VidCon 2016
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A movie starring two YouTubers will make its money back in iTunes sales, regardless of its quality. That may sound like a good thing, but it’s not if you’re an online content creator looking to transition into traditional Hollywood projects and shake your reputation as a one-trick pony. Speaking from the sixth VidCon, the annual convention for digital content creators and their fans, creator Jimmy Wong is uncertain about his and others’ crossover prospects.
“It’s really hard to transition YouTube stars into traditional acting roles,” says Wong, who rose to YouTube fame with his viral hit “Ching Chong! Asians in the Library Song” — a timely response to an ugly, racist video rant.
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Wong is a filmmaker at RocketJump, a digital movie studio and YouTube channel that also hosts original content on its website. RocketJump produced the digital series “Video Game High School,” directed by the company’s founder and Wong’s brother, Freddie Wong. The studio is developing a new series, “Dimension 404,” which recently announced appearances by Patton Oswalt, Megan Mullally, and Constance Wu.
Though many stars learn about YouTube series from their kids (like Jon Favreau, who featured Wong’s cooking show in the background of “Chef”), it’s unlikely they lowered their rates just to delight their children; it’s clear RocketJump and other digital studios have big enough budgets to draw at least B-list talent.
But digital studios could stand to hire better writers. In May, Fullscreen released “Electra Woman & Dyna Girl,” a remake of a Sid and Marty Krofft series, toplining two of YouTube’s shining stars, Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart. The script, which follows two small-town superheroes seeking fame in the City of Angels, poked fun at its own derivative plot, but relied too heavily on inside jokes. Helbig and Hart play their best Helbig and Hart, though, which is exactly what their teenaged fans want.
“I don’t know why they even give them character names,” says Wong, adding, “Am I watching this because it’s Hannah and Grace, or because it’s good?”
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Digital box office numbers are extremely hard to gauge, as the industry is notoriously tight-lipped on the subject. However, insiders say that Helbig and Hart’s first feature, “Camp Takota,” more than made its money back. “I think that taught the wrong lesson,” Wong says. “Which is, you don’t need to worry about the quality of the product as long as you are able to make the purchases back in iTunes sales.”
Conversely, you won’t see any YouTube stars in “High Maintenance,” the most critically acclaimed web series to date, which debuted on Vimeo in 2014 and will come to HBO this fall. HBO also tapped Issa Rae, creator of “Awkward Black Girl,” to develop a comedy series for the network. Rae originally hosted “Awkward Black Girl” on YouTube, but seems to be distancing herself from that audience; she canceled her scheduled VidCon appearances at the last minute this year.
YouTube stars seeking industry respect should take a page out of Rae’s book: do quality work, gain a respectable online following, then get the hell out of dodge. However, if money is the goal (rather than mainstream fame), YouTubers can clean up with book deals, brand partnerships, and iTunes sales. According to Wong, companies routinely fork over $80,000 for a few product placements on a popular YouTube channel.
For now, it seems young content creators must choose between money and prestige. But if they want to cross over into traditional Hollywood projects, they’re going to have step up their game.
written by Jude Dry
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