele Lee?
- Comedy Central has handed out a pilot order to Jessie Cantrell, Mike O'Gorman and Pat Driscoll's New York based Indie, TINY APARTMENT. Congratulations!
- ANACOSTIA showrunner Anthony Anderson has taken his philosophy of Indie-production-as-extreme-sport to new level. Sources say that following "some very emotionally disturbing confrontations" in the middle of Washington, D.C.'s Dupont Circle, residents called the police "thinking that it was a hate protest against the LGBTQ Community." In reality, it was just an ANACOSTIA shoot. Now that's drama. You go, Anthony!
- THE OUTS hosted a raucous and jocular screening party last night at überbiergarten Berry Park in - where else? - Williamsburg, Brooklyn with a large crowd and a big screen at an apropos venue. Episode 4, "Fun Party," premiered online today and forces fans of the white-hot Indie to reassess the post-romantic dynamic between Jack (Hunter Canning) and Mitchell (showrunner Adam Goldman). Both handsome, young men attended the screening in person, to the delight of fans like me. I'm happy to report that their new-found fame has not (yet?) gone to the boys' heads; Hunter remains his earnest and charming self, while (birthday boy!) Adam is as self-deprecating as always... Sasha Winters (writer, "Oona") may be the one to worry about. Alas, she skipped her own party and opted to skype in from the UK (partying with the USA gymnastic teams?) instead.

DALLAS, DEVANITY:  Charlene Tilton will also be featured in Season 3.
HONOR THY HUSBANDS
Does fan feedback enhance entertainment endeavors?  Or does the creative flame flicker in the hot air from thousands of commenting blowhards? In his article, "How Social Media Turns Creative Pursuits Into ‘Live’ Performances," Clive Thompson of WIRED employs the creative career of HUSBANDS writer (and executive producer) Jane Espenson as a case study as he tries to answer the question: How does real-time feedback affect the artistic process?

HUSBANDS is cited as an example of the upside of crowdsourcing, and Jane and showrunner Brad Bell both get a shout-out!
Nor does fan input necessarily lead to bland art. Crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter require artists to nakedly curry favor with their potential audiences. But this hasn’t killed risk-taking; on the contrary, Kickstarter funders routinely support high-concept, arty material—and often continue on in conversation with the artists. Espenson and her colleague Brad Bell used Kickstarter to crowdfund $60,000 for Husbands, a quirky web comedy about an accidentally married gay couple. (Then, naturally, they began documenting the production in tweets and blog posts.)
With a powerful and popular online presence, WIRED is number one (out of 80 major zines) in digital marketing think tank L2's ranking of digital strategies in magazine publishing. The print version has a circulation of 812,434. No doubt HUSBANDS will get a healthy audience boost from the WIRED shout-out.

If you want to see for yourself what all the fuss is about, you're in luck. HUSBANDS will be the first online series hosted by the Paley Center in Beverly Hills when it premieres the first episode of season 2 on August 13, 2012. The cast and EP's will be there, and you can be too!
The acclaimed series returns August 15th on LoveHusbands.com, and in advance of that, the Paley Center is premiering the first episode of the second season, featuring Joss Whedon in his acting debut. The night also includes a discussion with the executive producers and cast on how the web is the ultimate realization of the television promise.
Tickets are available now for just $7.00 - and to sweeten the deal, there's even a Ben & Jerry's ice cream social following the premier.  Grab you own husband (or find one there) and make a night of it!

HE'S AN ANIMAL
With all the buzz about Mark Tallman (currently a SINGLE LADIES stud, formerly an ALL MY CHILDREN hunk) joining IN BETWEEN MEN for season two, you may not know that the slick, sexy series' lead star has also basking in the television limelight as of late.

Nick Matthews is probably best known in the Indie world for his role as IN BETWEEN MEN's protagonist, Dalton Fuller, but here at We Love Soaps we've had our eye on him since his debut on SCRIPTS & SCRUPLES in 2004. In the past week, however, his notoriety has grown quite a bit as a sizzling-hot clip, featuring him and Sebastian Stan together (as can be) in episode two of POLITICAL ANIMALS, has been burning up the blogosphere.

You can view the whole scene here (NSFW unless, I guess, your a Wall Street trader) but for a taste, see the photo above. For more of that adorable punum (but with a shirt on) here's a We Love Soaps interview with Nick.

Do you have an item for Kevin's Indie House? Please email me!

4 comments:

  1. WOW! Thank you so much guys for the lovely article! It really means a lot.

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  2. I like Charlene Tilton as a brunette.

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  3. I loved seeing that Nick clip from POLITICAL ANIMALS.

    Season 3 of DEVANITY sounds awesome!

    HUSBANDS and FUMBLING returning at the same time is great news. I think I am very busy that week. ;)

    I love seeing TINY APARTMENT get picked up. I think we're on the cusp of seeing this happen a lot more.

    The ANACOSTIA team is working hard!!

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  4. Really looking forward to seeing all my fav web series back!!! Good luck guys! :)

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