Category: Multimedia

Tampa Bay Rays Welcome “Sanctuary” at Tropicana Field

As a continuation of fun community events that they have been hosting this year, on August 30th the Tampa Bay Rays are welcoming Amanda Tapping, Damian Kindler and Robin Dunne of the new Sci Fi Channel series Sanctuary to Tropicana Field. Amanda, Damian and Robin will be signing autographs and meeting with fans from 2:00-3:00 PM. Anyone interested in meeting them can line up near the escalators at Gate 1 as soon as the front gates open at 1:50 PM. After the signing, Amanda, Damian and Robin will also be throwing out the first pitch of the game around 3:50 PM. After the game, the band We the Kings will be performing a concert, but first the Rays’ very own Rusty will be talking to Amanda, Damian and Robin about the upcoming season of Sanctuary.

Sanctuary was the first high definition science fiction series to be produced directly for the Web, and premiered at Sanctuaryforall.com in May of 2007. It was created by Damian Kindler, who is best known for his work on the long-running series Stargate SG-1, and he partnered with other Stargate alums, actress Amanda Tapping (Samantha Carter on Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate: The Ark of Truth, Stargate: Continuum) and director Martin Wood (Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate: Continuum), to bring his dream to life. Filmed entirely with live actors on a greenscreen set with RED digital HD cameras (think Sin City and 300), the show has virtual backgrounds so that any setting imaginable can be used. The original run of 8 wepisodes garnered so much attention, and so many awards, with its rich visual effects and compelling storytelling that it quickly caught the eye of studio executives and was picked up by Sci Fi Channel. The 2-hour pilot of Sanctuary will premiere on Sci Fi Channel on Friday, October 3, 2008 at 9:00 PM.

Tickets to the game can be purchased online at raysbaseball.com, by phone at 1-888-FAN-RAYS (1-888-326-7297) or at the Tropicana Field Box Office. Box office hours are 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Saturdays, and noon to 4:00 PM on Sundays. On game days, the box office opens at 9:00 AM and remains open until 30 minutes after the game. Tickets can also be purchased at the Rays Tampa Office located at Park Tower, 400 North Tampa Street, or at the International Plaza and Bay Street Ticketmaster in Tampa, Florida.

For the most up-to-date and accurate information about the Rays, including their upcoming games and community events, please visit their website, raysbaseball.com.

“The Legend of Neil” on Mobile Phones

from The Legend of Neil:

Now you can watch The Legend of Neil on even tinier screens.  It’s on a zillion different carriers so there’s no excuse, and by a zillion, I mean 3. Here’s how ya do it:

For Verizon, go to the menu and click GET IT NOW -> Picture & Video -> V Cast On Demand (sometimes V CAST Mobile Video, depending on the phone) -> Hollywood -> Atom -> Hot New Series

For AT&T you must have the Cellular Video option (Samsung phones have this, the iPhone does not, for example) go to the menu and click Cellular Video -> Entertainment -> Movies à Atom à Hot New Series

For Alltel, go to the Menu and click Access Shop->  Access TV On Demand-> Guide à Atom à Hot New Series

Some day, I’m going to get it so that you can download the show directly to your contact lenses, so don’t bother with that laser eye surgery, or you’ll miss out!

The Legend of Neil

from The Legend of Neil:

The following is a promotional video about Effinfunny’s new Comedy Central series The Legend of Neil. We can’t post it on YouTube because Viacom and YouTube don’t like each other, but we want you to watch it so we made this video.

The Legend of Neil Episode 3 UPDATE (featuring Felicia Day)

More Info:

The Legend of Neil is a webseries produced by Effinfunny.com, Atom.com, and Comedy Central. Written by Sandeep Parikh [Zaboo in The Guild] & Tony Janning, this series follows the reluctant adventures of Neil, a gas station attendant from Jersey who gets sucked into The Legend of Zelda and has to fight his way out.

The Official Legend of Neil Schedule:

ONLINE (legendofneil.com and atom.com)
Episode 1: Thursday, July 24th
Episode 2: Thursday, July 31st
Episode 3: Thursday, August 7th
Episode 4: Thursday, August 14th
Episode 5: Thursday, August, 21st
Episode 6: Thursday, August 28th

TELEVISION (On Comedy Central on a new show called AtomTV)
Episode 1: Monday, September 8th at 2am
Episode 2: Monday, September 15th at 2am
Episode 3: Monday, September 22nd at 2am

Please rate each episode and leave messages on the comment board to show support for The Legend of Neil and help get more episodes made!

Felicia Day’s “Horrible” Experience

Felicia Day as Penny in "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"
Felicia Day as Penny in "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"

Multi-talented actress Felicia Day was already recognizable for her work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer before she created the smash hit Internet series, The Guild. Now, she’s teamed up with Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly) to present another Internet event, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. She’s costarring along with Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Desperate Housewives) and Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, Harold & Kumar, Starship Troopers) in this Whedon family project that will be premiering exclusively on the Internet beginning Tuesday, July 15th. Felicia took some time out of her very busy schedule to answer a few questions about Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

ÜberSciFiGeek (ÜSFG) How did you get involved in the Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog project?

Felicia Day (FD) I had seen Joss on the strike lines a few times and he had mentioned the idea of a supervillain musical to me, perhaps made for the Internet. I thought that was the coolest idea I’d ever heard, A few months later he emailed me and it said, “Can you sing?” You can imagine I was a little taken aback, it’s not a question you hear every day!

(ÜSFG) With a name like Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, one of the first questions that come to mind is, “Does Felicia sing?”

(FD) Yes! I did musical theatre all my life, mostly as a dancer but I had singing parts as well. I moved around a lot so theatre kind of kept my childhood together. Throughout college I took lessons from a professor at UT Austin, Jess Walters.

(ÜSFG) Did you enjoy singing in Dr. Horrible? Have you been in any sort of musical production before, and would you like to be in more of them?

(FD) OMG, singing in Horrible was fun and intimidating! Neil’s voice is amazing, so singing opposite him was nerve-wracking, but as soon as we were done, I wanted to do more! I did a LOT of musicals as a teen and again during college, like Into the Woods and Fantasticks, Oklahoma, you name it. Since moving to LA I’ve had a few jobs singing, a part in Warm Springs, a few plays. It’s not my career but I do enjoy it and would love to do more of it in the future!

(ÜSFG) Was Dr. Horrible always conceived of as a musical, or did that come about only when Joss Whedon learned that you, Neil Patrick Harris, and Nathan Fillion have singing voices?

(FD) I can’t speak for him, but I know when he floated the idea on the strike line to me, it was always connected to the word “musical”. Joss has an amazing passion for music and musicals. His knowledge in the area blows me away. I love the idea of Joss, Jed, Zach and Maurissa getting together and writing this amazing script together and creating songs together, what a cool process!

(ÜSFG) Having worked with Joss Whedon on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, what was it like working with him again? How was it different and how was it similar?

(FD) The Dr. Horrible set was a lot more informal than being on a professional TV set. There was a sense from everyone this was driven by passion and enthusiasm rather than being a “job”. It felt way more like indie productions I’ve done. Of course the quality of production and the expertise of the cast and crew was equal to being on Buffy, because Joss attracts the best at what they do. There were stunt people on both sets : )

(ÜSFG) Captain Hammer has an online comic — will Penny also have an online exclusive? With your background as a gamer, perhaps a mini online game?

(FD) I don’t know anything about that end of it, but that would be cool! Float that idea out there! To be honest I don’t know if Penny is a gamer. I would think she’s more of a knitter or a baker.

(ÜSFG) You’ve produced a lot of Internet content now. How is it different as an actor and/or producer for the Internet than it is for television or film?

(FD) It’s night and day. When you have a huge professional set and 50 people working on it, everyone does only their job, and they do it at the height of their expertise. Internet content is much more blurry as far as those lines go. One day you’ll be producer, the next an actor, the next craft service. It’s necessary because there’s no money to pay people with most the time. But the great thing is you don’t have layers of people to interfere with your vision as a creator, and I think more and more, professionals will discover that to be an attractive area to play in.

(ÜSFG) If Dr. Horrible does well, is another film or related project planned?

(FD) You would have to ask Joss. I would love to play Penny again, in whatever capacity!

(ÜSFG) Your character, Penny, isn’t a superhero or supervillain like Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible, but if you had to choose a superpower to have in your real life, what would it be and why?

(FD) Gosh, that’s hard. I think invisibility. I like to eavesdrop. I used to only play rogues in games so I could sneak in and steal things from the NPCs : ) I don’t do that in real life, btw.

(ÜSFG) Penny falls for Captain Hammer, at least initially. Who would you, as yourself, get a crush on — Dr. Horrible or Captain Hammer?

(FD) I’d have to say Dr. Horrible. He’s definitely the wounded type, and I would love to try to heal that in him. Hammer is hot, but I don’t go for guys who like to look at themselves in the mirror a lot ; )

The best way you can help us say thank-you to Felicia is to help spread the word! You can learn more about Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog at drhorrible.com. Act one of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog will be premiering online on Tuesday, July 15th. Act two will go up on Thursday, July 17th. Act three will go up on Saturday, July 19th. All three acts will be online until midnight on Sunday, July 20th. Also, if you are planning on attending San Diego Comic-Con, stop by the Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog panel on Friday. Felicia and the rest of the cast of The Guild will also be at the California Browncoats booth signing copies of The Guild DVDs throughout the event. Stop by and say hello!

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog:

The story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to.

Starring Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer, Felicia Day as Penny, and a cast of dozens!

Directed by Joss Whedon

Written by Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen and Jed Whedon

Music by Joss Whedon and Jed Whedon

Lyrics by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen

Score and Orchestration by Jed Whedon

A LETTER FROM JOSS WHEDON

Dear Friends,

At last the time has come to reveal to you our Master Plan. BEWARE! Those with weak hearts should log off lest they be terrified by the twisted genius of our schemes! Also pregnant women and the elderly should consider reading only certain sentences. Do not mix with other blogs. Do not operate heavy machinery while reading this blog. You must be this tall to read. ‘Kay?

It is time for us to change the face of Show Business as we know it. You know the old adage, “It’s Show Business — not Show Friends”? Well now it’s Show Friends. We did that. To Show Business. To show Show Business we mean business. (Also, there are now other businesses like it.)

ONE WEEK ONLY! AN INTERNET MINISERIES EVENT!

“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” will be streamed, LIVE (that part’s not true), FREE (sadly, that part is) right on Drhorrible.com, in mid-July. Specifically:

ACT ONE (Wheee!) will go up Tuesday July 15th.

ACT TWO (OMG!) will go up Thursday July 17th.

ACT THREE (Denouement!) will go up Saturday July 19th.

All acts will stay up until midnight Sunday July 20th. Then they will vanish into the night, like a phantom (but not THE Phantom — that’s still playing. Like, everywhere.)

And now to answers a few Frequently (soon to be) Asked Questions:

1) Why, Joss? Why? Why now, why free, why us?

Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage. The forest creatures were all sad; the mushrooms did not dance, the elderberries gave no juice for the festival wines, and the Teamsters were kinda pissed. (They were very polite about it, though.) During this work-stoppage, many writers tried to form partnerships for outside funding to create new work that circumvented the Forest King system.

Frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few.

The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap — but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first.

2) What happens when it goes away? Does it go to a happy farm for always like Fluffy did when mommy was crying and the neighbor kept washing his fender?

No, Dr Horrible will live on. We intend to make it available for download soon after it’s published. This would be for a nominal fee, which we’re hoping people will embrace instead of getting all piratey. We have big dreams, people, and one of them is paying our crew.

And somewhat later, we will put the complete short epic out on DVD — with the finest and bravest extras in all the land. We’ll go into greater detail about that at Comiccon, but we’re changing the face of Show Friendliness a second time with that crazy DVD.

3) Joss, you are so kind, and generous, and your forehead is like, huge, like SCARY, like I think I can see Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint hanging off it… what can WE do to help this musical extravanganza?

What you always do, peeps! What you’re already doing. Spread the word. Rock some banners, widgets, diggs… let people know who wouldn’t ordinarily know. It wouldn’t hurt if this really was an event. Good for the business, good for the community — communitIES: Hollywood, internet, artists around the world, comic-book fans, musical fans (and even the rather vocal community of people who hate both but will still dig on this). Proving we can turn Dr Horrible into a viable economic proposition as well as an awesome goof will only inspire more people to lay themselves out in the same way. It’s time for the dissemination of the artistic process. Create more for less. You are the ones that can make that happen.

Wow. I had no idea how important you guys were. I’m a little afraid of you.

4) Joss, do you ever answer a question simply or coherently?

Shledzguohn?

There’ll be more questions, and more long, long answers, but for now I’m just excited that we’re actually making this happen. We (and a lot of other people — gushing to commence soon) worked very hard on the show and we hope/think you guys will be pleased.

Until July 15th , I remain, yours truly, -j, of the firm j, j, m & z.