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Dicki on 12/22/2011 3:26:52 PM by Rob Barnett
It's the 5th year we get to thank you and wish you Happy Holidays from the heart (no joke).
We honestly love you for watching & sharing My Damn Channel original videos.
We promise to deliver the goods again in '12‚ and we'll be launching our new daily live show with YouTube, strangely titled:
MY DAMN CHANNEL: LIVE
The staff took an informal poll and picked 11 faves from the past year‚ they're all
HERE for your holiday dining and dancing pleasure:
1.
WAINY DAYS -
Kelly & Arielle (Part 1)
David Wain returns in the triumphant Season 5 of our longest-running hit comedy series with a killer new cast & a new sponsor: FIAT!
2.
GIGI: ALMOST AMERICAN -
Donate Good Cause
Josh Gad stars as "Gigi," an awesome, original character that infected our fans on My Damn Channel and on YouTube.
3.
GARFUNKEL & OATES -
David Wain is Sexy
Garfunkel & Oates created this chart-topper to honor WAINY DAYS with David Wain guesting on vocals and guitar.
4.
DAILY GRACE -
Official Sexy Friday song with Rebecca Black
Rebecca Black recently told YouTube that our My Damn Channel goddess, Daily Grace was one of her favorite people on YouTube. Grace invaded Rebecca's studio for the surprise awesome duet of the year.
5.
HARRY SHEARER -
Touch My Junk
Our patron saint and in-house hero has blown our brains with original videos since day ONE back in 2007. Here's his musical love note to airport TSA pat-downs.
6.
MARK MALKOFF -
Apple Store Challenge
MARK MALKOFF -
Big Wheel vs. Bus
Every Malkoff adventure captures our imagination, lotsa video views and tons of well-deserved press. He tied for #6 with two videos that tapped the zeitgeist in 2011.
7.
VERSAILLES -
Episode #7
David Hunt created one of the most original series on My Damn Channel this year with an amazing cast joining him including Patricia Heaton, William H. Macy, Eve Gordon, Martha MacIsaac & the great Fred Willard.
8.
SLACKTORY -
Slackgeist 2011: The Year in Stupidity
We launched a new My Damn Channel Blog Network this year and Nick Douglas is running an awesome new site for us called
Slacktory. Their blog posts are toooo good and they make videos tooo. Here's their year-ender.
9.
WAINY DAYS -
Kelly & Arielle (Part 4)
Thomas Lennon reunites with David Wain in this new episode from Season 5.
10.
SAUL HERNANDEZ -
Molecular (from our music channel produced by Don Was)
Don Was is one of the greatest musicians and music producers there is. He's been running our music channel here since day one in 2007 & we all fell in love with one of this year's original songs by Saul Hernandez, lead vocalist and songwriter for the Mexican bands Caifanes and Jaguares.
11.
DICKI -
Making Friends
We're in love with Mary Lynn Rajskub (Chloe from "24"). She's a new member of the My Damn Channel fam with an original character comedy, DICKI.
Meet Melissa! Melissa Schneider is our new Director of Production, joining the My Damn Channel family with the experience, energy and cred we need to help produce over 30 new original series in the months ahead. She's also the lead producer for our new 2012 mega show with YouTube...
My Damn Channel: Live
Melissa expands our management team in the NY office where
Jesse Cowell (Director of Content) and
Molly Templeton (Director of Talent & Audience Development) work with
Rob Barnett (Founder/CEO) to oversee more killer original comedy and music than legally allowed on the Interweb.
"Melissa brings awesome experience, talent and spirit to our team as we prep to make 2012 the year My Damn Channel delivers more new original programming than ever before," said Rob Barnett. He added, "She's developed and produced over 30 original digital series and branded entertainment campaigns and over 30 independent music videos, commercials, and short films. She worked for David Chase for god's sake!"
Melissa graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and went on to work for The Public Theater / NY Shakespeare Festival during George C. Wolfe’s tenure. She left the theater to work in (wait for it) The Sopranos...in the writers' office for creator David Chase, and writers: Terence Winter (creator, "Boardwalk Empire"), Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess (creators, "Blue Bloods") and Matthew Weiner (creator, "Mad Men").
Melissa went digital...producing online content for Macy’s, XBOX, Vuguru, Nickelodeon, Swanson, Verizon FiOS, CJP Digital, and Summit Entertainment to name a few. She was the Director of Production at Digital Broadcasting Group (DBG) in New York City, where developed and produced digital series and branded entertainment campaigns.
More announcements on our new series, stars and launch info for My Damn Channel: Live hits this space soon.
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Wanderlust on 11/4/2011 12:39:01 AM by Rob Barnett
Ken Marino, Jon Stern, Rob Barnett, David Wain
WAINY DAYS first launched on day 1 of My Damn Channel: 7/31/07. David and I knew each other a lil bit from the salad daze at MTV. He saw the future when he and the Michaels created STELLA shorts...back when it took a year and half to buffer a 3-minute clip.
I promised David he could do the original series he wanted without the typical network interruptus, "notes" and meddling. We'd deliver cash, massive promotion and distribution to reach his fans and make WAINY DAYS the premiere series of our (almost) TV network of the future.
David pitched a show where his character would make out with the hottest women in Hollywood and have every date go horribly wrong. I said 'yes.' We locked the right price for the first season of 10 episodes. And I asked David to promise to cast this show as well as he casted his latest feature film back then, THE TEN.
32 official episodes, 4 years, and 4 seasons later, you've watched and shared WAINY DAYS to make it the longest-running, most-popular comedy series in the new world.
This week, we're filming an all-new season 5 with another killer cast including David & Ken Marino, who co-wrote the new episodes and Exec Produces with David & our beloved series producer, Jon Stern. This year's cast also features Steven Weber, Zandy Hartig, Jorma Taccone, Erinn Hayes, Lizzy Caplan, n' more.
We have a brand new sponsor: FIAT !
We'll post more updates and pics and announce a premiere date sooner than you think.
While I have you for this too-happy-too-long post: please n'joy the trailer for David's brand new feature film: WANDERLUST - opening FEB 24 2012 !
(Intern Josh, wondering forlornly how he ended up here)
EDITOR'S NOTE: It's Josh's last day as an intern for My Damn Channel! I asked him to write up a post telling you what it was like for him this summer!
Coming into My Damn Channel as an intern I thought all I was gonna learn was how to file papers and fill out reports. Boy was I wrong! Friday will be my last day and I still haven't correctly filled out a single report. My boss is always saying that it drives him crazy how long it's taking me to get the hang of the office duties, but I can tell he's just joking. How I treasure that agonized look he gets trying so hard to hold back laughter.
What I learned though was way more valuable than any college education. I would say it was worth about $230,000, a couple hundred more than four years' tuition at Wesleyan. What I learned was the value of making the effort to gain the respect of your peers.
Before I ever set foot into that office, I had my work cut out for me. My future co-workers had already started gossiping that I only got the internship because of my family connections. After failing for three years to strike any gold, my great-great-grandfather started My Damn Channel during the California Gold Rush as a burlesque show designed to entertain entrepreneurs who had given up on trying to find gold and started companies catered to the needs of the gold miners. Grandpa Schmulie Meisel. I can't believe that was such a popular name back then — Grandpa.
My first day at work the guy sharing my cubicle got mad at me for unplugging his computer. "What do you need a blender for?!" he irrationally snarled. "How else are you gonna make computer smoothies silly? By hand?!" I chucked his computer into my oversized blender. He must've thought I was awfully spoiled, not making my computer smoothies by hand. I really had an uphill battle ahead of me if I wanted to gain anyone's respect.
A couple of days in I got the courage to pitch a show idea to the head of development. It was a parody of "Friends" called "Friends." He looked at me like I was an idiot. "You just handed me a bunch of "Friends" scripts. I think I know now why the printer's out of ink. Look, why don't you hold off for a bit before you make any more pitches." Apparently my scripts had gone right over his head. And "Friends" was a pretty accessible show. The guy I shared my cubicle was a rube, our head of development was dense as a neutron star, and my boss was an incorrigible prankster. My situation was less than ideal to say the least.
Halfway through the summer things had only gotten worse. I was miserable. My only friend was the janitor, and he was a Roomba! I'd cry myself to sleep every night, and when I wasn't feeling that sad I would get my butler to cry me to sleep. My job was a major disappointment. It wasn't at all like that show "The Office." We had TWO guys named Dwight, and the prettiest girl wasn't dating the most handsome guy (me), but instead this guy Jim who's so inexperienced with women that when I asked him to share some girlie stories he just laughed.
All I could do was trudge along until my five weeks were up, filing away papers wherever I could cram them (I may not get the job done pretty, but I'm damn fast). And just when I had given up on ever gaining a single ounce of respect from any My Damn Channel employee, a stroke of luck bolted me right in the face.
I'll always remember it like it was yesterday, even though it was only yesterday today. Jim's girlfriend (I think her name was Xamela) told him he needed to go somewhere to sign some forms. She couldn't give him a ride because she was busy. He asked if anyone else could take him, and I shot out of my chair like I was sitting on a lit match (which for the one of the first times I wasn't). Jim didn't see me at first; his eyes scanned the room for someone to drive him but everyone pretended to be hard at work because they were too lazy to take him. Finally he saw me and said "Fine let's go Josh." And fine it was. Everyone looked up at Jim and smiled at him. Their smiles seemed to say, "I'm really happy for you that you get to go on a fun/crazy/cool ride with Josh." But the smiles had a little menace behind them that signified jealousy.
When I got back my boss laughed with mirth, patted me on the back, and said, "Good job sonny." All I ever wanted was for my boss to think of me as a son, but life isn't easy. I had to put in my time to get what I wanted — let's just say I don't think I could've earned the luxury of being treated by my boss like his own flesh and blood if I hadn't given Jim that ride. And now, in these last couple of months before my summer ends and I have to go back to hitting the books trying to eventually earn my GED, I can look back at my time at My Damn Channel atop my pool float, computer smoothie in hand, and know that that one lesson I learned was well worth all my trifles. Plus it helped that I was making more than the rest of the office combined.
Thanks, Josh, er, Sonny! We will miss you! We know it will be tough going back to Stanford to get a world-class education, but it's better you than us!
We fully intend to continue stalking following you and your writing as @artsypriest and as a writer for The Stanford Chaparral.
PS: If any of you, dear readers, for some strange, maddening reason, would like to be an intern for My Damn Channel, please send an email to info@MyDamnChannel.com, and be sure to include links to your blog, Twitter and Tumblr accounts, or any other writing samples you might have! In the immortal words of the Jersey Shore kids in Italy, "Arrivederci, summer!"
We're premiering a new series tomorrow and this little guy is the star!
We put his picture up on our Facebook page this morning and as of this writing 29 people have "liked" him and nine different ladies have written some iteration of "AWWWWW. SCHMOOPY. I WANNA HUG HIM AND SQUEEZE HIM AND CALL HIM GEORGE! HE'S SO CUUUUUUUTE!" in the comments!
This series is going to go over super-well. We can feel it.
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My Damn Channel on 7/22/2011 9:17:47 AM by Matt Warren
People forget how much the world has changed in the last decade. Blogs, social networking, web video. All of these post-Y2K innovations have radically altered the way we interact with the world—particularly the world of entertainment. You may not remember, but back before there was such a thing as forward-thinking online
content providers, there were literally only two ways to entertain oneself: by 1) burning the effigy of a rival tribal leader, or 2) firing up the ol' top-loading VCR to watch a battered VHS copy of David Wain's cult summer camp spoof
Wet Hot American Summer.
Yes, long before Wainy Days was even a twinkle in the director's eye, Wet Hot showcased Wain's unique brand of unpredictable, absurdist humor, and featured a cast that now seems like a murderers’ row of the most important comedic performers of the early 21st century.
(Leslie Knope [L], and Johnny Limitless [R])
Some, like Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks, have turned up on Wainy Days; while others, like A.D. Miles, have gone on to create their very own (excellent) series like Horrible People.
To celebrate the film’s 10th anniversary, David Wain & Co. have mounted a nation-wide tour, featuring screenings, Q&A's, and live shows. To wit, here's David Wain and Wet Hot co-star Jo Lo Truglio revisiting some alternate titles for the film. And if you're jonesing for even more of Wain live, don't forget to check out the Wainy Days live show at this year's Just For Laughs. And remember: if you wanna smear mud on your ass, smear mud on your ass, just be honest about it.
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Cosplay on 7/15/2011 9:53:33 AM by Matt Warren
A young George Costanza?
Maybe you've seen the ads on billboards, in bus shelters, or projected onto the insides of your eyelids. Maybe you've seen Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, or the Other One making the rounds on the talk show circuit. Or maybe you need only to consult your very own "Mug Life" abdomen tattoo to be reminded that today--yes, today!--marks the release of the final Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, Part Two: Stagnetti's Revenge.
Yes, after a decade's worth of yeoman-like service at the multiplex, it's finally come time for this iteration of Harry Potter to power down, be put out to stud, and other such mixed metaphors. It's a bittersweet day for fans, but hopefully the release of the final film in the franchise will at least provide the answers to some longstanding mysteries, like "What's the deal with the smoke monster?", "Whatever happened to that Russian Paulie and Christopher let escape into the pine barrens?" and "So did A and X meet at this place last year, or what?"
Okay, so maybe I don't know anything about the Harry Potter franchise. But our very own Daily Grace does...
And today, she bids a tearful adieu to the Boy Who Lived. But if you want to avoid the waterworks, you can check in on Ms. Helbig in happier times, watching Part 1 of Deathly Hallows, or over on her Tumblr, wherein she ups her Hogwarts cosplay game considerably.
(*Actual product will most likely look nothing like this. Also, wings not included.)
Lately, My Damn Channel swag has been flying off the shelves and onto people's bodies at an alarming rate. It seems like everyone wants a new T-shirt in their hands (or on their torso, at least.) After all, who wouldn't want a slice of pie from the larger bakery that is the world of My Damn Channel paraphernalia?
Take My Damn Channel viewser JustNeph... please! When we asked folks to tweet at us with the phrase "I want #MyDamnPen!" Neph responded. And we didn't let his plea fall on deaf ears, hooking him up with not one but TWO My Damn Channel pens, and a MY DAMN CHANNEL STICKER.
And here's our pal Dom Galati donning a sharp new My Damn Channel tee...
And if you want your very own My Damn Channel shirt, you can follow Rocky Rector's example and be the one this week to get the most friends to sign up for our ongoing Versailles sweepstakes. Additional info is here.
Go ahead and sign yourself up, while you're at it. Winner gets a free trip for two to L.A. to meet Versailles (watch it!) co-stars and creators Patricia Heaton and David Hunt. There's only one week left to enter, so if you need to, now would be a good time to buy a working mouse.
June 18, 2011
The world just lost a piece of its soul tonite. Clarence Clemons has been an inspiration, a hero, a touchstone, and a non-stop deliverer of the big sound, big love, and big joy to me and all of my closest friends. It's hard to think of this world without him.
I rarely cry. But I'm crying tonite. From the first minute we heard him on vinyl - and throughout every night we saw him walk onto that stage - everyone who loved Clarence knew we had the biggest, baddest, best man at our side.
The lifelong thrill of loving Bruce & Clarence & The E Street Band might be what it feels like to be addicted to comics and Superheroes. We're dedicated to getting together with people of like-minds and like-souls -- all of us looking up to the image of the friendships we want - experiencing the ultimate teamwork we know is possible - and the hardest part about tonite is figuring out how to handle the loss of the image of permanence we felt every time that man took the stage.
Bruce Intros Clarence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81wv_w6_Z8M
When Clarence Met The Big Man:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRFPWWoxpro&feature=related
I have been Clarence's fan and friend for almost 40 years. His death is a tremendous loss to all of my best friends and to everyone who loves his sound and his gracious soul. Let's send love to Clarence, to his big family and friends, and to Bruce and the entire E Street Family.
"Jungleland" solo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0md__RpSHg&feature=related
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Meet A Celebrity on 6/14/2011 9:41:20 AM by Matt Warren
Thanks to the magic of the internet, every episode of the "You're in Sports" gang's regret-and-gin-soaked shenanigoats is available for free and forever on our Versailles channel, thus completely negating the need to fake your own death and move to a new city under an assumed identity. Besides, such a mad plan would be doomed to failure. If there's anything Evelyn Anders & Co. have taught us, it's that escape from one's past is impossible.
But what's NOT impossible is a chance to actually meet Versailles stars Patricia Heaton (Evelyn) & David Hunt (Colin) in Los Angeles.
How? By entering the Versailles Sweepstakes Giveaway on our Facebook page!
Here's the deal: "like" us on Facebook, then enter as many times as you want to increase your chances of winning.
Plus, every time someone else enters the sweepstakes after YOU invite them, you get THREE ADDITIONAL ENTRIES.
And while you're at it, go ahead and "like" our official Versailles Facebook pages for a full FIVE ADDITIONAL ENTRIES. It's almost obscene how many chances we're giving you to win this.
Complete, lawyer-y entry information can be found here. And follow us on Twitter to keep up to date with all the latest sweepstakes info.