YouTube Dips Toe and $5M into Content Creators...

Looks like Google via YouTube wants to help some of its more prolific and brand identified content creators create, well... better content.

They've created a $5 million fund to assist producers who may not have the wherewithal to upgrade production values with equipment, actors, writers, even directors.  The first class to participate is by invitation only.  Google will roll out the invites to a broader audience if this model proves to be successful.

And to be fair, Google's not doing this out of the kindness of their hearts.  There's much money to be made here.  Display advertising, a $20 billion business, is something Google wants a bigger piece of.  Google is on track to book as much as $600 million, all of it from display advertising -- on YouTube.

For more specifics, read the AdAge article here -- http://bit.ly/aJHz8Z

Let's hope other video distributors will be just as incentivized to help their producers help them.

Screenwriters Find Work is Dwindling...

I'm not that surprised about the above headline.  Things have been bad in the industry since the 2007 WGA Strike, but lately with the Great Recession, it's put even more of a strain on an already dire situation.

It's tough all over, and if you really want a career in the biz, writing or otherwise, you need to come prepared to do whatever it takes, legally speaking of course... because your dream to write for TV or the movies may not happen the way you want, in the timeline you want.

Don't wait for someone else to validate you.  Do it yourself. 

Here's the LA Times Article if you want to take a look -- http://bit.ly/bpPAPE

Love Chronicles Secrets Revealed...

Having followed Rockmond Dunbar's work over the years, it's nice to see him get roles which, hopefully, allow him to explore a series of characters, covering a wide spectrum of complexity.  Don't know if we'll necessarily see that in this upcoming release (July 13, 2010), but it's nice to see these actors in what appears to be a lighthearted, romantic comedy.

Here's the trailer --

Isaiah Mustafa Reveals Secrets about Old Spice Ads...

Isaiah Mustafa does it again with another brilliant Old Spice Ad.  This time he reveals a few secrets behind the magic...  Here's a photo from Essence.com --

http://bit.ly/b9wujx

Can't wait for Mustafa to get his own series, or be cast as the lead in some big budget action adventure franchise.  He's the next "it" guy.

Pay The Writer...

Okay.  I love Harlan Ellison.  A writer.  Just saw this clip on a Association of Women Journalists (AWJ) colleague's site -- http://annatarkov.posterous.com/pay-the-writer

I've also copied the video here. 

Harlan is right.

Why should writers give away their product for free?  We shouldn't.  But the uninformed, those of us just starting out perhaps feel the exposure offered by writing for free is worth it.  That decision is up to the individual, of course.  But as I've seen in job ads more lately than not, you can't expect someone to write a nearly 1,000 word article -- and all the prep, energy and effort that takes for $20, and expect to get the best product.

At least, not from me.

Isaiah's Back...

I can't help it.  This guy just... does it for me.  Here's a bit of an update.  Someone at NBC got wise and signed Isaiah Mustafa of the famed Old Spice commercials to a talent development deal late Spring 2010.  Finally!  Someone sees what I see -- a talented actor who deserves his own TV show.

Here's the latest Old Spice ad --

HILARIOUS!  I'm happy for him and hope the opportunities keep coming!