Austin, Texas – 16/6/2010 – Beth Chamberlin joins the season 2 cast of Austin-based series CELL:  The Web Series. Beth is well known for her role on Guiding Light, the longest running broadcast show in television history, and she comes to CELL fresh off a 2010 Daytime Emmy nomination for her work in the final year of the show. She played Beth Raines on the long running soap opera from 1989 to 2010. However, Beth is not new to web series as she is also co-star and story consultant on the hilarious show Steamboat. She is also a certified kettle bell trainer and has two workout DVDs, The Kettle Bell Way Vol. 1 and Kettle Bell Way Vol. 2 Empire State, available from Beacon Fitness.

CELL: The Web Series is nearing the explosive conclusion to its freshman season with its finale going live on July 21, 2010. The series stars Jourdan Gibson, Kevin McCarthy and Danny Cameron. It is written and directed by Mark Gardner with a score by composer/conductor Brian Satterwhite.

When asked about the new addition to his already stellar cast Mark Gardner had this to say, “We’re very excited to have Beth join the cast of CELL: The Web Series. CELL has worked hard to deliver excellent character based drama and an actor of Beth’s caliber will help us push to the next level in creating high-quality independent drama. We hope with the inclusion of Beth Chamberlin in CELL that we can not only increase interest in what we’re doing but also increase exposure and interest in independent drama all over the web to a new group of fans.”

CELL has accumulated much critical acclaim in its first season and has recently surpassed 260,000 views on Koldcast TV. Lovable Varmint Productions is currently seeking additional funding and sponsors for season two.

CELL: The Web Series is proud to welcome Beth Chamberlin to the cast. Welcome to the Family, Beth and Stay Tuned!

Lovable Varmint Productions is a small band of independent writers, actors and producers taking their futures into their own hands. Our mission is to tell high-quality, engaging, original stories, with a focus on serialization, for distribution on the Internet and other new media streams. We intend to push the boundaries of new media production by advancing evolutionary models for monetization, production, and distribution of original web content.

For sponsorship, funding and press inquiries please contact Mark Gardner.

SXSW is starting up Friday. The Interactive and Film Festivals are going on from March 12 – 16. I’ll be there for the whole thing and sending in updates through the blog and twitter. If you’re not following Twitter, give us a look at @ut_markle or @CELLwebseries.

If you’re going to be at the festival drop me a line. I’d love to meet a lot of you.

We’re also going to start a little more with the conversation about what we want to do with LVP and the shows that we’re producing. Stick with us because we really think you’ll like what we’ve got going on. Until then, take a look at episode 3.

We’re actually working on several new projects and we hope to be talking about them all within the next couple of weeks. So keep watching CELL and keep trying to figure out what’s going on… because we’re going to do it to you again soon.

Keep your eyes open… and take a gander at this…

Click here to view the embedded video.

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One lucky t-shirt winner, Kendra!

You know those nifty Lovable Varmint Productions t-shirts everyone had been talking about? Of course you do! Now’s your chance to get your very own LVP crew shirt. To help celebrate our distribution of CELL with Koldcast.TV, we’re going to be giving away Lovable Varmint Productions t-shirts. (Well, a few at least.) All you have to do is make your own poster for CELL. Find out more after the jump, or just go to…

http://cellthewebseries.com/contest/CELL%20Poster%20Contest.zip

to get your pics and start work.

We know the show’s not out yet so you’re not entirely clear on what’s going on. And that’s a good thing. It’d spoil all the surprises if we told you all the secrets right now. But we can still help you out. Here’s the logline for the show…

A man wakes up in a cell after a night on the town. When he realizes he’s not in jail and he’s not alone, he fights to stay who he is while helping someone else remember who they were.

So that’s all you get. Now be creative and make some great posters.

Oh but wait, where do I get the pictures I need to make these things?

It’s simple. Just go to  http://cellthewebseries.com/contest/CELL%20Poster%20Contest.zip and download the ZIP file. Inside that lovely ZIP file you’ll find instructions and images that you can use to make your own promotional poster for CELL. There will be instructions on how to submit as well as a few rules. (Lawyers make us do these things you know.) The deadline for submission is January 31st, 2010. E-mail your entries to the e-mail listed in your packet. (contest at lovablevarmint.com) We’ll announce the winners February 2nd, just in time for our premiere.

Digital submissons only please

I can’t wait to see what you guys put together. Good luck!!

Oh yeah… legal stuff…

By submitting material through this contest, you are allowing Lovable Varmint Productions, LLC (LVP) to use the material for the purposes deemed appropriate by LVP. All submissions become and will remain the property of LVP. No compensation is due to the submitter. Submitted material will not be returned. The selection process and whether or not a winner is chosen, is solely within the discretion of LVP.  Any submissions may be edited by LVP at the sole discretion of LVP.  Participation in this contest does not guarantee that you will win. (Wouldn’t it be nice if contests did that? But they don’t.) LVP reserves the right to cancel the contest at any time without prior notice.

Until now…

We’re moving our release date back 2 weeks to February 3rd. We’re working really hard to get our post-production done in time and we were faced with a choice: keep the earlier release date and have questionable effects or push back a couple of weeks to make sure the effects are in good shape. We decided on taking the extra time to make sure that our releases are quality.

So change your calendars. CELL will premiere on February 3rd, 2010. We think you’ll like what you see.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Today, I think I’ll be talking about Transmedia productions… specifically ARGs. If you go all the way to the end then I might just blow your mind with just how crazy the new “Dollhouse” ARG really is.Recently I think the majority of geekdom was distraught when FOX once again cancelled a Joss Whedon series. “Dollhouse” got the axe this week. Whether it got it too soon or not I think has yet to be figured out. While I personally enjoyed it, I know a lot of people we disappointed. But this discussion is probably best held off for another day. Because “Dollhouse” isn’t quite dead yet. In fact, it seems more lively than ever.

Right about the time the announcement was made about “Dollhouse” being cancelled, there was a website launched for the Rossum Corporation. In case you haven’t watched the show, they’re the ones running the Dollhouses.

A few people noticed that there were actually contact numbers on the website for people to call and e-mail. When you call it, you’ll get the usual voicemail that you’d expect from a company, especially one set up by a TV show. The fun happened later when some people got a call back from Rossum.

Those phone calls had a hidden meaning. With a little research, people were led to a site at www.ditchthetech.com. The site had a video urging people to stop Rossum and ditch the tech.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There are way too many places to take you through everything now, but this led people to www.wipethefuture.com (you need to figure out the password), www.spectrin.com (another hidden area with passwords), @AlexfromPR and several other places scattered around the web. Each piece leads to another part of the bigger puzzle and I have to say it’s been really well done. Completely engaging and expanding on the “Dollhouse” universe in ways I don’t think anyone really imgained. Some people are even saying that it feels like a new show. Maybe Whedon’s next project?

This is all part of transmedia storytelling, where producers take several different types of media in order to further engage their audience and tell a richer story. That’s one of the great things about the internet; You can reach out to you fans and have them take part in the story, not just watch it. The Twitter account for @AlexfromPR is treated just like a real person who has a real blog.

She reacts just like a real person would if hundreds of people start asking her crazy questions about Rossum and Iceland and tattoos. You might freak out. So does Alex. And this kind of interactivity is what makes this an ARG.

An ARG is an “Alternate Reality Game” and I have to say I LOVE the concept. So much so that I think I just might steal it. We’ve already been developing some viral locations for the “CELL” mythology but I think we may even want to develop it even farther so that when we launch, people will have a chance to interact and learn more about the world.

I also think that for us Indie producers, this kind of media effort could really pay off.

There are a lot of ways that indie producers can take advantage of the unique position web distribution gives us. I’ve always been a huge proponent of building a community around your brand. These ARGs are just another level of engagement we can take with our viewers. If we can get the support of a community talking about our show, imagine how strong we could be with a community that’s a PART of the show and interacting with it. That level of engagement is where we have an advantage over traditional media. If we can use that to show that our viewers care about our content, then they’ll be more likely to help us finance more in the future.It may be too late for “Dollhouse,” but it’s not too late for us.

And now how can I blow your mind about the “Dollhouse” ARG? Here we go…

The website www.spectrin.com isn’t a new site. It’s been around since 2004. You can find archived versions of the site at www.archive.org, which works just to create archives of web pages over time.  So when they talk in the ARG about getting into our “timeline,” it starts to take on a new sense of depth. Did they plan this story out 5 years ago? Way before “Dollhouse” was even a twinkle in Eliza’s eye? Have they been secretly planning this for years? How deep does this go? Where is this rabbithole taking us? I for one can’t wait to find out.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I can’t wait to see what Brian does with “CELL” and the story behind it. We listened to tons of music during production and its always been a big part of the inspiration for the story. This part of the process should be great fun and working with such a talented composer is really going to add to what we’re trying to achieve with “CELL.”

We also have another poster for CELL made by our still photographer Dale Kennemer.

I can’t even begin to list the amount of great stuff going on behind the scenes for CELL, partially because I can’t. But rest assured good things are in the works for CELL. Loren and Chris are working like mad to get rough cuts of the episodes done. They just got Episode 2 finished and I should have eyes on that soon.  Our sound mixer Debbie is working like mad to get sound set for the shoot and she’s also taken on sound design. I don’t think she’ll ever sleep.

The rest of the stuff about CELL I can’t really talk about yet. But as soon as I can I’ll make sure to let you all know.

And on an unrelated note, we’ve started the development process for more shows with the Lovable Varmint brand. Things are going so well that we’re going to keep pushing ahead and keep making new content to bring to you. Our goal is to push the boundaries of indie web productions so that we can compete with the big money out there. If you like what we’re doing, keep visiting and keep supporting us. With your help we can bring you more great content.

Thanks for everything you’ve been doing and keep an eye out for more video goodness.

We’re also working on the first cut of Episode One! That’s right, Episode One is almost out of editing. Don’t get too excited. We still have to get Sound Design, Score and Visual Effects done on it. And you still won’t get to see it until January.Chris and Loren are working hard on putting all of this together and rushing it through so that we can use it. Why the rush? Well because we’re going out to look for funding for the series. Our initial feedback from everyone that’s been a part of this has been amazing. So much so that we’re speeding up our plans and we’re going to actively seek funding for a continuation of the series.

So that’s where we are. We wrapped photography two weeks ago and we’re already looking for funding for Season 2. Early? Cart before the horse? We don’t think so.

At the Austin Film Festival I was able to talk for a few minutes with Damon Lindelof and Roberto Orci. Considering how much we’ve all said “CELL” is like “LOST ” and “Fringe,” that was a great time. When I told some producers there about what we had done and how much we had they was very encouraging. I was told repeatedly about how so many studios are looking for good web content and even content producers for their existing properties. I was urged to go out and shop it to production companies and let them know that we’re out here.

One good point.

I was also talking with an executive from Fortis Films and she said something that I wasn’t really expecting. “You’re in the power position.” Well that’s new. Her point is valid though. We have 13 episodes of a series in the can with a series bible and outline for events in Season 2. We have content and companies are always looking for content. This is a property that doesn’t have high development time or costs. It’s also something that can easily be expanded into a larger format if needed. In fact, we have enough footage to easily cut Season One into a 2-hour pilot, in case anyone wanted to do that.

Another good point.

I was also able to show the footage around to several attendees and our cast was at the Festival talking up “CELL.” Without fail, everyone was interested and impressed with what we had.

Three points.

So all this means is that we’re going to push ahead and work hard to get sponsorship for a second season or even sell Season One to an interested party. We all believe in the story behind “CELL” and we’re ready to let everyone else join in as well.

Click here to view the embedded video.