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The Guild’s April Convention Appearances

We’re so excited that it’s getting to be that time of year — Con Season! We love being able to meet the fans and put faces to the user names we see all the time on our forums and on Twitter. Here are the first of a slew of convention and personal appearances we’ll be making in 2009:

STARFURY in Birmingham, England April 24-26

Felicia Day (Codex) will be there all 3 days of the Con, hobb nobbing with the likes of Adam Baldwin and Summer Glau!

http://seanharry.com/

DELTA H CON in Houston, TX, April 24-26

The cast of The Guild (minus Felicia — see above) will be on hand signing autographs, judging contests and mixing and mingling:

Friday: April 24
Autographs 1-2 pm (main room)
Karoke Judging 4-6 pm
The Guild Season One Screening with Cast Q &A session 8-9:30pm

Saturday: April 25
Autographs 11-1pm (main room)
Panel: The Making of a Web Phenomena (Cast and Guild producer Kim Evey discuss what goes into making The Guild.) 3-4pm
The Guild Season Two Screening with Cast Q &A session 6:30-8pm

Sunday: April 26
Anime Music Video Judging 9-10:30am

http://deltahcon.com/

Broadband Moguls: Producing & Distributing Your Own Webseries Online

Also in Houston, Guild Producer Kim Evey will teach a workshop for the Southwest Alternate Media Project.
Date: Sunday, April 26, 2009
Time: 10am-2pm
Location: Rice University Media Center
Cost: $40 — General Public; $25 — SWAMP Members and Students with Valid I.D.
For more information and to register go to

http://www.swamp.org/workshops.html

And yes, the entire cast will be appearing at Comic-Con! We’ll post the schedule as it comes our way.

Tweenbots

Kacie Kinzer, a graduate student at ITP, is conducting social experiments with the help of her little robot friends, dubbed “Tweenbots”.

In New York, we are very occupied with getting from one place to another. I wondered: could a human-like object traverse sidewalks and streets along with us, and in so doing, create a narrative about our relationship to space and our willingness to interact with what we find in it? More importantly, how could our actions be seen within a larger context of human connection that emerges from the complexity of the city itself? To answer these questions, I built robots.

Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.

Given their extreme vulnerability, the vastness of city space, the dangers posed by traffic, suspicion of terrorism, and the possibility that no one would be interested in helping a lost little robot, I initially conceived the Tweenbots as disposable creatures which were more likely to struggle and die in the city than to reach their destination. Because I built them with minimal technology, I had no way of tracking the Tweenbot’s progress, and so I set out on the first test with a video camera hidden in my purse. I placed the Tweenbot down on the sidewalk, and walked far enough away that I would not be observed as the Tweenbot — a smiling 10-inch tall cardboard missionary — bumped along towards his inevitable fate.

The results were unexpected. Over the course of the following months, throughout numerous missions, the Tweenbots were successful in rolling from their start point to their far-away destination assisted only by strangers. Every time the robot got caught under a park bench, ground futilely against a curb, or became trapped in a pothole, some passerby would always rescue it and send it toward its goal. Never once was a Tweenbot lost or damaged. Often, people would ignore the instructions to aim the Tweenbot in the “right” direction, if that direction meant sending the robot into a perilous situation. One man turned the robot back in the direction from which it had just come, saying out loud to the Tweenbot, “You can’t go that way, it’s toward the road.”

The Tweenbot’s unexpected presence in the city created an unfolding narrative that spoke not simply to the vastness of city space and to the journey of a human-assisted robot, but also to the power of a simple technological object to create a complex network powered by human intelligence and asynchronous interactions. But of more interest to me was the fact that this ad-hoc crowdsourcing was driven primarily by human empathy for an anthropomorphized object. The journey the Tweenbots take each time they are released in the city becomes a story of people’s willingness to engage with a creature that mirrors human characteristics of vulnerability, of being lost, and of having intention without the means of achieving its goal alone. As each encounter with a helpful pedestrian takes the robot one step closer to attaining it’s destination, the significance of our random discoveries and individual actions accumulates into a story about a vast space made small by an even smaller robot.

Check out Mission 1 at the Tweenbots website, then join the e-mail list to receive updates about future missions and Kinzer’s progress on her robot-assisted thesis project.

Dave and Tom Presents Safety Geeks: SVI Season 1 Premiere

Safety Geeks: SVI starring Dave, Tom and Brittney Powell chronicles a CSI-like team which investigates safety accidents, leaving a swath of comedic chaos and destruction in their wake.

The P.O.S.H. (Professional Occupational Safety Hazard) team investigates safety violations and accidents, ineptly causing more damage as a result. P.O.S.H. provides an obscure, well-meaning service. Unfortunately, they are a bunch of idiots. The world of P.O.S.H. is very unsafe, largely due to them.

The inundation of investigative shows on TV provides the inspiration and setting for Dave and Tom’s latest project, Safety Geeks: SVI. Known for their sketch comedy and a series of hugely popular videos on the web, Safety Geeks: SVI is their first web series. A parody of prime time television’s staple schtick, SG: SVI promises to be sidesplittingly funny. Safety Geeks: SVI premieres Monday, April 27. Check out more teasers on KoldCast.TV, YouTube, and DaveandTom.com.

Wonder Woman: Animated Original Movie

Courageous Princess. Fierce Warrior. Legendary Superhero.

Wonder Woman is the fourth film in the DC Universe Animated Original Movie series, following Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier, and Batman: Gotham Knight. Directed by Lauren Montgomery and produced by DC Comics animation veteran Bruce Timm, this direct-to-video animated film is based on the 1987 reboot of the character and tells the origin story of the world’s most famous female superhero. The feature-quality animation is similar in style to the anime-inspired Justice League, with a few design tweaks that give a sharper, more angular look to the film.

“Wonder Woman is one of the most iconic figures in pop culture. This movie succeeds in reinforcing her image as a female role model while firmly planting her flag as an epic action adventure heroine,” says Gregory Noveck, Senior VP, Creative Affairs, DC Comics. “I think audiences will love this modern take on a classic character.”

On the mystical island of Themyscira, a proud, strong warrior race of Amazon women lives in a utopian civilization shielded from the corrupt world of man. But a betryal within the Amazon sisterhood leads to the escape of Ares, the God of War, and Amazon Princess Diana must capture him before he unleashes global chaos and destruction. With the aid of cocky fighter pilot Steve Trevor, Diana tracks Ares to the United States for a battle unlike any humankind has ever faced.

DC Comics, Warner Premiere, and Warner Bros. Animation promote this DVD release as the first-ever official Wonder Woman feature film to be made and rated PG-13 (the first cut reportedly earned an R). This version of Wonder Woman is definitely not aimed at children, opening with a lengthy and visceral battle sequence that sets up the imprisonment of Ares by the Amazons. Characters, good and evil, meet grisly deaths by sword or other bladed weapons, with several beheadings and dismemberments. The later confrontations between Ares and Wonder Woman are nearly as violent, with a bit of on-screen blood adding to the realism; when Wonder Woman can be hurt, it makes the outcome of the story a little less certain.

The mature rating applies, as well, to the use of adult language and sexually suggestive scenes, most of which can be attributed to Steve Trevor, who makes a few racy remarks about Princess Diana’s physique and has a humorous, recurring gag of offending the Amazons with his use of the word “crap”. The casting of Nathan Fillion as Steve Trevor, the complementary opposite to Wonder Woman in the movie’s battle-of-the-sexes theme, is brilliant; Fillion channels the tactlessness and crudeness of his Captain Hammer character (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog) and the charm of his rough-but-honorable Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly, Serenity), deftly striking a balance that allows him to be likable enough to be the love interest that the Amazon Princess would believably leave paradise for, yet still retain his “sexist pig” personality.

Rounding out the celebrity voice cast are Keri Russell (Felicity, Waitress) as Princess Diana/Wonder Woman, Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2) as Ares, Virginia Madsen (Dune, Sideways) as Queen Hippolyta, Oliver Platt (The West Wing) as Hades, Rosario Dawson (Sin City) as Artemis, and David McCallum (NCIS, Batman: Gotham Knight) as Zeus — an ensemble that “infuses thunder and passion into this epic tale of the princess who becomes the World’s Greatest Super Heroine”.

Wonder Woman is available as a Single-Disc Standard Edition, Two-Disc Special Edition, and Blu-ray Disc, and by Download, On Demand, and Pay-Per-View, with collectible packaging for the Two-Disc Special Edition and Blu-ray Disc. All formats include an exclusive sneak peek at the next DC Universe Animated Original Movie, Green Lantern: First Flight, and an audio commentary track featuring Gregory Noveck (Senior VP, Creative Affairs, DC Comics), Bruce Timm (Producer), Lauren Montgomery (Director), and Michael Jelenic (Screenplay). The Two-Disc Special Edition’s second disc carries a digital copy download for iTunes and Windows Media Player, episodes of Justice League/Justice League Unlimited — “To Another Shore” and “Hawk and Dove”, the Blu-ray edition doubling the bonus cartoons by adding “Paradise Lost, Parts 1 & 2” — featuring Wonder Woman and personally selected by Bruce Timm, and two in-depth documentaries:

Wonder Woman: A Subversive Dream
She is one of the pillars of DC Comics. We examine why Wonder Woman is important in the grand scheme of the DC Super Heroes and how her raw strength and power helped define a new generation of empowered women, who realized that their gifts of intellect and strength were just as powerful as their male counterparts.
Wonder Woman: Daughter of Myth — Covers Historical Amazon Lore and Its Evolution into the Modern-Day Wonder Woman Character
This riveting documentary historically defines the meaning of the Amazons and how this links in with the evolution of the Wonder Woman character from comics to screen.

A third documentary appears only on the Blu-ray disc:

Wonder Woman: The Amazon Princess
This featurette includes both a thumbnail history of the character of Wonder Woman featuring interviews with DC Comics creators and artists (Paul Levitz, Dan DiDio), and behind-the-scenes footage of the made-for-DVD release punctuated with interviews from the production staff and voice talent behind the film.

Wrap the golden Lasso of Truth around a lot of multi-disc sets, and the bonus features will be forced to admit they’re just filler. With Wonder Woman, there’s no padding. Each of the fascinating and informative documentaries stand up to repeated viewings, much like the film itself. The DVD would make a strong addition to the curriculum of women’s studies classes, championing female empowerment in the footsteps of Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman, the definitive face of Wonder Woman for an entire generation of little girls who watched her TV series in the 1970s and were convinced that they, too, could transform into a superhero if they only spun around enough times.

Order now at Amazon.com:
Wonder Woman (Single-Disc Standard Edition)
Wonder Woman (Two-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy)
Wonder Woman (Blu-ray)
Wonder Woman (On Demand)

Or order directly through the Warner Home Video website.

Wonder Woman is distributed by Warner Home Video, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment. For more information, please visit the official Wonder Woman movie website.

Weta News: April 2009

from Weta:

Hey Weta fans,
Whether you celebrate Easter or not, perhaps in some little way you can celebrate spring. Unless you’re on our side of the planet, of course. We’re headed for Winter. Beanie, anyone?

Dr. Grordbort’s Easter Hunting Pack:
To celebrate the Easter Bunny Hunting Season, Dr. Grordbort’s have allowed us to bundle a few of their products AND slash the price. Used to be US$90, NOW $74! Save $26!
A Miniature F.M.O.M. Wave Disrupter gun
A Dr. Grordbort’s T-shirt with a pipes motif
A thick, useful notebook for species notes
Check it out!

In the News:
Richard Taylor wins World Class New Zealand Award
Dr. Grordbort’s Rayguns featured in Shooting Illustrated Magazine
The WotWots launch a huge success
How to hook up with other Weta fans
Winners of our Profile prize draw
Listen to Episode VII of the Weta Cast!

Hot Tip!
You can follow Weta on Twitter! Or MySpace. And we have loads of videos on YouTube! Check out Weta’s social network!

Collectors — look here!
Anthony Gibb, one of our good friends in the Weta collectors’ community publishes! Check out Anthony’s Site!

See You Online!
http://fans.wetaNZ.com/Magnus/

My Profile Story

Jenny’s profile is the place to be. It’s full of hot chicks, cool dudes, psycho BFFs, and crazy biatches.

Interact with Jenny and her friends at MyProfileStory.com!

Created and Directed by Benny and Rafi Fine
Written and Produced by Benny and Rafi Fine
Line Producer: Leah Mann
Music: Joseph Carillo
Cast: Jonathan Allen, Christine Bullen, Shane Dawson, Kristin Findley, Rafi Fine, Kara Luiz, Brandon Ruckdashel, Lisa Schwartz, Kelly Marie Tousignant

Rating: “General Audiences”
Honors: Atom Pro Video (April 6, 2009)

Channels: Atom Originals

Have Your Voice Be Heard in the StarWars.com Survey

from StarWars.com:

StarWars.com wants to know what you think. Currently running at the Official Star Wars website is a user survey where you can voice your opinion on The Clone Wars, the website design, and the future of Hyperspace: The Official Star Wars Fan Club, and more!

In addition to your thoughts on Star Wars, we want to know some more information about you, so the site can better serve the needs and interests of its many diverse users. Do you think there should be more kids content? More fiction? More tabletop gaming news? More Flash-based games? Let us know your priorities!

For almost 13 years, the Official Star Wars website has been growing and adapting to the rapidly changing world of the Internet, and we greatly value the opinion of our users. Please head on over and fill out the survey today. You can find it here:

http://starwars.com/webapps/survey/200903.jsp

condition:human Episode 1, Parts 1 & 2

Sean becomes interested in purchasing a humanoid companion as other areas of his life become complicated.

Blueberry Girl

Every little girl should be issued a copy of Blueberry Girl on the day that she’s born. A lyrical poem that’s an enchanted wish for a life full of blessings, “what every new parent or parent-to-be dreams of for her child, what every girl dreams of for herself”, Neil Gaiman’s latest children’s picture book echoes the hopefulness of Sleeping Beauty and the gifts granted by the fairy godmothers who attended the newborn princess’ christening. (Unlike that classic fairy tale, though, no wicked fairy intrudes on Blueberry Girl with a curse.)

The book’s elegant watercolour illustrations are by master fantasy artist Charles Vess, whose traditional style of fairy tale art casts as much of a spell as the words they illuminate. Each spread is ripe with images of blueberries, idealized scenes of nature, and magical symbols, with the “blueberry girl” morphing in age and appearance from page to page, allowing girls of all types to identify with her. Smaller children will likely get more out of the pictures than the words, which employ more adult-level language and concepts, but will still thoroughly enjoy the large, flowing blue font and lullaby-like cadence of the poetry as it’s read aloud.

In “A Note From Neil”, Gaiman best describes the delightful Blueberry Girl, and how it was written for his goddaughter-to-be, Tash, as a favor for her mother, musician Tori Amos, a longtime friend of Gaiman’s who nicknamed her expected baby “the blueberry”:

Hello.

You’re probably wondering what kind of book this is.

This is the kind of book that comes about when a friend phones you and says, “I’ll be having a baby in a month. Would you write her a poem? A sort of prayer, maybe? We call her the Blueberry…” And you think, Yes, actually. I would.

I wrote the poem. When the baby was born, they stopped calling her the Blueberry and started calling her Natashya, but they pinned up the handwritten Blueberry girl poem beside her bed.

I kept a copy at my house, taped to a filing cabinet. And when friends read it, they said things like “Please, can I have a copy for my friend who is going to be giving birth to a daughter?” and I wound up copying it out for people, over and over.

I wasn’t going to let it be published, not ever. It was private, and written for one person, even if I did seem to be spending more and more of my time handwriting or printing out nice copies for mothers-to-be and for babies.

Then artist Charles Vess (whom I had collaborated with on Stardust) read it.

And somehow, it all became simple. I made a few phone calls. We decided to make some donations to some charities. And Charles began to draw, and then to paint, taking the poem as a starting point and then making something universal and beautiful.

On his blog he said, “Taking Neil’s lovely poetic meditation on the inherent joys of a mother-daughter relationship and developing a compelling narrative impulse without robbing the poem of its highly symbolic nature was an interesting conceptual journey.” Which I think is Charles for “It wasn’t easy to make that poem into a picture book.” He did an astonishing job, but I still worried. I stopped worrying the day the assistant editor at HarperChildrens, who was herself pregnant, called me to let me know that she’d got the artwork in, and read it, and then started crying in the office.

It’s a book for mothers and for mothers-to-be. It’s a book for anyone who has, or is, a daughter. It’s a prayer and a poem, and now it’s a beautiful book.

I hope you enjoy it. I’m really proud of it. And I hope this means I don’t have to copy it out any longer…

Neil

Part of the proceeds from the book will be donated to RAINN, Gaiman noted in his blog, “because I originally wrote Blueberry Girl for Tori and her as-yet-unborn-daughter, and that seemed like the right thing to do.” RAINN is an anti-sexual assault organization that Tori Amos is a founding member of and has been one of the main spokeswomen for, so your purchase will not only make the future brighter for little girls, it will help heal those that weren’t as lucky as the carefree everygirl represented in Blueberry Girl.

Publishers Weekly enthuses, “Fans of Gaiman and Vess will pounce on this creation; so too will readers who seek for their daughters affirmation that sidesteps traditional spiritual conventions.” Blueberry Girl is truly a must-have book for girls at any stage of life, and a sweet treat for readers.

The Guild Wins at the Streamy Awards

from The Guild:

We are extremely excited to announce that we had such an awards-filled night (and possibly mojitos). The Guild won three wonderful awards. You can view all the winners here.

Best Comedy Web Series
Best Ensemble Cast in a Web Series
Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series — Felicia Day

We could not have done this without your support. We would like to again thank our Season 1 donors, for showing faith in our project enough to donate and keep us going, also to our very dedicated crew and volunteers. Without them, Felicia would be stuck doing EVERYTHING, not that she couldn’t, also a special thank you goes out to Kim Evey because she is as much a part of these wins for all the work she’s put in (and was very much missed at the awards). Thank you Streamys for putting on a show and making it a great night, thank you to the academy for voting for us, and everyone nominated in the categories, thank you for making these wins mean something for you are all held in high esteem. Lastly, we would like to thank all our viewers for showing us time and time again that our entertainment is being enjoyed by one and all throughout the world.

As the week rolls by, you will see more videos and pictures from the awards. Here are a few videos and pictures we’ve gathered.

Pictures
The Official Streamy Awards Pictures
worldofhiglet at Flickr
wmmarc at Flickr

Videos
How to Make a Streamy Nominated Web Series
Streamy Awards 09 — Felicia Day
Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series on 12seconds.tv
Best Comedy Web Series on 12seconds.tv
Best Ensemble Cast on 12seconds.tv
This Girl Does It All — The Fabulous Felicia Day from Mary Rambin on Vimeo.

How to Make a Streamy Nominated Web Series

The Fine Brothers

We wrote & directed this video which played live at the first annual Streamy Awards on March 28, 2009 at the Wadsworth theater.

Created by Benny & Rafi Fine

The Streamy Awards is co-hosted by a consortium of leading new media companies — Tilzy.TV, Tubefilter.tv, and NewTeeVee.com — to recognize outstanding achievement for shows produced originally for broadband distribution.

Big thanks to all the wonderful talent who are in the video, subscribe to them all!

They are, in the order they appear: Michael Buckley, Taryn Southern, Sandeep Parikh & Tony Janning, Kim Evey, Amber Lee Ettinger AKA Obama Girl, Ask a Ninja, Jessica Rose, Felicia Day, and the one and only Dennis Haskins.

Special thanks to Will Hyler for making the “This is Sparta” effect.

Go to Streamys.org for more information, and see you next year!

Winners of the 2009 Streamy Awards

from The Streamy Awards:

We proudly present the official winners of the 1st Annual Streamy Awards, honoring the best in web television in 2008, announced live at the Wadsworth Theatre on March 28, 2009. Over 125 shows and individuals were nominated in twenty-five award categories. On behalf of the International Academy of Web Television, congratulations to all of the winners!

Overall Series

Best Comedy Web Series
The Guild

Best Dramatic Web Series
Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy

Best Hosted Web Series
EPIC FU

Best Reality or Documentary Web Series
The Shatner Project

Best News or Politics Web Series
Alive in Baghdad

Audience Choice Award for Best Web Series
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

Directing

Best Directing for a Comedy Web Series
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (Joss Whedon)

Best Directing for a Dramatic Web Series
Pink (Blake Calhoun)

Writing

Best Writing for a Comedy Web Series
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (Maurissa Tancharoen, Jed Whedon, Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon)

Best Writing for a Dramatic Web Series
Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy (Jane Espenson, Seamus Kevin Fahey, Ronald D. Moore)

Acting

Best Male Actor in a Comedy Web Series
Neil Patrick Harris (Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog)

Best Female Actor in a Comedy Web Series
Felicia Day (The Guild)

Best Male Actor in a Dramatic Web Series
Alessandro Juliani (Battlestar Galactica: The Face of the Enemy)

Best Female Actor in a Dramatic Web Series
Rosario Dawson (Gemini Division)

Best Ensemble Cast in a Web Series
The Guild

Best Guest Star in a Web Series
Paul Rudd (Wainy Days)

Best Web Series Host
Alex Albrecht (Project Lore)

Craft Awards

Best Editing
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (Lisa Lassek)

Best Cinematography
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (Ryan Green)

Best Art Direction
Tiki Bar TV (Kim Bailey)

Best Visual Effects
Backyard FX (Erik Beck)

Best Animation in a Web Series
The Meth Minute (Dan Meth)

Best Original Music
Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (Jed Whedon)

Best Ad Integration in a Web Series
Back on Topps (Skype)

Best Artistic Concept in a Web Series
You Suck at Photoshop