Happy New Year!!!

Today is January 2nd 2012!  (Rent is due in case you need a reminder)  Holy Crap! What happened to 2011!?  It just blew right by. Seriously, the year has come and gone so fast.. what the hell happened!? Regardless, it’s been a banner year for the old Columbus family. We were mid season when the year began, although we had already filmed most of our episodes. ‘Commune‘ was released in January, then ‘It’s a Wonderful Steiner‘ in March. During that time we went to the LA Web Fest, met new friends, re-editied episodes 2 and 3 into one long episode (making it so much better) And found ourselves on the pages of many blogs and news articles. (Thanks So Much for Watching!)  Perhaps the biggest change for Lien On Me was the switch to Blip.tv. In April of 2011, we switched out our Youtube channel for a Blip.tv channel. (We still have our Youtube Channel, but we just don’t use it on our website)  Blip.tv provides a cleaner, better quality picture for our viewers. However, the only downfall (for the viewer) is you have to sit through a short commercial at the top of the show. On the flip side, it’s good for us, because now we can make a little $ from our show. (I think we’ve make a total of $8.35) And were gonna blow it all on tacos and chili con carne! The only episode actually filmed in 2012 was our season finale, ‘Powers The Be‘. Interesting. So what the hell have you people been doing this year!?  (ahem… tacos and chili con carne)  We released our final episode… which came out exactly a year and 24 days after our first episode was released. (Huge symbolism for the Mayan Calendar) Then we boogied on down the the iTV festival in Hollywood where David Beatty picked up a nomination for best actor in a comedy series. The entire series was shown the the Sunset Laemmle Theater, which proved to be the best venue to premiere our final episode.  And a great night for Lien On Me. Thanks to everybody who came out to that show!  Since then, things have settled. We’ve milked the festival scene, gathered up some wreaths, pushed the show on Facebook, Twitter and even pimped it out on Craigslist. Happy to say Lien On Me has a steady increase of numbers every week. Publicity has slowed, however, word of mouth is spreading and people are watching!  That’s makes us all feel great..  Seriously warming the cockles!

As we reflect, it’s impossible not to feel a little nostalgic about the origins of the show. It began as a labor of love and our intention was to create together as friends and artists.  There was a need collaborate. There was an unease and we had to put that energy into something inspiring.  The process of making the show is the true experience of the creation process. It’s the time spent with other people. It’s the experience of creative collaboration that keeps us working in the medium. It’s a culmination of hard work, creativity, excitement and the real life experience, interacting with inspiring people that propels the cycle of creativity. The actual product, the show itself, is  a side effect of what really matters. The show is what you set your goals upon, but it’s not the true joy of the experience.  Like a snake who sheds it’s skin, it’s only a reflection of what the true thing is. Each episode is merely a reflection of the process. The process is the true thing. Too esoteric for you!? Well, let me just say that we were lucky with Lien On Me. We had a great time filming the show. We came together as like minded artists and shed our skin into 12 great episodes!  Many thanks to everyone who were a part of the process. We couldn’t have done it without you!

Cheers to 2012!

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined!  Every great dream begins with a dreamer!

Happy Holidays from Lien On Me

Wishing everybody the happiest of holidays this year! Hope you enjoy our Holiday themed homepage. And something to look forward to… Hanukkah!  Which begins the evening of Tuesday, December 20th.  We look forward to gracing our front yard with a menorah and lighting a candle every day as we celebrate.  Christmas, of course, isn’t just a christian holiday… it’s a day where we hopefully improve the economy by spending loads of cash on crap none of us really need. And if you’re in the market for a house, I know a guy who will sell you one. Johnny Columbus, family man, lover and sometimes mistaken as Santa Clause! Blake, of course, is his little elf and Mr. Steiner is the Grinch. (Do we hear a christmas episode in the works?)  Take down some notes and lets make that happen!  

Until then, we wish you a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, happy Kwanzaa… and very soon.. a  happy new year!

The Real ‘Many Thanks’ blog post…

classic Farside

This Thanksgiving all of us squatting at the Lien On Me house want to thank each and every one of you for helping us get our show off the ground and streaming into your homes. Thanks so much for watching. Thanks for sharing on your Facebook pages and telling your friends. It’s been a great two years and we couldn’t have done it without all of your love and support. So from our home to yours, have a very Happy Thanksgiving. Eat well and be happy.

CHEERS!!!!!!

Many Thanks!

As you have all noticed, the radio stations are already playing holiday music. Thanks to Nordstrom’s department store we all know when to start decorating for Christmas: November 27th. That’s so we can get Thanksgiving out of the way first.  So we thought we would decorate our website this year with some holiday joy too. So keep a look out for a Christmas tree, Hanucha bush or maybe a festive pole to climb for no reason except jump off once you get to the top.  Have a great holiday season everyone!

And if you have any ideas for our page… let us know!

Scripts and Money!

“So what’s up with Lien On Me?”  That seems to be the question on everybody’s mind. If it hasn’t been on your mind, well.. now it is!   So as a re-cap for those just tuning in, Lien On Me has completed it’s first season! You can watch all 12 episodes on our website OR Youtube channel!  It’s important to say ‘first’ season… which if said correctly has the ability to lead people to the inevitable question, ‘so when does the second season start?’ Another great question! All I can say is, ‘genius takes time’. Actually I can say more: Yes, the creation part takes time.  We need scripts! We need money! And we need… well no that’s about it. Scripts and Money!  That’s it.  But wait, wait, wait… lets not get too far ahead of ourselves.  Here is a bit of unknown news. We have been in talks with brands and on-line distributors about re-launching our first season!  ”EXCITEMENT fills the air as the crowd goes wild”  But wait… some fans are throwing dead chickens…

if you respond better to charts and graphs.. this is what we want

“OUTRAGE! Storm the castle to hang the monster!” Okay, settle down.  Here is the thing… This whole web series racket has different opinions from every side of the aisle. But apparently numbers talk.. So as Lien On Me moves forward, we need to get our hits up on current episodes. Yes it’s a catch 22. In order to get a distribution deal for an independent show… it’s imperative to have upwards of 10 to 20 thousand hits per episode.  Popularity sells!  It might seem counterproductive to have 20,000 people watch a show before a distribution company would buy it… but they are looking at at least a million more views after they put their publicity dogs on top of it.  ”It’s all so damn confusing.. Just tell me what i need to do!?”  Another great question!  Okay… here’s the deal… just tweet about the show, share us on Facebook, email your friends and talk about us at parties.  The best publicity is word of mouth and you can help by letting other people know about our show!  And that’s it!  Or just send us money.

 

 

Season One Finale

Season one of Lien On Me comes to a close with it’s season finale!

The season finale had it’s premiere at the iTV FEST in Los Angeles last month and that very night, we posted the episode on our website. Many thanks to everybody who came out to the show at iTV to get first looks at the latest episode.

The final episode, ‘Powers That Be’ picks up where episode 11, ‘It’s a Wonderful Steiner’ left off. Don Steiner saves the Columbus family by deciding to move in and become their room mate. It’s an easy adjustment to Johnny as he enjoys the many benefits of Don’s lucrative lifestyle, like a butler handing him a martini after he uses the lavatory. However, Theona doesn’t take so kindly to cleaning up after Don, especially when he’s leaving dead things lying around the house. One the other hand, Theona isn’t having to work as much with her suicide hotline and as a result her callers are dropping like flies. So, against his better judgment, Johnny tries to reason with Don and find out why he’s spending so much time at their house and not at the ‘rich person’s club’.  But it doesn’t seem to get Johnny very far, as Don is more interested in slicing golf balls through the neighbor’s kitchen window.   Luck would have it that Don is called away on business. Not just any ordinary business call, he is called to meet with The Powers That Be, an elite organization that controls the world’s economics.  The Powers That Be threaten Don because he’s been living with poor people. Rather than an economic strategy, they view the decision as just poor taste… something no rich person in their right mind would do on purpose. They tease him with an opportunity to make billions of $ in India. Do to Don’s lack of self control in such matters as money, he takes their offer.. on one condition.. they insist he kick the Columbus family out of their house, sealing any suspicion that he actually has feelings for Johnny and Theona.  Cut to: The Columbus Family out on the street. But as fate would have it… their house (or rather their loan) is picked up by another gullible couple… Carly and Charlie. Now that the table is turned, will Carly and Charlie give Johnny and Theona a place to live?  Will the Columbus family live on the street? Will they lease an RV and travel the country?  What could possibly happen next?

iTV 2011 comes to a close…

The 2011 iTV Fest came to a close this past weekend with a red carpet gala event and dinner at the Renassance Hotel in Hollywood.  Lien On Me is very thankful to Frank and Ken for putting together an awesome event and including us.  We couldn’t have been more exciting about our screening at Sunset Laemmle 5… a dream come true for some of us!  Look forward to next year!