When people like Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling, Paul Feig, Rob Corddry, Paul F. Tomkins, Joel Stein, Rob Riggle, Diablo Cody and Jenji Kohan say your schtick is funny, then it's pretty safe to say it's funny. But will saying that — and tweeting it, and Facebooking it, and YouTube-ing it, and emailing them on the computer — get that schtick picked up? For the last week, creators of "Ronna & Beverly," a new pilot for Showtime that wasn't picked up but got a last-ditch airdate, have been doing their best to find out — with a little help from their online friends. (more...)

video So! "Ronna & Beverly" aired last night. Did you watch? Did anyone? Did the army of Twitter followers of comedy tastemakers like Rainn Wilson, Mindy Kaling, Joel Stein, Paul Feig, Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, Paul Scheer and Diablo Cody — remember to set their DVRs? Anyone subscribing to the theory of Twitter as a cross-platform influencer should be watching these results, because if Ronna & Beverly's ratings exceed the norm, then it's because of the instant campaign launched by stars/creators Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo, producer Jenji Kohan and director Feig, and their lightning-quick marshaling of influencers online. It just might say a lot about the possibilities for marketing television — not to mention the power of niche communities. It's an interesting test case, one that anyone who cares about this stuff should keep their eye on — even Chuck, with its army of internet fans, had time to build fan-love with multiple episodes and an NBC-sized budget. If Ronna & Bev can do it with a pilot and an army of their UCB pals, then that is a big deal. (more...)

What do you do if your TV pilot finally gets made — in the middle of a media meltdown and the worst recession in years? And what do you do if it isn't picked up, but at the last minute, randomly, gets scheduled to air? In the olden days (read: a few years ago), you told all your friends to watch it, crossed your fingers and prayed. Today, you send the word flying through Twitter, Facebook and every other social medium you can think of — and suddenly, you've got a movement. That's what's happening right now to Ronna & Beverly. (more...)

Greetings world, and welcome to the second installment of "Tweets On A Plane," whereby I amuse myself on board a flying chunk of metal in the sky by perusing your wit and wisdom in 140 characters via a pre-loaded Tweetdeck. I'm flying Porter Airlines, which rules — free wine, people, and do you think I'm indulging? Well what else goes with my free almonds, Terra chips and cookie? — and I am not lamenting the lack of on-board wifi one bit. Seriously, do I need to be wired all the time? Of course not — that's why I pre-loaded a few pages to work from while in the air. Yeah, I'll smell those roses. Anyway! I think we should take a moment to appreciate how awesome it is that human beings figured out a way to get a bunch of people and their luggage from one place to another through the air. That's seriously crazy. Looking out the window right now at the bright blue sky and clouds glowing in the reflected rays of the sun, I don't take that for granted. Right! Now back to your tweets. Here are the best of 'em, with my commentary, because that will OBVIOUSLY make them even better. Twitter has taught me something. Onward! (more...)

Journalists and mediaites might have been a little bitter that they missed out on federal stimulus. But thank god for Megan Fox — a more potent stimulus package than Obama himself could have dreamed up.