Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
A Musical Comedy about Nice Super Villains and Evil Super Heroes.
Origins
Joss Whedon, creator of the hit shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, weathered out the 2007 WGA Strike with his brothers.
Bored and bothered by the current Hollywood system, they decided to make their own short film; a musical directed by Joss, scored by his brother Jed, and made on a shoestring budget by pulling in favors from across the entertainment industry.
The result was a hilarious fourty-minute film called Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
Storyline
Neil Patrick Harris stars as Dr. Horrible, a wannabe super villain who blogs his exploits online to his fans. Between his bumbling attempts at world domination, he works up courage to ask out the cute girl Penny (Felicia Day) who he meets at the Laundromat.
He dreams of being accepted into the Evil League of Evil, but is constantly thwarted by the narcissistic super hero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion). When Captain Hammer crosses the line and steals Penny’s affection, Dr. Horrible hatches a plan to kill him and conquer the world.
Market
All three acts were released on the internet for free, one at a time, over the course of six days. After the entire film was online, it was quickly removed and made only available by purchase through iTunes.
Why it Matters
In addition to being wildly entertaining, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog set a precedent on the internet for utilizing a new marketing technique.
Major movie and television studios are still trying to efficiently monotize direct-to-internet video content, but so far simple advertising has not been enough to create a viable market.
In order to ensure the future of high quality internet video entertainment, internet browsers must be willing to pay for the product itself. And since the majority of online videos are free, it’s hard to get the average web-surfer to whip out their credit card.
Mutant Enemy (Joss Whedon’s production company) hopes to change this behavior. By first giving the product away for free, they hope to attract the ardent fan base that Whedon enjoys with his other projects, the kind of fans that will buy the product for their personal collection.
The Future
The fan community is already buzzing about a sequel. The third act climax almost demands a follow-up and star Neil Patrick Harris had this to say when asked at the TCA Awards last week:
“Joss has some strange giant master plan that includes much more than a sequel … I think we’re all giggling like little schoolgirls for a week or so and then he’ll figure out what he wants to do next.”
Credits
- Directed by Joss Whedon
- Starring Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day, and Nathan Fillion
- Written by: Joss Whedon, Zack Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen, and Jed Whedon
- Music by Joss Whedon and Jed Whedon
- Lyrics by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon, and Maurissa Tancharoen
- Production Company: Mutant Enemy
