Last week, Google announced a new product called GoogleTV, a software platform that lets you watch video from the web on your big shiny television in the living room. This is something I’ve been doing since late 2008 by plugging my laptop into my TV and launching Boxee, a free piece of software that does almost exactly what GoogleTV purports to do. This past February I had a great chat with Andrew Kippen of Boxee about their software and the future of media delivery. As I digested Google’s announcement, I couldn’t help but wonder what Boxee was thinking about this. So I emailed Andrew, and this is what he had to say:

We obviously followed the [GoogleTV] announcement and the demo. We think that it would be great to see an open OS such as Android gain market share in the living room. It would enable users to download Boxee on their TV (we will be building an Android-based App) and start using it without the hassle of connecting their computer to the TV.

We have somewhat of a different view of browsing the web on TV. While it was a big part of the Google Demo we believe browsing the web as-is makes more sense on laptops and mobile devices (due to their personal nature, the screen size and the input device) than it does on TV. We look forward to playing with the TV and working with them to bringing Boxee to Android devices.

I wanted to make sure I read that correctly. I’ve heard they are working on an Android remote app similar to the one they have on the iPhone, but this sounds like something different:

You read correctly.  if there’s a TV platform running on TVs that can deliver a great Boxee experience then we want to be there. That means we’re looking at developing an Android App version of Boxee for the upcoming Google TV. [emphasis added]

Whoa. That’s kind of a big surprise, and an exciting one for both consumers and content makers. Google announced partnerships with Dish, Sony, Adobe, Logitech, Intel and Best Buy, so it may seem as though Boxee is facing an insurmountable foe. However it is important to remember the company’s history. The software gained prominence once it found its way onto the AppleTV, which at first was a questionable install (it is still only supported by a third party). Boxee essentially beat Apple, one of the most powerful and litigious tech companies around, at its own game by bringing internet video to the television set. Andrew’s assurance that they will bring the software to the Android platform is an indication that history will repeat itself. Boxee will be anywhere where software can run and consumers will be able to choose how they want to view content. Now that I know that, I am far more excited for this new platform.

(Graphic in this post is a combination of Google’s Andorid Logo and Boxee’s Logo)

The statues are all distributed, the corks are all popped, and now it is time to talk about the 82^nd Academy Awards in the past tense. We’ll get to who won, but first off I’d like to talk about who lost: the viewing audience. This has to be one of the worst awards broadcasts in recent memory. Overlong and underwhelming, the only thing interesting in the show was actually finding out who won, which is weird because that often takes a backseat to the rest of the spectacle.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin were charming, albeit neutered, hosts. They farmed the opening number out to Neil Patrick Harris, which was predictably fine, but it seemed like a complete redux of his bouts as Tony and Emmy host. On paper it sounds poignant, but in practice it felt stale. I long for the days when Billy Crystal would superimpose himself into the top nominated films. I can understand the new hosts wanting to move forward with an original spin, only this felt like a step backwards. Read on…

The following is based solely on the first episode of “Bored to Death”. Pilots are always tough to get kickstarted, so perhaps I will revisit later in the season.

The easy headline for snarky yuk-yuk-chasers is that HBO’s latest series, “Bored to Death”, bored them to death, or some variation of that moldy wordplay. It is mildly unfortunate that Jonathan Ames’s show has a title destined for such simplistic panning, but even more unfortunate that it deserves every word and more. It’s not a boring show; it’s worse. It is a wasted opportunity. With talents as grand as Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifanakis, Ted Danson and TV directing heavyweight Alan Taylor to hold together all that angst, this production simply deserves a better story.

The premise of “Bored to Death” is actually quite nice. Mentally blocked Brooklyn writer Jonathan Ames (yeah, the main character is named after the creator) moonlights as a private detective in hopes of kickstarting his creative juices. Still working on his second novel as the glow from his his first one fades, he is a man in search of a muse. The trouble is that the plot is presented so haphazardly, that description I just gave is based more on speculation than what I actually saw in the show. Read on…

I first met filmmaker Blayne Weaver back at the Deadcenter Film Festival in June, where his film Weather Girl was playing. You can read what I thought about it back then in this post, but we’re way past reviewing the film at this point. Weather Girl will be making its television debut tomorrow, Septermber 23, 2009, on the Lifetime channel. You heard right, Lifetime.

Blayne took some time out of his schedule to chat with me about this current film, his next project, and topics as varied as digital distribution, Inglourious Basterds, and screening your film on a PS3. In other words, if you take the time to swallow this whole interview, you’ll be in for more than one surprise. Check it out and check the movie tomorrow night, on Lifetime.

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If you managed to sidestep the ads for “The Jay Leno Show”, NBC probably rammed you in the face with hundreds of plugs for their latest scripted series, “Community”. Even if you’re a shut-in who deplores network comedies, actor Joel McHale probably reminded you to tune in on every episode of “The Soup” this summer. Well, I took the bait and plopped down to watch it last night. As with any first episode I left it feeling underwhelmed. Perhaps it’s just the difficulty of pulling off a pilot and introducing so many characters that caused the episode to flatline. More likely, it’s just not all that funny of an idea.

Mr. McHale plays Jeff Winger, a fast talking fratty lawyer who must go back to community college after the bar discovers his illegitimate degree. You know that guy; that white guy with cool hair that can talk you into anything. Think Zach Morris without the moral hangups. Jeff tries to impress cutie Britta (Gillian Jacobs) by starting a Spanish study group, which balloons into a whole mess of quirky folks converging to form a modern-day Sweat-hogs. Oddly, Jeff, a fellow student, plays Mr. Kotter in this case, except he can date the students. Kinky. Read on…

On May 29, 2009, “The Tonight Show”, as an institution, aired its last episode from Burbank California. The sets were broken down and the latest iteration of the late night show moved to Universal City under the tutelage of Conan O’Brien. As had been decided earlier, however, the one relic that would not budge was Jay Leno, the eponymous host of NBC’s newest daily program, “The Jay Leno Show”. After a violet blitzkrieg of summer advertisements, the show premiered last night looking, unfortunately, all-too familiar.

As his former show waned, Mr. Leno only let on a few details about what the new 10pm program would look like. One tidbit was that there would be no desk for him to prop up behind as that was the calling card of The Tonight Show. Apparently, the desk was the only casualty. Mr. Leno now sits in a chair, fully exposed, opposite his guests as they blab on about their personal lives. Whoa, revolutionary. Read on…

Farewell, Ben Silverman. I have no doubt that whatever business venture you and Barry Diller are cooking up will be, if not successful, something that will generate a great deal of conversation. At the candler blog, we don’t usually get into the muck and dirt of Hollywood biz talk, so let’s change that for a brief moment.

Yesterday, Mr. Silverman announced his resignation as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal TV Studios, a job he has had only two years. His is an interesting story, the center of which isn’t even the NBC gig at all, but a company called Reville Productions. Founded in 2002 by Mr. Silverman, the company has spawned some serious money-makers for a number of networks. Some big hits include “Ugly Betty”, “The Tudors”, and “The Biggest Loser”. In a very short amount of time he managed to produce hit after hit, garnering Emmys and prestige along the way.

But it was a short-run midseason replacement that aired in 2005 that set Mr. Silverman apart as a power-producer. “The Office” wasn’t an instant hit when it went on the air, but after the smashing success of The 40-Year Old Virgin that summer, star Steve Carell became an instant household name. America wanted more of him and Silverman had his ace in the hole. Read on…