The FilmNerds Blog

Like Shredder in a trash heap, Film Nerds grasps to the heavens with a spiked hand, and with it drags out of the ash…

When YouTube hit the mainstream in 2005, the big question was, “When will YouTube be a legitimate threat to DVD or theatrical film distribution?” I found the definitive answer this week: Never! Late, I know.

A few days ago, I received a message from YouTube that a dorky video I created in college with primitive After Effects skills has gotten over 500,000 views. Apparently, that makes my account eligible for “partner” status, and available for ad revenue profit sharing. I talked to a good friend that happens to be very e-commerce savvy, and he told me that if I can generate content that will attract YouTube viewership, I could make decent amounts of money. I wondered if posting trailers or other Wonder Mill Films content would be a good way for our films to get YouTube exposure, and he answered that it would really have to cater to YouTube audience demands… that is to say, “No.”

Since Wonder Mill creates relatively mainstream narrative work, it wouldn’t fit into the YouTube menagerie of absurdist sketch comedy, celebrity gossip, shocking videos of humiliation and/or failure, or political rabbit trails. And so, like Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, I stare into the creeping abyss. Do I put my soul at hazard? Do I say, “Okay, I’ll be part of this world”? Or, like YouTube success story Andy Samberg, do I throw my keyboard to the GROUND and scream “I’M NOT A PART OF YOUR SYSTEM”?

I’m sure there’s some preaching to be done about the lost potential of YouTube, like the entire internet before it. The sermon would go, YouTube had the opportunity to become a unifying source for positivity in the world, but instead humanity has soiled it to become a spawning ground for new ways to hate, spy on, and ogle other people. I’m not going to preach that sermon, however, for fear I’ll discover some dark stuff I don’t really want to confront on a Wednesday.

I will say, though, that while I don’t think YouTube will ever become a legitimate home for real filmed storytelling, it has emerged as a solid alternate news source and educational tool. Where else would I find, for free, documentaries on transhumanism, or the terrors of the World Bank, outside of intra-library exchange? It could also be commended for opening the door for real internet-based film distribution, like Hulu or Netflix’s Instant Watch.

So, for now, I still need to make my decision. Sure, Wonder Mill will ultimately find a suitably visible internet home for its feature films. But what if my crummy college tornado video does generate market demand? Like I said, it’s got 500,000 views, 1,339 ratings (1.5 stars, baby!), and 840 terrifying, vitriolic comments (see the end of the entry for some of my favorites).

What if I’ve got a gold mine of a channel on my hands? Anyone want to get together to make an absurd skit about Kanye West, or badly imitate Lonely Island? Aw, forget it, I’ll just hire this guy.

• Disparate Movie Thoughts

-Since principal photography has wrapped, I’ve allowed myself to watch movies again. In addition to working my way through Justice League, I also recently watched the new Superman/Batman: Public Enemies. Check it out for big, crazy superhero fights, but for cohesive and well-paced storytelling, stick to the serialized DCAU. I should start Justice League Season 2 soon, in hopes that the second season gives Superman more to do. That’s barely a complaint, though, as the first season worked hard to set up the Green Lantern and J’onn J’onzz. Highlights include the introduction of Jack Kirby’s Demon, Gorilla Grodd, Mongul, and the Injustice League.

-I’m also doing the required Halloween viewing with my wife, having finished the original 1941 Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney. Good stuff. We started Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man last night, and I’m itching to get back to it after a great opening.

-I still haven’t been able to venture back to a movie theater since wrapping, and I think I might be saving the experience for The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which I anticipate more and more. Check out this awesome featurette for a glimpse at their in-field voice recording method.

• And now, the Dark Pit of Hopelessness brings you Wacky YouTube User Comments!

From osky5, translated via Yahoo Babelfish:
“so that your you are so *sshole and nonbeams a good work I am sees bie excrement… you are mamao. cabron sucks tiny beast *sshole son of puta… if you are going to remove to me from my time to see something that are good, pendejooo”

From pasm837:
“The Tornado is very realistic, the weird house spoilt it however. But I must say a lot of work went into making it, have you got any video’s of a sesible realistic Tornado”

From LajonSmit:
“r u an rtard?”

From billycorn54:
“Whoever made this is a f*ggot.”

From wxfreak101:
“I lost… 40 seconds of my life… I could have…texted someone… or something… ahhhh!!!”

From fatcar1:
“i thought the simplicity of it was quite funny. i wish that would hapen to the house this d*ck head i know lives in, his name is dayno. Pray that his house is destroyed in this manner.”

From MDHmodder:
“this is the worst video I have ever seen.”

From themangodess:
“God d*mnit you f*ggoty JewTube users stop using misleading titles or else you’re going to get hit by a bunch of complaints”

From thewhoissuperb24:
“Could the author of this video be any more retarded? If you wanna see a house get picked up by a tornado, then go into a town that has a tornado in it! Then watch a house go up.”

From scubasteve0225:
“i hope your daughter gets raped”

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Have a great week!