By Sarah Sluis
CollegeHumor.com has been around since 1999. It was acquired by Barry Diller's interactive media company IAC seven years later, averages 7 million unique visitors a month, and has developed multiple popular video web series. Considering the popularity of their video content, it makes sense that the site wants to branch out into film.
The site plans to develop a comedy, Coffee Town, which features a slightly older age bracket than college--loafing thirtysomethings. Of course, this demographic could very well represent a huge portion of the site's visitors. The plot goes something like this: When the coffee shop staffed by a trio of friends and workers threatens to shut down, they decide to fake a robbery in order to save their cushy jobs, which allow them to bum around doing their creative, "real" work. The friends will be played by Glenn Howerton ("It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"), Steve Little ("Eastbound & Down"), and Ben Schwartz ("House of Lies"). Brad Copeland ("Arrested Development") will direct.
Coffee Town is emblematic of the baby steps Hollywood has already taken to create a symbiotic relationship between web and film. Kevin Tancharoen (Fame) was able to get a reboot of Mortal Kombat green-lit based on the success of some YouTube videos he collaborated on that featured the characters. Will Ferrell's Funnyordie.com is often used to cross-promote films. Web series succeed because they're able to engage niche, non-mainstream audiences. Turning those types of series into films probably won't work. But College Humor has spent years figuring out what makes audiences laugh, and that will work in the movie's favor.
It won't be long before everyone finds out if Coffee Town is a hit or a miss. Production is starting in February in Los Angeles.
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