Futon Media's .COMEDY to Premiere at International Television Festival Tonight

Futon Media today announced its original comedy pilot ".comEDY" will make its world premiere at The 6th Annual International Television Festival (ITVFest) on Friday, August 5 at 8:00 p.m. The 22-minute project revolves around the assorted socially inept workers at a fledgling dot-com in the late 1990s, a time when "tweet" referred to birds, "blog" was a typo and "google" dealt with numbers.

"I couldn't be more proud of what the cast and crew have accomplished," said Brian Ford Sullivan, Editor-In-Chief of TheFutonCritic.com and CEO of Futon Media. "And I'm beyond excited to showcase their work for the public. Plus, to do it at ITVFest, which has been on the front lines of independently produced television for six years now, even better."

Following the screening, Sullivan will host a panel devoted to the production of indepedently produced pilots/web series and how they're being used as a breeding ground for on-air TV properties. "It's the dream of everyone at this festival to have their project jump to the small screen so I'm thrilled to help shed some light on the process and the executives who are leading the charge," addEd Sullivan.

The debut of ".comEDY" comes on the heels of the successful launch of TheFutonCritic.com's video section, a mix of red carpet and press line interviews as well as exclusive one-on-ones with assorted TV talent. Nearly 300 original videos have been posted since its July 2010 launch, delivering over 3.6 million streams to date.

About ".comEDY"

".comEDY" is set at E-sthetic, a fictional internet services company in the Silicon Valley. Tyler Francavilla ("Roommates") stars as Davis, a Midwestern transplant who finds his first day there anything but normal. He's called a heretic after his proudly religious cube-mate Christian (Amad Jackson, "Nick Swardson's Pretend Time") sees the action figures on display at his desk; his co-workers Edgar (rising comedian Paul Reese) and Fareed (Amir Talai, "Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay") put him in the middle of their escalating war over user permissions, company policies and who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Science Fiction; and he's the latest target of Handsome Rob (Teddy Sears, "The Defenders"), the department's overly affectionate coordinator.

Davis however finds kindred spirits in his boss, Spike (Kevin Weisman, "Alias"), whose tattooed arms and relaxed nature beguile a brilliant mind and manager; and his project manager, Jessica (Jessica Collins, "The Young and the Restless"), who proves to be an improbable mix of beauty, brains and science-fiction knowledge. Together they must brace for the upcoming storm that is their IPO, an event that could make or break their company. That, and whether or not George Lucas will destroy their childhood when "The Phantom Menace" opens in six months.

".comEDY" is a Futon Media production with the company's Brian Ford Sullivan and Matt Fix serving as executive producers. Mike Mariano ("Raising Hope") directed from a script by Sullivan with Frank Zanca and Tim Ryder serving as producers via their Big Smiley Entertainment banner.

About Futon Media, Inc.

Futon Media is the corporate home to TheFutonCritic.com (TFC), one of the web's oldest and most trusted sources about the primetime television industry. Since its launch in January 1997, the site has been featured Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, People, TV Guide, USA Today, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune and G4's "Attack of the Show," among others. To date, TFC has run over 26,000 news and 114,000 listing items alongside a database of nearly 9,500 TV projects featuring 78,000 cast and crew entries. For further information about Futon Media or TFC visit: http://www.thefutoncritic.com/

About ITVFest

ITVFest/International Television Festival is a leading Media organization with the mission of providing opportunities to people with television industry aspirations. ITVFest receives pilot submissions from around the world in comedy, drama, alternative (reality, game show, talk show, etc) documentary, web series and out-of-competition categories. By screening the official selections to a live audience which includes ITVFest's executive, advisory board and extensive network contacts, ITVFest provides a bridge to the inner workings of the television industry.

For more information on the International Television Festival, please visit www.ITVFest.org. Tickets and passes for the pilots, in addition to panels on topics such as pitching, comedy writing, dramatic writing, casting, representation, short form distribution, and others are now available online at www.ITVFest.org. The festival will take place August 5-11 at Laemmle Sunset 5 Theatres, at 8000 Sunset Blvd.

 

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