'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series From Penn Jillette to Debut on Sony Pictures' Crackle January 9th
Outspoken Comic's Videos Showcase Unique Point of View on Issues from Politics to Celebrities to Religion
SAUSALITO, Calif., Jan. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Crackle, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, announces the premiere of Penn Says, the first unscripted series created specifically for the Internet by outspoken comic, magician and pundit, Penn Jillette. Emblematic of Crackle's cutting-edge style, Penn Says takes a raw look inside Penn's life as he records daily rants on subjects ranging from politics to celebrities to the hottest news events of the day. No topic is safe as the larger loquacious half of the comedy-magic team Penn & Teller opens up to audiences with a mic and video camera in hand.
"Big badass Crackle has given me the chance to talk directly to you about anything I want, anytime I want. I mean anything. I mean any time. When something gets my goat, or I want to get someone else's goat or other farm animal, I'll flip on my camera and rave about it. Half-cocked, from inside my head, electronically to inside your head in minutes. No script, no thinking, so I might be wrong. I'm counting on you to keep me honest with videos right back to me," said Jillette.
Beginning January 9, 2008, Penn will deliver his distinctive riffs and rants at least four times each week in new one-to-three minute videos on Crackle. Viewers have the opportunity to respond and to receive Penn's feedback by posting their video reactions or comments on the site. This series marks the first truly interactive experience Crackle is creating for its audience.
In full cinema verite, Penn will turn on his camera whenever and wherever the inspiration hits him -- whether it's backstage at the Rio in Las Vegas, in a famous friend's living room, or out on the road. The immediacy of his posts will allow Penn to tackle events as they happen, giving viewers a regular supply of current observations to which to respond.
"Penn Jillette has exactly the type of raw, edgy and honest voice we want to present on Crackle," said Tony Liano, vice president of content and programming at Crackle. "Crackle is about giving audiences content that pushes the envelope and entertainment they can't find from other sites or traditional media. Penn will shepherd in a new form of entertainment for our audiences, one that is active and engaged and challenges our audience to respond."
Penn Says was created by Penn Jillette and is a 10-in-1 Production, distributed by Sony Pictures Television.
Crackle, Inc., a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, is a multi-platform video entertainment network and studio that distributes work from the hottest emerging talent on the web and beyond. Crackle's addictive channels and shows reach a global audience across the Internet, in the living room, and on devices including a broad range of Sony electronics. Crackle, in on-going collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment and other leading partners, discovers and promotes the stars of today and tomorrow. Visit Crackle's site at http://www.crackle.com.
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Snerd
User Karma: 20
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/09 18:21So... The Penn Jillette Show with video and no Michael Goudeau?
I need Goudeau to balance things out.
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JoMadge
Moderator Karma: 108
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/09 21:21Yeah, I sure miss the full hour daily show... but this could be a very positive thing, as the press release says you can reply to his videos with videos... which could evoke response in Penn. Let's home it goes that way. I'm trying to get the guys/gals over at Freedomainradio.com to do some video responses to see what happens.
Just as with the radio show, I want to hear what Penn has to say. The bulk of the calls* he got on the radio show were kinda boring to me. Too many people vying for his personal attention** (it's already starting in the text comments), or just reiterating what Penn already said, and not half as well as he already said it.
I'm also not really interested in a lot of debate. Penn argues well. He argues so well that he usually talks circles around his opponent. I prefer just hearing what he has to say. Therefore, I doubt I'll even be arsed to view many of - if any of - the responses. I'm glad you'll enjoy it, though. No, really.
Hey, there's one positive ... people like me who just want pure Penn don't HAVE to pay attention to the responses. Cool!
~JoMadge
*Anybody reading this who was one of those callers - you are, of course, the exception. **Hey, more power to ya ... but forgive me if my attention wanders while you're doing it.
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JoMadge
Moderator Karma: 108
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/09 21:25Er ..? Sorry, maf. I replied to your post and your post vanished!
~JoMadge
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maf
User Karma: 41
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/09 22:36JoMadge wrote: Er ..? Sorry, maf. I replied to your post and your post vanished!
~JoMadge
Haha, weird. Well, I don't remember saying anything too profound.
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Snerd
User Karma: 20
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/09 23:39These are actually pretty good, but Penn looks like he just woke up and did these.
That's how I do my YouTube shit.
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JoMadge
Moderator Karma: 108
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/10 00:04Haha, weird. Well, I don't remember saying anything too profound.
I'm sure it was my fault. I must have clicked the wrong button. That's what Zack gets for granting me spam-slayer privileges.
*grovels* SORRRRYYYYYY!!!
~JoMadge
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JoMadge
Moderator Karma: 108
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/10 00:07These are actually pretty good, but Penn looks like he just woke up and did these.
Penn seems to default to disheveled when he's not on duty.
On a purely girly note, I love that his beard is growing in grey. Yum!!
I like the vids. They're too damn SHORT, though!
~JoMadge (the greedy)
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teen
User Karma: 16
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/10 05:45Yeah sony probably told them to keep them short, as that's generally recommended for viral videos and youtube hits.
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Pentomino
User Karma: 12
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/10 20:21Not as good as the radio show, but one of the things I liked most about the radio show was how Penn always had something to say about current events that was 90 degrees off center.
But, the radio show had the advantage that if he wanted to talk about something he didn't know about, eventually someone would call in and correct him, and often times it would be an expert on the subject with a lot to say. We don't have that here.
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Pentomino
User Karma: 12
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/10 20:28BTW, I realize he's soliciting video responses, but (1) he'd have reached more people if he did it on YouTube, and (2) I haven't seen any such video responses yet, and (3) the commitment of sending a response video is much greater than a phone call or an email, just as it takes more to watch high-definition web video than to listen to a radio station, even online.
To put it more succinctly: right now there's a guy with a Walkman and a cell phone walking through Las Vegas with the perfect response to what Penn just said, but he hasn't even heard it yet.
But, I can be proven wrong once the video responses come rolling in.
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Tesseract
User Karma: 3
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/10 22:54I am watching the Penn Says intro and I have found out several things. 1 Penn dyes his hair 2 Penn looks more and more like Benjamin Franklin everyday and 3 the little dibit just above where his eyebrows furrow looks like a bullet hole. Penn is back yeah!!!1
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Jabjabs
User Karma: 12
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/10 23:16Yeah Penn dyes his hair, they mentioned it in the BS episode on Youth. But yeah at first I was like "What happened to his beard thing?" only to realize it's as white as snow now. Good to see him back on a daily basis, it's no replacement for Penn Radio but it's still something good.
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Pentomino
User Karma: 12
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/11 04:41Yes, that's the kind of detail you get with high-definition video. Totally worth the bandwidth demand over YouTube.
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teen
User Karma: 16
Re:'Penn Says' Exclusive New Unscripted Web Series - 2008/01/11 04:45so how often should I be checking this site?
It says it was meant to start on the 10 of january.. but by the 11th there were already like half a dozen episodes there.. so how often does he do them? And why hasn't there been one in the last 24 hours?
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