Amazon's 14-Pilot Experiment Blazes a New Path in VOD Marketing

How many Hollywood movies and big studio TV shows have you seen and been tempted to yawn at? You recognized the plot within the first five minutes, you could tell what would happen before it did, or worse, you could dictate an entire plot based solely on the trailer.

Hollywood and big studios' risk-averse culture, though once justified, has now become irreverently obvious, and while people still eat what they feed them, they're starting to look elsewhere for their entertainment thanks to video-on-demand (VOD) services like Hulu and Netflix offering original series content.

On Friday, April 20, 2013, Amazon Instant Streaming locked arms with Hulu and Netflix to shift moviegoers from big theaters to home theaters and mobile devices with original content of its own.

Participant Media's New Cable Network 'Pivot' Affects Your Entertainment Career -- Here's How

Participant Media's cable network pivot, which launches August 1, 2013, aims to spark a tide of global activism, and even aims to revolutionize cable network versatility.

It's aimed at the coveted millenials (18-34 years old) and wants to inspire groundbreaking social change through them. They're the perfect market since they're immersed in entertainment culture and will soon enter the entertainment business themselves.

"We wanted to design a next-generation channel for the next generation of consumers and leaders," said pivot President Evan Shapiro, former head of AMC Networks' Sundance and IFC channels.

What does all that have to do with you? Well, consider the prospect: a new wave of conscientious youth armed with tools to be more expressive than any preceding generation and fired with the impetus to be socially responsible.

That promises the potential for more online videos, indie films and music to be produced. Perhaps thought-provoking material will actually return to the mainstream (gasp!).

Furthermore, pivot is a nascent cable network, which is an opportunity you should jump on now. Why?

Comedy Trendsetter Walter Latham Brings His Midas Touch to YouTube

YouTube is dead serious about invading the TV world, and if you’re skeptical, the company’s deal with standup comedy concert producer Walter Latham should hammer the point.

Variety reported early on June 12, 2012 that Latham (producer of "Original Kings of Comedy", "Queens of Comedy", "Latin Kings of Comedy", etc.) has joined forces with YouTube to establish his own channel, Walter Latham Comedy, with a webseries already lined up to premiere in July showcasing rising comedy stars.

The Film Industry Secret Filmmakers Should Be Drooling Over

Everyone and their mom use IMDbPro, but there’s another in-depth resource that most aren’t sharing on a broad scale, touted by TheWrap as “the most effective way to build your career in the film business” – one even the Geek found by accident: TheGrid.