Hollywonk

Proper pushup technique is very important as you’ll see in...

Thu, 16 May 2013 18:47:03 -0700

Proper pushup technique is very important as you’ll see in this bonus scene from Those Who Can’t, the Amazon original pilot now available for free.

Guest Post: On Oxygen Masks, Happiness, and "Teeny Tiny Dogs"

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:28:00 -0700

Halle Stanford, Executive Producer and Executive Vice President of Children’s Entertainment at the Jim Henson Company (which produced the Amazon original pilot, Teeny Tiny Dogs), shares the key to family happiness: the oxygen mask.

As a mother of two boys (a teen and a toddler) and owner of two small dogs, I grab those “Mommy Moments” whenever I can find them. You know, hiding in my bathroom for 15 minutes with the latest Game of Thrones book (“Mommy has to go potty. I’ll be riiiight back!”). Mommy Moments make me one happy momma.

I learned this happy parent lesson years ago when I was going through a difficult divorce, and was worried about the happiness of my son. A wise friend told me, “You know what Rabbi Airplane says? Put your oxygen mask on before your kids. Your son will be happy if you are happy.” And lo, my pal was right. Today, my teen and toddler are both happy. It is important to be a happy parent.

Years later as I listened to the actual “put on your oxygen mask first” lecture on an airplane, I noticed my six year old son holding his breath. Curious, I asked him what he was doing. “Practicing holding my breath until you can get the mask on my face.” Whoa. Smart kid! He got me thinking back on the “oxygen mask” happiness metaphor. When do kids learn to put the happiness mask on themselves? And how long do they need to hold their breath?

When Dr. Christine Carter’s book, “Raising Happiness: 10 Simple Steps For More Joyful Kids and Happier Parents” came out in 2011, I was floored by the title of the first chapter: Step 1: Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First. And then by the following quote: “So I say, take the advice of airplanes]: put on your own oxygen mask first and then help those around you… I’ve found that a certain core of peace and centeredness is necessary before I can really be engaged in raising happy, compassionate, and confident children.”

There was that happiness oxygen mask metaphor again!

I bought the book, signed up for the online parenting course at www.christinecarter.com, and started learning more about her and the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center.

So what is Happiness? According to the GGSC: “Happiness includes the fleeting positive emotions such as joy and amusement, along with a deeper sense of meaning, connection, and purpose in life. “

What are the tools we can use to bring about a happier life? In a nutshell we should nurture the following qualities: Connection, Gratitude, Compassion, Altruism, Play, Awe, Hope, and Mindfulness.

The tools and ideas from the GGSC have had a profound effect on the happiness of our family. Now my boys and I all know how to put on our happiness masks when needed (Can you say, “Los Angeles traffic?”). And from the moment I read Dr. Carter’s book, I searched for an opportunity to integrate this happiness curriculum into one of our Jim Henson Company television shows. And, then the moment presented itself.

While my Jim Henson Company team was developing a comedy puppet series entitled TEENY TINY DOGS, we discovered Amazon Studios was looking for preschool content with unique 21st century curriculums. Boom! Pairing TEENY TINY DOGS with the Greater Good Science Center’s 21^st century educational agenda was almost as perfect as matching chocolate with peanut butter or matching bacon up with…anything. We were thrilled when Amazon Studios gave us the opportunity to develop both the concept and the curriculum.

We reached out to the Greater Good Science Center to see if they were interested in helping us integrate their Happiness Curriculum into our puppy preschool series and we were thrilled when they agreed. Vicki Zakrzewski, Ph.D., the GGSC Education Director and Ann Shulman, the GGSC Executive Director, were intrigued by the idea of teaching their concepts to and creating a toolkit for preschoolers.

And they sealed the deal when they taught us that, “According to the National Research Council, the ability to both form positive relationships and manage one’s emotions are key 21^st century skills. Children who can regulate their emotions are more likely to be happy, which, in turn, leads to more friends, greater likability and ease of relationships with peers, and better relationships with teachers. Kids who are happy also enjoy school more and have greater academic success.”

So… the Happiness Curriculum can teach a child how to be happy and help them become smarter? Eureka! Talk about the ultimate happiness oxygen mask for any parent. Happy Kid = Smart Kid! I’m gonna sit back and enjoy this TEENY TINY DOGS plane ride, eat some nuts…and maybe even watch a movie.

Five-time Emmy nominated Executive Producer, Halle Stanford, has worked for the Jim Henson Company for twenty years. She is proud to Executive Produce the award winning, critically acclaimed, and parent approved series “Sid the Science Kid,” “Dinosaur Train,” “Pajanimals,” “Wilson and Ditch: Digging America,” “Me and My Monsters,” “Animal Jam,” “Telling Stories with Tomie de Paola,” and the up and coming preschool series “The Doozers.” Her fingers, toes, and paws are crossed that her next production will be “Teeny Tiny Dogs” on the Amazon Studios development slate.

"I come from a theater background. Aaron Sorkin is my favorite. I love talk. Dialogue to me is my..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 18:02:47 -0700

“I come from a theater background. Aaron Sorkin is my favorite. I love talk. Dialogue to me is my stock in trade so I loved it. Learning about it all was actually really cool. I read the Steve Jobs biography. I looked into also to be able to get into it and explain it and explain it in a way that actually made sense to me was actually really fun.”

- Betas star Joe Dinicol on mastering the tech talk his character so smoothly delivers (watch the show for free here)

It’s tough to choose the best line in Supanatural (one of...

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:10:43 -0700

It’s tough to choose the best line in Supanatural (one of Amazon’s original comedies). But it’s hard to argue with “Spider, please.”

“Let’s get you a blowout and we’ll add it to the invoice. Oh, and watch out for that spider.”

A Song-by-Song Look at Amazon's Browsers, from the Interns' "Life" to Bebe's Big Number

Fri, 10 May 2013 15:10:00 -0700

If Bebe Neuwirth’s performance of the gloriously profane “Someone With Whom …” in the Amazon original pilot Browsers reminded you of a certain Broadway classic, well, there’s a reason for that.

We asked Browsers creator David Javerbaum to tell us about that song and the rest of show’s soundtrack, which features music by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Brendan Milburn (and is available for free at Amazon MP3):

“My Life”

Music by Brendan Milburn, a wonderful composer and friend I have known for almost 20 years. It introduces the four interns both individually and as a group, so it had to be long – 3 1/2 minutes, much longer than the typical song in the show, but necessary to have a real “opening number” feel. The tune Brendan wrote is catchy and irresistible. As for the title, yes I’m aware of the Billy Joel song, but it was the perfect hook for this song. It will not happen again. There will not be a “Piano Man” song in Episode Two.

“Goin’ Viral”

The music is by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, my collaborator on many other past projects and an all-around protean musical force. It has a nice Chemical Brothers sound.

“When I Tweet”

Music by Schlesinger. Very anthemic. I’d like to add another verse, give it a real ending and release it a single. I think the Twitterverse would really like it. Particularly if we could get the Bieb to cover it.

“It’s Not Like”

Music by Milburn. A lovely delicate AABA waltz with a tricky little melody and some amazing orchestration – check out the pizzicato!

“Someone with Whom Not to F—-“

Music by Milburn. Evocative of “Whatever Lola Wants” from Damn Yankees, but deliberately so – Bebe was once Lola, and Julianna [the interns’ terrifying and powerful boss] is very much like what Lola would have evolved into had the devil retired and given her the job.

Read more from Javerbaum about the show.

It takes a special person to be a great Listening Intern....

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:59:06 -0700

It takes a special person to be a great Listening Intern. It’s not just about listening — also smiling, nodding, and silently showing profound interest in what is being said (as seen in Onion News Empire, one of Amazon’s original comedy pilots.)

Think you’ve got what it takes? The Onion is hiring a Listening Intern. Get the details here.

“Let’s get this experiment party...

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:00:00 -0700

“Let’s get this experiment party started!”

Learn more about Annebots, a new kids show from Amazon that celebrates science.

Creator J.J. Johnson on "Annebots," and the Joys of Making Science into Mind-Blowing Fun

Wed, 08 May 2013 16:25:00 -0700

For creator and director J.J. Johnson, producing a children’s series is not just about entertaining kids but also about getting them excited about interacting with the world around them. It was with this in mind that he created Annebots, a science show that is one of Amazon’s original pilots.

J.J. is one of the partners of Sinking Ship, a production company based in Toronto, Canada. Formed in 2004, its credits include This is Daniel Cook, Are We There Yet?: World Adventure, and Dino Dan.

Annebots is about Anne, who learns about the world and science while hanging out in her junkyard lab with her best friend Nick and android helpers Hand, Eye and PAL.

We spoke with J.J. about what inspired Annebots, opportunities for interactivity, and the thrill of getting kids excited about science.

How did you come up with the concept for Annebots?

I wanted to do a science series for a long time, especially having touched on some scientific theories with Dino Dan but I could never figure out what kind of show would allow me to do the science that I particularly like and that I think kids generally like too like with actual explosions and things mixing and melting and some of the stuff that is a little more dangerous but certainly has a bigger cool factor. I think that if you’re dealing with subjects like science and the environment and your goal is to get kids excited about the real world, it’s important that you show them the real world. As we got comfortable with CG characters, it got me thinking about having robotic characters and perhaps robotic characters that could be built so that they’re the ones doing the dangerous so we can establish that some of the stuff is crazy and shouldn’t be done by humans, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t get into that subject matter. Aesthetically being a kid that explored junkyards when I was younger, I think that is such a cool landscape. It’s really full of forgotten things that all have secondary uses and I think that bleeds into the characters as well that there are things that are built that have been tossed aside but have a second lease on life. So that’s where the setting came together.

So by having the androids do the dangerous tasks, you’re able to enforce the “kids don’t try this at home” message?

It’s totally cool to do simple science shows where you’re doing simple science experiments with baking soda and stuff. The science that I think is going to light their minds on fire is the stuff that is going to blow their mind. You know, some of the crazier concepts or some of the cooler visual transformations that can only be done when it’s something a little more complicated. I think we found a clever way into that that still re-enforces it almost more so that these are things that you shouldn’t do but doesn’t skirt away from actually getting to show them. It’s almost too sterilized that we’re starting to miss the point and I think that kids are smarter than we give them credit for.

Is there a way for the kids to experience the science experiments beyond the confines of the show?

Our goal is to develop a slate of apps that would go with each episode. Using augmented reality (which is recreating a visual representation of the real world through an electronic device) we can use the camera to affect the environment that allows us to let the kids perform the experiments in a safe way, and in a virtual way that still matches the effect of the show. It’s a chance for the kids to become one of the characters and drive the story forward. That’s one of the things that is awesome about working with Amazon is that they’re a giant online company that also has a tablet which I don’t know if there is any other network that has that same kind of infrastructure.

What do you want parents to know about your show?

At its core it’s a show that wants to get kids excited about science. It wants to show kids using the scientific theory to figure things out in a way that they are going to make mistakes and it is not always perfect. As much as this is a science show I think it is also a show about kids coming together and solving problems. A lot of the shows that we see have to do a lot with wish fulfillment. They’re usually about becoming a superstar or getting a record contract or being a model or whatever else it might be. I’m excited to be able to show an alternate world, one that is a little bit more authentic but also show how kids can entertain themselves without becoming famous or playing a video game. In the end those shows don’t want them to go outside and one of the things I love about our first script is that Nick gets to his new house and wants to go inside and play video games with his friend online which is totally normal and typical and has its place, but by the end of the episode he’s being forced to leave the junkyard [and Anne] because he’s having so much fun. I think you have to give kids the opportunity to see that the world is not a horrifically scary place and that there are things to explore and things to build.

What do you want kids to know about your show?

I want kids to know that Annebots is about a girl who likes to make friends. And by ‘make’ I mean she actually makes them, from spare parts in her junk yard. This is the story about a girl who desperately loves science because she loves building things, ripping things apart and figuring out how the world works. She’s supported by a cast of quirky robotic friends and new human friends from the neighborhood. I want kids to know that in Annebots, like science, anything is possible. It’s about the world, and how awesome and weird it is, and it’s about them and how important their life journey is.

- Sean Wicks

Amazon Pilots Inside Story: Why Sara Solves It is "Schoolhouse Rock for Today's Kids"

Tue, 07 May 2013 16:22:00 -0700

There’s no reason to be afraid of math – in fact, it can be fun! Just ask Carol Greenwald and Angela Santomero, co-creators of Sara Solves it, one of one of 14 Amazon original pilots now playing for free at Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM.

Sara Solves It celebrates problem solving with 9-year-old whiz kid Sara and her younger brother Sam. Together, the solve mysteries in their apartment building and beyond, using the power of math.

We asked Carol and Angela about their show, their influences, and their Amazon experience:

Why did you want to tell this story, with these characters, in this world?

We have a vision to help every child and every parent with math homework!

Seriously, we heard from parents that they needed help with some of the strategies in math that will help their kids get off to a strong start in school. And we heard from kids that they wanted to solve mysteries and be in on the action. So, Out of the Blue (Blue’s Clues, Super Why, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood) and WGBH (Curious George, Arthur, Martha Speaks) teamed up to create a series designed to help young children acquire the mathematical foundation necessary for future academic success. The math curriculum is designed by Dr. Herb Ginsberg, from Teachers College, Columbia University, and creator of Big Math for Little Kids, the groundbreaking math curriculum for young children.

What do you want every parent to know about your show? Every kid?

It’s Schoolhouse Rock for today’s kids!

Just like with a reading show (Super Why, Martha Speaks) we wanted to have our characters jump into a world surrounded by math. There are numbers everywhere. Even the elevator in their apartment building operates in math equations. Sara is a math whiz while Sam still uses his fingers. We love showing the brother and sister duo work together to solve dramatic (to them!) mysteries…. All with math!

But don’t think for a minute that it’s all work and no play. The show is also lots of fun to watch and kids will be caught up in the mysteries, laughing at the jokes and singing along to the songs. And without even realizing it, they’ll be learning and practicing those math skills they need to succeed in school.

How has the Amazon experience been?

Angela: I am a huge Amazon Prime Mom. My kids actually call it “Amaze on” because we can find anything on Amazon and it will be here in 2 days! I’ve had a great creative collaborative relationship with Tara Sorenson and the Amazon Studios team. We share the same vision!

Carol: I’m especially excited about being a part of this groundbreaking initiative that will allow us to reach kids and families in a whole new way. I love that we can hear back directly from the audience – and we would love to hear your stories about what stumps your kids in math or about fun experiences they may have had. That can all help us come up with new stories. I’m so impressed with what Tara and the team have put together so far, and very proud that we have been included!

And, something about yourself, your influences, what inspires you.

Angela: I’m inspired to change the world – one great show at a time. It infuriates me to know that national testing data shows that only 39% of 4th graders and 34% of 8th graders test as proficient or above in math. At the same time, students who score well on math literacy are more likely to have future success in school. What can we do about that? For me, I want to dig my heels in and create an addictive, entertaining show that actually moves the needle and changes kids’ scores in math. I also want all girls to want to be like Sara, and not, as tradition has told us, step away from math.

Carol: I get inspired by hearing stories from our audiences about how our shows affect them. Whether it’s a dad who writes us to tell us that his son began digging for worms for the garden after watching Curious George do it, or a Mom whose child has Asperger’s syndrome telling us how meaningful it is to her family to see a child just like hers on Arthur, I am reminded why I do this job and why I love doing it! And my hope is that we’ll get to hear the same kind of stories from families who watch Sara Solves It – that a Mom or Dad will share a story about their child using a math skill they watched on Sara to solve their own math mystery!

- Stephanie Reid-Simons

With Sara on the case, there’s no reason for kids (or...

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:06:24 -0700

With Sara on the case, there’s no reason for kids (or parents) to be afraid of math.

Watch Sara Solves It, and other kids’ pilots from Amazon Studios, for free.

“It’s a great day to play in...

Mon, 06 May 2013 16:00:50 -0700

“It’s a great day to play in Tumbleaf!”

Tumbleaf is one of Amazon’s original children’s pilots, now available for free at Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM.

On "Tumbleaf," Inventiveness, and a World Where Kids Can Explore and Learn

Mon, 06 May 2013 14:09:00 -0700

Fig the fox is a dreamer and inventor in a world full of surprises and adventures. And kids can join him in Tumbleaf, one of 14 Amazon original pilots now playing for free at Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM. Viewer response will help determine which of these shows return with full seasons.

We asked Tumbleaf producer Kelli Bixler about the show (created by Drew Hodges and Bix Pix Entertainment), what Bixler would want every parent and child to know about Fig and his world, and their inspirations.

Describe Tumbleaf:

Tumbleaf is a world in nature, where Fig the fox lives and plays. Fig is a dreamer, a thinker, an inventor of new solutions, solutions no one else has ever thought of, not because he has a magic wand, but because he is an inventor of new solutions inspired by his unique experiences and surroundings. Fig figures things out, he earns his knowledge; thus what he learns is unique to him but also a universal truth.

Why did you want to tell this story, with these characters, this world?

We wanted to create a world that is beautiful and surprising, to create characters that are real, like your nutty but lovable aunt, the odd shy kid down the block, or the mailman who’s never at a loss for words. Fig (like all of us) needs to know how to deal with different people and situations, because the world does not revolve around you, you need a certain amount of independence and resourcefulness, a confidence of knowing “I can figure this out!” to be a purposeful human being – we wanted to create something of value.

What do you want every parent to know about the show? Every kid?

For parents … we love and respect kids – for the intelligent, creative and fun-loving souls they are!

For kids … Fig is going to surprise you and give you new ideas that you can explore and play with on your own – hopefully he’s a kindred spirit – an interesting friend.

Tell us something about yourself, your influences, and what inspires you:

Bix Pix is a nimble company blessed with creative individuals. We love teeny tiny buttons, nubby fabric, the shape of a cloud, home-made cookies right out of the oven …

Influences range from Billy Wilder to Tim Burton, Andrew Bird to Earth, Wind & Fire, hot dogs to polenta, modern museums to garage sales …

Inspiration comes from the unexpected – an act of kindness to a solar powered air plane, poems to YouTube, a bath tub or bread basket …

- Stephanie Reid-Simons

Hear more from Kelli Bixler and learn about all of the kids’ pilots from Amazon Studios.

See why this is the ONLY review that Those Who Can’t...

Mon, 06 May 2013 08:00:48 -0700

See why this is the ONLY review that Those Who Can’t creator/star Andrew Orvedahl cares about.

Happy Star Wars Day, from our Dark Minions to yours.

Sat, 04 May 2013 11:27:30 -0700

Happy Star Wars Day, from our Dark Minions to yours.

Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on Zombieland's TV Roots, Humor, and Post-Apocalyptic Upsides

Fri, 03 May 2013 14:26:00 -0700

What fans of Zombieland may not realize is that the 2009 hit movie, written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, was originally imagined as a TV series.

“We wrote it in 2005 as a spec pilot and sold it to CBS and – this was pre-Walking Dead – and the idea was that zombies had been so successful on the big screen but they have never really been tapped on the small screen,” Paul said. “The success of Zombieland in some ways paved the way for The Walking Dead to be on-air, and The Walking Dead is obviously a huge success. We’re so happy to be back on TV.”

Zombieland: The Series, is one of 14 Amazon original pilots now playing for free at Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM. Viewer response will help determine which of these shows return with full seasons.

We asked with Paul and Rhett about zombies, their cast, and what the future might hold for their characters.

There are a lot of zombie stories out there, but you but you guys have taken it in a direction that I think is more humorous than one might expect, post-apocalypse.

Rhett: Well I think what we wanted to do is to treat the post-apocalypse like an escapist fantasy. There are a lot of post-apocalyptic stories like The Road and similar movies that treat the post apocalypse as a grim experience as it likely would be in real life, but we thought we wanted to turn it on its head a little bit and imagine the post-apocalyptic landscape as a fun one, and one where you could be free and do the kind of things that you wanted to do. Maybe you were the last guy on Earth and maybe there was a cute girl who is also alive, and what would that mean? So we wanted to look at the post-apocalyptic world as a playground full of toys and full of zombies to bash over the head and full of fun experiences and that was a jumping off point for us.

Paul: It’s kind of like Los Angeles during the holiday season when everyone goes out of town, and traffic is a lot less and the air is cleaner and people are happier and we thought my God, that feels a little bit of what it would be like in the post-apocalypse, except you’re being chased by zombies. So the wish fulfillment of that world is something that we really wanted to tap into that really sets us apart from all the other zombie projects, the idea that again you can drive Lamborghinis. You can just go to the Lamborghini dealership and grab a yellow Lamborghini if you wanted to. And you could get the hot girl because, you know, there aren’t a lot of choices out there.

What do you say to those who are nervous about seeing Zombieland as a series?

Paul: Well I would say that they are in the best hands that they could be in. The reason this was and is an original idea, it wasn’t based on a graphic novel it came out of our heads and it is now in our hands where it belongs and we have the utmost respect for the world and the franchise and the fans and we’ve captured the tone and feel of the movie. We have cast wonderful actors who are playing characters – not replacements for other actors.

Rhett: It bears mentioning that when we wrote Zombieland, we wrote the character of Tallahassee based upon an actor we knew, a friend of ours and an actor we had worked with named Kirk Ward, and he really inspired the character. We wrote it for him intending for him to play it but when it became a movie, we needed a star and we went to Woody Harrelson, we found a phenomenal guy who left an indelible mark on that character and obviously brought it to life in a way that it will never be forgotten that will always set the bar of excellence. That said, when it came time to turn it into a TV series again we desperately still wanted to work with Kirk Ward and to have him be our guy and it was a long circuitous casting process but we got our wish so people will be seeing in him our original vision for that character and I think that the other cast members are equally wonderful and are wonderful discoveries. It’s true in theater that characters get passed on from one great actor to another and it’s almost like a legacy and we hope that it will be the case in this case. There are also a lot of good examples of movies becoming Television shows, something like The Odd Couple – you know Jack Lemmon, Tony Randall, two wonderful actors playing the same part. There’s Billy Bob Thornton and Kyle Chandler on Friday Night Lights. I think there is certainly precedent for what we are doing and we hope to catch lightning in a bottle again.

Rhett: We really believe that we are holding the standard of the movie and it will be up to America and the world to decide. It’s not for us to decide, but we have confidence in it.

Great zombie stories – like yours – have a unique way of helping people understand humanity. Is that kind of thing in your mind at all?

Rhett: A little bit. To some extent we don’t want to take ourselves too seriously. I do think that zombies are a stand-in for all of our collective fears; you know each of us fears different things in life. Zombies are a nice way within the world of fiction to embody those fears into something then bash it over the head with a baseball bat. I think there’s something to that; it’s a kind of cathartic kind of movie or TV show.

If the series goes forward, how do you envision it unfolding over time?

Paul: Inherent in the movie and in the pilot is this idea that they are on the road, it’s a traveling circus and we would like to embrace that. As we are heading out of California and heading east, these adventures will take place in Vegas and Graceland and Mount Rushmore. We want it to take advantage of the landscape and America and all the fun that awaits them on the road. That would be what I say most. They’re all looking for their own sense of home and peace and I think that Tallahassee is looking for love and hopefully will find it and Columbus will hopefully find it in Wichita.

Rhett: And a show like Battlestar Galactica a real endgame, that being let’s get back to Earth, let’s get back home. As they had that, and I think we also have the idea let’s ultimately try to find a place of safety, a home and a community for the future. That won’t be reached right away because then there wouldn’t be a show, but I think in the long run we’ll try to take our guys to that mythical place of safety and renewal.

- Stephanie Reid-Simons

Lisa Henson on Teeny Tiny Dogs, Teaching Happiness, and Her Father's Influence

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:22:00 -0700

The canines are small, but the legacy is huge – Teeny Tiny Dogs is an Amazon Studios pilot from the Jim Henson Company (and created by Howard Baker of Rugrats fame). “Our company has had a long history of creating great dog characters and we knew that we could bring Howard’s vision to life in a fun, meaningful way with our Henson style of puppets,” said Jim Henson Company CEO Lisa Henson.

Teeny Tiny Dogs is one of 14 Amazon original pilots now playing for free at Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM. Viewer response will help determine which of these shows return with full seasons.

We asked Lisa Henson about the show, what she would every parent and child to know about it, and her inspirations.

Describe Teeny Tiny Dogs …

Teeny Tiny Dogs follows four dogs - Butch, Butterfly, Dinky and Polly - as they help one another navigate the big world despite their teeny, tiny, small size. The series is for preschoolers and follows our company’s history of great, funny, entertaining puppetry. As important, it also has a solid educational goal, promoting happiness in our young viewers through friendship, learning, growing and developing a strong sense of self.

Why did you want to tell this story, with these characters, in this world?

Teeny Tiny Dogs was created by Howard Baker. Howard had worked with us on some previous projects and he’s a very talented artist and director. He came to us with the little dog characters and we all just fell in love with them. … And when we began developing the series, this wonderful curriculum emerged that centered on happiness, helping preschoolers build their self-esteem, confidence, and resilience. We started to see that these four teeny tiny dogs could tell big important stories to our young audience at home.

What do you want every parent to know about your show? Every kid?

I want parents to know that many of us here at The Jim Henson Company are parents ourselves so when we develop a show for preschoolers, be it Sid the Science Kid, Dinosaur Train, Pajanimals or Teeny Tiny Dogs we take that responsibility seriously, even when the show we are creating is a lot of fun! Teeny Tiny Dogs is a great addition to our preschool projects because these are relatable characters that we know kids will see as friends they can trust and learn from.

I want kids to know that Teeny Tiny Dogs is a hilarious playdate with four of the greatest furry pals you’ll ever meet.

And I want everyone to know that what they are seeing now is not anywhere near a finished show! This animatic is only a step in the development process and we use it to inform the look, tempo and story of the show. We cut in just a couple of scenes with Dinky the puppet, but our final series will be a puppet production featuring puppets from our workshop performed by our renowned puppeteers. Our completed show will have no animation, but we are presenting the animatic now to get feedback from our potential audience and parents.

How has the Amazon experience been?

I feel like we are literally watching Amazon change the way entertainment is created for children, and change the way families will enjoy that entertainment. It is new to us to have our in-development work shown to the public at this early stage, but it is exciting to include our audience in this process and we welcome their response.

Tell us something about yourself, your influences, what inspires you.

I have been fortunate enough to be a part of The Jim Henson Company my whole life. Watching my father, Jim Henson, create shows and characters that encouraged children to believe in themselves, imagine and aspire to reach their dreams was very inspiring to me and showed me that media can entertain, educate and make the world a better place. I have been leading our company over the last ten years as we have created many new preschool properties that continue this legacy and it is an honor and privilege to do so.

- Stephanie Reid-Simons

Hear more from Lisa Henson and learn about all of the kids’ pilots from Amazon Studios.

Learn more about Teeny Tiny Dogs, an Amazon Studios pilot from...

Thu, 02 May 2013 15:17:00 -0700

Learn more about Teeny Tiny Dogs, an Amazon Studios pilot from The Jim Henson Company and created by Howard Baker (Rugrats).

The show promotes happiness through friendship, learning, growing and developing a strong sense of self as seen through the eyes of canine friends.

Amazon Pilots Inside Story: David Javerbaum on Browsers, Bebe, Music and More

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:13:00 -0700

When the characters in Browsers feel something, they don’t just say it. You don’t just see it. They sing it. They even dance it. And they do it with such wit – almost like an 11-time Emmy award-winning writer for The Daily Show is putting words in their mouth.

And one is: David Javerbaum. He’s actually got a dozen Emmys, having picked up one for the song “Broadway: It’s Not Just For Gays Anymore,” which so memorably opened the 65^th Tony Awards. And he’s also an author (The Last Testament: A Memoir By God; What to Expect When You’re Expected: A Fetus’ Guide to the First Three Trimesters).

Browsers, one of 14 Amazon original pilots now playing for free at Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM, is about four interns at Gush, a content-aggregating website (a la The Huffington Post or The Daily Beast) founded and run by the charismatic but mysterious Julianna Mancuso-Bruni (Bebe Neuwirth). “The show pokes fun at modern workplaces, the media, and more specifically Gush — starting with its penchant for deriving most of its content by cutting and pasting material from other websites,” Javerbaum said.

We asked Javerbaum about the setting of Browsers, the terrific cast, and the challenges of mixing comedy and music.

Why this world, why these characters?

I’ve long considered The Huffington Post the quintessential cultural artifact of our time in terms of what it covers, how it covers it, and why it remains popular. It literally provides a window into the state of the world, and so I thought setting a show there — and making the entirety of its universe fair game for our show — would provide an enormous amount of material.

As for the characters, as soon as I began formulating ideas for musical television shows, I knew I wanted the leads to be young people in their 20s, because that’s the age where you have the most energy, passion, uncertainty, and all that other good interesting quirky singable stuff.

How does having music in the show adds to the experience/story?

The songs serve a different purpose here than they do in shows like Smash and Glee, not only because they are original, but because they are not “actually” happening. Rather, the songs are internal, taking place inside the character’s heads, meaning they are bound only by the laws of imagination and not by reality.

Tell me about your awesome cast, and what they brought to the show.

Bebe Neuwirth (Julianna): The consummate professional. Hilarious on take one, still hilarious on take five.

Brigitte Davidovici (Kate): A beautiful person inside and out. Instantly winning from the moment you see her. Also an excellent baby-sitter.

Dustin Ingram (Josh): Gets more comedy out of one word than most people get out of a book. (Even the Bible, which is pretty funny.)

Constance Wu (Prudence): Beautiful. Intense scene presence. Funny and smart. Extremely fun to be around.

Marque Richardson (Gabe): Brings an inherent likability to a serious, sometimes humorless character. And man, can he tap dance. (For a later episode…)

Chris Wood (Justin): The interns’ supervisor. Half-man, half-douche, all-awesome.

Writing songs is hard enough – how much does it increase the degree of difficulty to also make them funny?

Actually, writing funny songs — at least songs I think are funny — is not that difficult once you come up with a single solid comedic premise for each one. The songs are for the most part much shorter than songs in either pop music or musical theater — two minutes tops, with the one-time exception of the opening song in the pilot episode — and, like a Monty Python sketch, we’re free to stop them at any time as soon as they no longer feel funny. But the good thing about writing songs in this format is that the burden of comedy is shared by not only the song and the performer, but by the visuals and the directing, and that is where a director of Don Scardino’s skill comes in and makes a song that was good on paper look amazing on screen.

How has the Amazon experience been so far?

I would not want Browsers to be anywhere else on TV — not network, basic cable or premium cable. The amount of freedom and trust I’ve been given, the commitment of money and resources, the directness of the communication with the powers-that-be and the quality of their notes, the possibilities entailed in a show about a website being aired on one — I couldn’t ask for anything more.

- Stephanie Reid-Simons

From the Amazon original pilot, Browsers, written by David...

Wed, 01 May 2013 16:49:00 -0700

From the Amazon original pilot, Browsers, written by David Javerbaum. The music is by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne.

See more Amazon original comedies (several with free music) here.

"Those Who Can't" Q and A: Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl, Ben Roy

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:40:00 -0700

Adam Cayton-Holland, Andrew Orvedahl, and Ben Roy, the co-writers and stars behind Amazon’s new original pilot, Those Who Can’t, recently sat down with one another in Adam’s living room in Denver, Colorado to talk about their show, which is now available for free on Amazon Instant Video. It went a little something like this:

Adam: So I’ll start with the first question: Who are you guys and what are you doing in my house?

Andrew: Adam, it’s us. Your early-onset dementia is getting the better of you again.

Ben: Alright, are you guys excited about the premiere of Those Who Can’t?

ADAM SCREAMS UNINTELLIGIBLY.

Andrew: I’m very excited. … I don’t know what the average daily visitor count to Amazon’s website is but I’d imagine it’s quite a few. To think of that many people being able to watch our show for free is kind of intimidating.

Andrew: What other sitcoms inspired you guys in writing this?

Adam: I was watching It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia a fair amount during this. I was watching The League a little bit too. I was also watching The Larry Sanders Show a lot. That’s a great show.

Ben: I watch a lot of older sitcoms. Now that my son is old enough I’ve been re-watching some of my old favorites with him — The Wonder Years, Freaks and Geeks, a few others…

Ben: We definitely were influenced by Strangers With Candy. We all mentioned that one when we started brainstorming the show.

Andrew: Probably one of my favorite shows ever. We all like high school shows and high school settings so it was really fun to make one of our own.

Adam: Andrew, what was your favorite part of filming?

Andrew: Anything other than getting hit in the face with a kickball over and over again. Not that for sure.

Ben: That was my favorite part.

Andrew: The most fun part was watching other people’s scenes, because then you could just sit back and it was kind of fun to watch. I don’t know, pretty much every scene I was in with Rory was pretty fun and really hard not to laugh. I broke like forty times.

Adam: Rory Scovel is hilarious in this episode. He plays the principal of Buchanan High School, where the show is set and where we’re all teachers.

Ben: I think my favorite is the opposite of Andrew: I couldn’t wait for the scenes that I got to act in.

Adam: That’s because you’re vain.

Ben: Yeah?

Adam: Yeah.
Ben: Yeah.

Adam: Yeah.

Ben: Those were probably my favorite parts. I also loved working with children. LAUGHS CREEPILY. You know, being around young kids…

Andrew: Make sure to transcribe, “Nervous chuckle.”

Ben: You know, being around nubile, cream-skinned teenagers…

Andrew: I was nervous around the actual teenagers because their parents were sitting right there and we were making some awful jokes. It’s like, “Have any of you actually read this script?”

Andrew: If you could have a cameo from anyone alive on the show, who would it be?

Adam: Bill Murray. Can you imagine him as the superintendent of public schools? He would be awesome!

Ben: I think Anthony Jeselnik as a real arrogant prick teacher would be awesome. That dude is so funny.

Andrew: I could never see him playing that though.

ALL THREE LAUGH.

Ben: I change my mind, Bill Murray.

Adam: If not Bill Murray, Salma Hayek. Why is that character always topless?

Ben: What was it like to work with somebody who is so driven in the aspect of health and trying to maintain a body and would you like to roll with Ben Roy, grapple with Ben Roy, would you feel comfortable doing something like that? God he’s good looking.

Andrew: Was that even a question? That was more of just a semi-coherent statement.

Adam: Ben Roy has been doing cross-fit for a few months and now he’s decided he’s going to ju-jitsu wrestle other similarly bi-curious thirty-year-olds.

Andrew: Have you guys seen that movie, Warrior? It’s about to come true!

Adam: Let’s wind this down by talking about something that we’ve talked about a lot. If this show gets picked up what are you going to do with all that money?

Ben: That’s right! We’re going to be thousand-aires.

Andrew: At this point I’ll just be paying off all the debt that I’ve accrued while waiting to hear our fate. From buying Legos and food for my family.

Ben: I would get a motorcycle. A Triumph.

Adam: I would get a player piano. An old-fashioned player piano.

Ben: You really would wouldn’t you? God you are so pompous.

Adam: And then I’d travel to Paris. Again.

Andrew: You were just there.

Ben: He’s just rubbing it in. America has everything. Seattle is just as good as Paris.

Andrew: Ben, have you ever been to Seattle?

Ben: I’ve played the Tacoma Comedy Club!

Andrew: Close enough.

Those Who Can’t is one of 14 Amazon original pilots now playing for free at Amazon Instant Video and LOVEFiLM. Viewer response will help determine which of these children’s shows and comedies return with full seasons.