David Lynch goes online for 'Detective'

You should expect David Lynch's latest film to leave you scratching your head.

What might come as a surprise is the fact that Lynch doesn't direct the piece; he stars in it. Written and directed by Brazilian filmmaker Davi de Oliveira Pinheiro, The Soul Detective debuted online this week. It "follows a psychic investigation inside the mind of a recently deceased man, before all his memories vanish."

Lynch's dialogue is taken from a conversation he had with the director and sprinkled throughout the action.

"The interview was not made to be a piece of cinéma vérité, but as a sound and vision experiment, to see how an opinion can become a fiction completely different from its original intent," says de Oliveira Pinheiro.

The Soul Detective wraps up a five-part series on www.v2cinema.com called "Think Tank," which spotlighted work by Brazilian filmmakers. Check the archive to watch visual essays featuring appearances by Wim Wenders, Philip Glass and others.

Whoopi wants to make us 'Stream'

It's gotten to the point where I expect almost every celebrity to launch his/her own online series. But when I heard Whoopi Goldberg was starring in a new project -- and it was a psychological thriller, of all things -- I was a little surprised.

I'm not sure if Whoopi has mentioned this on The View yet, but head to FEARnet.com to see her in Stream, a show where she plays a woman coping with hallucinations that have haunted her since her teens. The first installment is up now; it's tough to tell what we can expect, though I do hope Whoopi will have some more dialogue in the future!

"I like the idea of doing lots of work in different genres," Goldberg says in this interview. "Whether it’s stage performances or doing films or voiceovers. I love the idea that there are lots of different ways to act."

Stream will span six episodes. The series will also be available via FEARnet's on-demand service starting Jan. 22.

Bud Bundy bounces back (sort of)

David Faustino from Married ... with Children is back on the scene.

Perhaps that sentence doesn't thrill you to the gills, but his new web series, Star-ving, is surprisingly filled with retro star power. Former Married actors Christina Applegate, Ed O'Neill and Katey Sagal guest star, as do Seth Green, Ed Asner and Growing Pains' Alan Thicke, Tracey Gold and Jeremy Miller. My favorite part: Former Parker Lewis Can't Lose star Corin Nemec plays his best friend.

Faustino plays an exaggerated version of himself, a broke, lonely and unemployed actor. In the series, his wife has left him for Coolio. (Don't you hate it when that happens?) He turns to his famous friends for help and support.

Three episodes of Star-ving are already available, and you can catch new installments each Friday on Crackle.com.

P.S. While perusing the offerings, I discovered this Parker Lewis minisode. When the heck will this series come to DVD?

Top 100 interview: Comedian Kristen Schaal (No. 45)

Kristen Schaal has several acting roles and comedy projects on her resume, but she's best known for playing Mel, the sole, rabid fan of Flight of the Conchords on HBO's cult series. (Note: The second season premieres online today at FunnyorDie.com. It airs Jan. 18.)

Schaal also popped up this year on a series of funny Daily Show segments devoted to "women's issues." This year she won the Barry Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, starred in the web series Horrible People and posted installments in Penelope Princess of Pets.

The comedian -- No. 45 on my list of the Top 100 People -- managed to find some free time to call me. We chatted about her busy year, the holidays and FOTC:

Hey, Kristen. How are you?

I'm nursing a cold. It's frustrating, but otherwise, I'm pretty good!

Oh, no! That's too bad.

The problem is, I haven't been feeling good for the last couple nights, but I've been like, "F--k it!" (Laughs) It's the worst week to have a cold, 'cause there's so much going on.

Well, we're talking because you're one of my top people of the year.

Oh, that's so exciting!

If you don't mind being a little reflective, do you have a favorite moment of the past year?

It was a huge year. I think my favorite moments ... most of them were out of the country. I enjoyed winning the Barry Award in Melbourne -- that was exciting. And then doing the Edinburgh Festival was pretty sweet, too. Those were huge events. And then filming the show ... yeah, this year was awesome.

The season premiere of Flight of the Conchords goes online today. Can you give a preview of what we can expect in these new episodes?

Well, I feel like the show gets even more surreal and fantastical. It's gonna be an adventure. (Laughs) I'm proud of the second season, because I do think it goes down a fantastical line. I think it becomes even more into its own than last season.

Does Mel get any episodes of her own? Are you in the spotlight at all?

Yeah, the last episode that we filmed, one of the main storylines was around Mel. And then in another episode, Mel gets to sing her own song. I won't ruin it ... you'll just have to wait to hear the magic. And Mel gets more involved, I think. You find her here and there more.

Were you nervous at all to sing?

I was excited for Mel to get her own song, but for singing I was pretty nervous. I don't consider myself a singer, and I wouldn't ever ask anyone to pay me money to sing. But they were really supportive, and they said I sounded good. But after I recorded this song, I was like, "Wow. If there are any people out there who find me annoying, this is gonna push them over the edge." (Laughs)

There were some reports saying this season could be the show's last. Is that true?

I'm just as in the dark as you about it. It could be true, and everyone sort of feels 50/50 about it. I don't get to know that either, which is really unfortunate, since it's my job, but yeah, I'm in the dark. I don't know.

So have you guys already finished filming?

Yeah, we just wrapped Friday night and had a wrap party on Saturday. It's in the can. I think the editing is still going.

Do you know when your next appearance on The Daily Show will be?

I don't know. I'm leaving the country for a couple weeks in January, and also it really depends on what happens in the news, because Jon Stewart is interested in having me represent the female perspective. So whenever something comes up in the news, if I can figure out a good angle and pitch it to Jon Stewart, and if he likes it, then I get to do it. I'd like to do a piece on high heels, but I don't know if it fits in the news.

Pro or against?

Against. Big time!

'Dr. Horrible' invades your home

I just posted today's biggest DVD releases, but there's one disc I failed to mention because it technically doesn't release until Friday: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

That's right, Joss Whedon's online musical is coming to disc exclusively through Amazon, and you can pre-order it now for $9.99. Aside from getting the web series starring Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day, fans will now have access to loads of extra features, including behind-the-scenes footage, commentaries and fan application videos for the "Evil League of Evil."

One of the the coolest extras on the disc is "Commentary! The Musical" which is exactly what it sounds like: a commentary track that is entirely sung/rapped. (Scroll down to see a clip.) Amazon offers a short behind-the-scenes clip as well.

By the way, if you haven't seen the series, it's still available on Hulu. And hey, why not sing along?

Even his 'three ho's' will draw you in

Twilight parodies are all over the web right now, but I did laugh at a new one titled The Twilight Before Christmas.

If you've seen the teen vampire flick, you'll recognize the scene-for-scene matchup and some subtle jabs at Kristen Stewart's acting style. The piece was produced as part of The Juice Box.

In today's Twilight-related news, it seems the sequel may be released Nov. 20, 2009, which sounds like a rush job to me. On the plus side, I'm glad director Catherine Hardwicke is now free to make other films her way, and I'm eager to find out what she chooses for her next project.

Corddry opens his 'Children's Hospital'

It's another day, which means at least one new web series has launched. But there has been some buzz about this one: Children's Hospital was written, produced by and stars former Daily Show correspondent Rob Corddry. Megan Mullally, Ed Helms and Human Giant's Rob Huebel also pop up in the series, which parodies ER, Grey's Anatomy and other hospital dramas.

Head to TheWB.com today to watch all 10 episodes. (Warning: Beware of Corddry's creepy clown makeup.)

This story reveals several cameos crop up throughout the series, and you should look for a big one in the finale.

"It's kind of an experiment," Corddry says of posting all episodes at once. "I believe that's the future of television, if not the present. I rarely watch a show once a week. I've watched the entire of series of Lost on either DVD or TiVo up until last season, and last season wasn't as fun for me because I was waiting week to week."

How much do you Digg Al Gore?

Current TV is teaming up with Digg for an online event tomorrow night. The special guest: Al Gore.

Digg Dialogg: An Interview with Al Gore will feature the former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner answering viewers' questions. In the fun Q&A process that utilizes Digg, Current TV users are uploading video questions, then users can "vote up" or "vote down" the clips. Gore will respond to the top vote-getters.

Tune in to the half-hour special Friday at 10 p.m. ET. You can still submit questions, and voting is open to everyone.

Loder launches his own series

Just when you thought everyone had launched a web series, there's a new face on the scene: Kurt Loder.

The former MTV News personality now has a show on MyDamnChannel.com called Lapdance. Before you get too creeped out by the title, understand that it gets its name from the format, which involves Loder talking to his guests via iChat on his laptop.

In the first episode, Loder and Harry Shearer gab about Spinal Tap, politics, comedy and other topics. (Shearer has his own channel on the site.)

If Loder is able to book some interesting guests, the show could work. Below, check out a clip of the first episode that includes Shearer chatting about Christopher Guest, Richard Pryor and other comedians:

Strike.TV kicks off with time-wasting comedy

I was just watching some of the new series on Strike.TV, which launched this week from an impressive array of Hollywood writers, directors and performers. So far it offers 10 original shows with more on the way.

So far I think my favorite is Global Warming, a romantic comedy starring Saturday Night Live's Kristen Wiig and The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi. I also enjoyed House Poor, the mockumentary series from The Office's Mindy Kaling. In the first episode, we learn that Kaling has purchased a house but has no money to furnish it. Busy Philipps and Meredith Salenger also appear.

The idea for Strike.TV was hatched during last year's writers' strike, and profits will aid to the Actors Fund’s Entertainment Assistance Program (EAP).

So far it seems like the quality of Strike.TV programming is higher than on other sites, and I'm interested in seeing what it has to offer. I think some of these writers are enjoying working without the constraints of the television industry, and it shows.