"AllaKattan!"

Three weeks ago, we were settling into the City swelter,and considering how potentially combustible a bbq grill propane tank that had been neglected for 6 months could really be.

Then IFC VP of On Air Promos Kevin Vitale called and commissioned Rosey Media to produce three branded entertainment spots for the new Palm Pre, to premiere in conjunction with IFC's original miniseries "Bollywood Hero." Our directive was simple-- they would star Chris Kattan, feature the Palm Pre. . . and be funny. Oh- and they had to be done in three weeks... So we put away the Kingsford, fired up the ol' coffee maker instead, and got to work.

The result was a three-part short titled "AllaKattan!", which will run August 6th- 8th on IFC during "Bollywood Hero." The short stars Chris Kattan. Look closely and you'll catch cameos by RM's own Brian Townes and Dan Walter. The short was directed by John Rosenblatt and written by Brian Townes. ScriptLaunch's Matthew Ballen helped develop the piece and served as script consultant. Rosey Media vet and all around super guy Ari Haberberg was Director of Photography, with special technical consult by Small Media XL's Don Downie.

Thanks are also due to the IFC team, specifically Kevin Vitale, Jessica Degler, and of course Evan Shapiro, without whose enthusiasm, flexibility, and general willingness to goof around with us, "AllaKattan!" would not have happened.

For Rosey Media, the best part of any job is "getting the old gang together." They are too numerous to list, but. . . no. . .no, they're not. Thanks to Ian Woolston-Smith and AC Jared Royball for the Steadicam work, Scott Herriott for serving as first unit AC, Dan Walter for delivering superior audio despite the MePa construction madness, Karim Badwan and his crew for gorgeous lighting in sunny- no, cloudy- no, wait- sunny- conditions, and script super Stacie Capone for making it all make sense. Likewise, our gratitude to prop goddesses Samantha and Becky Jones, wardrobe deity Brian Hemesath, and make up legend Nathan Johnson and hair stylist Johnny Mooi, both taking a break from high fashion to do some lowbrow funny. Finally thanks to Dan Barman and Melodye Brant for being whatever else we needed, whenever we needed it, and of course, the incomparable, ever-poised and efficient Meghan Scibona for being the Krazy Glue to our plastic Nimitz.

We would be negligent not to mention the folks at Northern Lights Post, specifically George Carty, whose proficiency and patience made the edit process a genuine pleasure. The espresso/ ice cream floats didn't hurt either. Two of those, and you can see into the future. Bless you, St. George.

Here's a quick peek at "Bollywood Hero:" Obviously, we can't show you "AllaKattan!" yet. Think of it like the holidays-- you know those boxes are up in the closet, but do you really want to look and ruin everything? OK, so you want to, but you're not gonna. We'll have "AllaKattan!" here in all its glory after its premiere on IFC.

First watch "Bollywood Hero." Or Babu Santa will pass right over this house, buddy.

If Lovin' Mom Is Wrong. . . We Ain't Right.

Just shy of 17 months ago (centuries in Interweb Time), three viral virtuosos from LA who call themselves the Lonely Island joined one of the biggest names in the pop music pantheon and made TV/ Internet history with a little ditty about a Special Christmas Box, and the junk one puts in it. And we, the humble working joes of Rosey Media were there to help. In the tidal wave of press that followed, several of a nation of pundits referred to the moment as "catching lightning in a bottle."

As of last Saturday, May 9th, 2009-- Saturday Night Live is gonna need a bigger bottle:

Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg resurrect their roles as some guys we probably would have wanted to be around 1991-- and with Susan Sarandon and Patricia Clarkson appearing as the objects of their affection, we find their waist-length, double-breasted pastel suits enviable once again.

The Short was directed by Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, with Rosey Media's John Rosenblatt acting as Director of Photography. Steadicam work was provided by Ian Woolston-Smith and AC Rob Lau, with audio guru Dan Walter and Brian Townes rounding out the RM crew.

The 20 hour shoot ran like a well-oiled machine thanks to the only slightly intimidating determination of Kim Smelter and Rachel Lynn, under the wise guidance of the ever-so-subtly droll Nick Mallardi. Kudos as well to the extremely agile intern Chris (sorry, dude. . . last name next time, we promise). . . and Joe Lynn, who was. . . pretty OK too.

Rosey Media would like to thank SNL and the Dudes for having us along on the "second best idea that [they've] ever had"-- though we think this one may even go beyond the "Box."

Don't Hate On The Man-Crush

Since Rosey Media is known far and wide as a truly mean and manly gang of barely post-cro-magnon hombres, some of you may be surprised to learn we are huge Justin Timberlake fans. Not because he's dreamy mind you, but because on top of his charm and unexpected tallness, genuine musical ability and palpable charisma, he is really, really. . . nice. The great thing about JT being so super nice is the chemistry it sparks between he and our favorite Dudes. Thus, though we would normally wait until after we'd wrapped this week's shoot to talk about it, we couldn't help but point you, dear reader, in the direction of the SNL promos we shot on Tuesday, starring his Niceness and SNL cast member Andy Samberg, directed by Akiva Schaffer. Dig: If it looks like they're having fun. . . it's 'cause they are. And the last few times these guys have put their heads together, if memory serves, some fairly funny stuff has happened. Just saying. . . you might not want to miss this show. . . JANDY TIMSAMLAKE!!!

SNL Talks To Corporate

April 2nd-3rd 2009- The Lonely Island's Incredibad continues to throw out hits like a paranoid mafia don, and Rosey Media is once again called into the fray. "Like A Boss" premiered on the Saturday, April 4th broadcast of Saturday Night Live. The piece, written by the Lonely Island, was co-directed by Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, and starred Andy Samberg and host Seth Rogen.

Have HR evaluate this:

Also appearing in this one are SNL featured players Abby Elliott, Casey Wilson and Bobby Moynihan, the unnervingly versatile Jorma Taccone, a subtly shady Akiva Schaffer, and cast members Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, and Bill Hader.

John Rosenblatt served as Director of Photography on the two day shoot, with Steadicam work by Ian Woolston-Smith. Steadicam department also included the mad skills of AC's Jason Vandermer and Jared Royball. The entire unit was backed by Don Downie and Brian Townes, who were both pissed they couldn't be AC's because their names don't start with "J."

While we must thank lighting director Michael Gottlieb and Prop Goddess Jeannine Jones for bringing the world of our distressed executive to life... we would be remiss if we didn't give big ups to the entire staff of Late Night With Conan O'Brien.

Conan and his gang were kind enough to move to LA and abandon their old 30 Rock offices as if Godzilla was seen heading for town, leaving us an almost eerie, fully appointed floor of businessy goodness-- complete with personal effects and half-finished sodas-- in which to live for the cumulative 30 or so hours of this shoot.

Henceforth, we shall always demand a crew lounge in the corner office.

'Meet a giant fish.

F*ck its brains out.'

Tracy Is Back In The Building. . . Bitch

This needs little intro. . . but then, old school ass-kickin' rarely does. March 14th's SNL Cold Open. Behold! For those of you who have never purchased a pay-per-view event involving sequined American flags or monster trucks, the familiar-looking security guard in front of the 8H studio door is WWE wrestling demigod John Cena. Though the open is generally shot on set in the studio, Rosey Media's Director of Photography John Rosenblatt was asked to give the sequencea a more cinematic feel. Rosey Media wants to thank Stevin Nilsen and Jesse Newton for breaking out the full-on movie dolly to give this SNL staple an action makeover. Sound was recorded Dan Walter, Scott Herriott was on duty as AC. Also shot for that show was the SNL Digital Short "Party Guys," directed by Akiva Schaffer, and starring cast members Andy Samberg and Bill Hader. In addition to cameos by. . . well, just about everyone in the cast and a couple of SNL writers, note the first joint onscreen appearance of dynamic wardrobe duo Brian and Matthew Hemesath. The tall and even taller Hemesath rock lederhosen and do a fine job showcasing the schnitzel. While not as chock-full of kung fu action, it's still fast and funny. Blink and you'll miss a joke. Watch it twice: As always, a good time was had by all, and the SNL crew proved once again, that funny takes a lot of work, a lot of love, and very, very little sleep.

Getting The Most Out Of Your MacGyver

Since we already did the whole slobbering over shooting with actor Richard Dean Anderson (THE MacGyver) thing, we'll spare you the adolescent self-gratification. We will say, though, that we were very happy to see last Saturday's MacGruber/ MacGyver sketch. Under the direction of Jorma Taccone, we actually shot the sketches on January 12th, the same day we shot the much viewed and discussed SNL/Pepsi Super Bowl Commercial/Sketch "Pepsuber." Here's what dropped Saturday: Thing with SNL is, there's so much funny that gets tossed around, it can't all make air. Further, there are genius takes that occasionally disappear, and humanity is left slightly sadder for it. Thus, we're always glad when something we liked, and thought we'd lost, once again comes to light. John Rosenblatt served as Director of Photography on the shoot, Dan Walter, sound recordist, and Brian Townes was all like " Go, John and Dan!!" The sketch starred Richard Dean Anderson (MacGyver. . . did we mention that?) as well as cast members Kristen Wiig, Abby Elliott, Michaela Watkins, and of course Will Forte. . . and his ass.

Idle Hands Are, In Fact, The Devil's Playground

At Rosey Media, we pride ourselves on producing high quality entertainment that edifies and enlightens any and all that should happen across it. Most of the time. Last couple of days, though, we had a little extra time on our hands. Combine this with a sophomoric eye securely fixed on too much cable and web news and access to editing software, and you get this:

Obama Explains His Package - watch more funny videos

Thanks to Matt Ballen for the music and Evan Kay for edit help from Chicago. Without their efforts, we couldn't have brought that certain level of delicate sophistication to this classy, classy joint.