What the Showbizzle?

A collaboration between Chuck Rosin (former producer for the original Beverly Hills 90210) and his daughter, Showbizzle is a hybrid fictional vid series/UGC social network about “making it” as a struggling creative in Hollywood.

If that sounds like Marshall Herskovitz’s quarterlife, you’re not far off. Both shows/networks are inspirational in nature, catering to creatives looking for career guidance and like-minded friends. Both sites solicit UGC vids about members’ thoughts/feelings/struggles (note: showbizzle.com’s not fully operational yet), and both dole out advice from industry vets — Herskovitz at quarterlife.com, and Rosin at showbizzle.com.

There are two minor differences. One, Showbizzle is specifically oriented toward a Hollywood audience. Two, and more importantly, Showbizzle’s vids aren’t a sitcom-esque drama; rather, they’re a series of two-minute actor monologues as delivered to the site’s fictional protagonist, Jane. The vids cover a range of social issues, some indigenous to Hollywood (out-of-work writers kvetching, actors bemoaning their day jobs…) and some general young adult fare, e.g. sex, last night’s party, etc. Starting this week, Showbizzle will publish three original vids every day for nearly 10 weeks. In sum, the vids, as delivered by several typical character types (Scott the actor/waiter, Bryce the agent…), are intended to present a holistic view of modern Hollywood life.

Sadly, from what I’ve seen so far, the site is confusing, the mission statement unclear, and the promise — personal webcam-ish confessions and storytelling that’s “different from virtually everything else that you can currently find in the world wide web” — laughable (for proof of precedent, look no further than the aforementioned quarterlife and Steven Bochco’s Cafe Confidential).

And then there’s the characters and sets, both of which come across as forced. The acting’s not atrocious — good-looking people speaking cogently about what, I guess, is the typical Hollywood experience (tough job market, crappy temp options, waiting tables, etc). The problem is, the characters speak in monologue to an off-camera friend. There’s no dialogue, which contributes to an overall feeling of falseness. As if the people talking were being interviewed on a late-night promo for a self-help book.

And, sadly, the sets are beyond bland: Starbucks-ified coffee shops apportioned with just the right number of good-looking extras, empty corners of restaurants, too-perfect lighting, etc. This could be anywhere. It’s the wet dream pimped by Entourage, without the budget to make it a bustling reality.

And I guess that’s the big problem here. Part of Showbizzle’s conceit is that Hollywood is all about making a name for yourself, about creating a persona, about finding success. So the professionally shot videos are fine, but why would any actor submit their videos to be displayed on an inspirational, self-help social network? Isn’t that like admitting defeat? Or at least joining a crowd of people just as yet-to-be-successful as you?

Showbizzle plans to launch this week. Check it out at Showbizzle.com.