Monday, November 27, 2006

Cera is 'Good' for Innertube

Cera is 'Good' for Innertube: "CBS is drafting TV talent for its broadband channel, Innertube, signing Michael Cera of 'Arrested Development' to do a scripted shortform series.

The deal marks the first of its kind for talent agency Paradigm, which has launched a new-media division under former Yahoo! Inc. exec Joel Wright.

Cera, who played the son of Jason Bateman's character on the Fox cult favorite, will star, write and produce 'The Good Life,' Innertube's first scripted program with a talent deal attached. CBS said at least eight multiminute episodes of varying lengths will be produced, with an option for more.

Shot mockumentary-style, 'Good Life' follows Cera and Clark Duke as aspiring TV producers who are so convinced that they have the next big thing on their hands that they remain oblivious to the fact that they have made little progress getting their dream show made.

'Good Life' is the first offering from Paradigm's new digital-focused division, a team of three headed by Wright, who is charged with helping the agency's client base mine opportunities in new media. 'My responsibility is to shepherd them into this new ancillary business area and maximize the revenue potential for our clients,' he said.

Wright served as director of advertising solutions at Yahoo! for four years ending in 2005. At Yahoo!, he was instrumental in packaging branded-content assets for entertainment projects, including Mark Burnett's Web sites for 'The Contender' and 'The Apprentice.' He also was a principal at Slingshot Media, a boutique agency that brought original programming to digital-media outlets.

Since launching in May, Innertube has stocked a mix of repurposed CBS programs and original projects, including 'BBQ Bill' and 'The Green Room.'

Cera next appears in the Columbia theatrical 'Super Bad,' from Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen. He is shooting 'Juno,' directed by Jason Reitman for Mandate, in January.

Duke also is writing and producing the project with Cera. He is repped by Generate."

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