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Some of the funniest performers on TV came out Wednesday night for TheWrap’s inaugural Women of Comedy Emmy Showcase, a celebration of leading female voices in comedy.

The invitation-only event took place at The Crescent Theater in Beverly Hills with acclaimed comedian, actress, writer and producer Whitney Cummings serving as the event’s host. Wide-ranging panel conversations focused on the creative journeys for each of these creators and performers as well as how the comedy landscape has evolved in recent years, specifically for women.

The event featured some of the buzziest names of this TV awards cycle, from Bridget Everett, the star and executive producer of HBO’s critically acclaimed “Somebody Somewhere,” to Abby Elliott, one of the leads in FX’s Chicago darling “The Bear.”

TheWrap’s “Leading With Laughter: Crafting Unforgettable Characters” panel included Elliott, Brenda Song of “Running Point,” Christa Miller of “Shrinking,” Wendi McLendon-Covey of “St.

Many YouTube multi-channel networks are video hubs which boasts any-and-all kinds of content, but some do focus on a specialty (think Felicia Day’s geek culture-skewing Geek & Sundry or AwesomenessTV’s Awestruck for millennial moms). Now, there’s a new network aimed squarely at helping non-profits with their YouTube and digital video strategies. The Good Amplified McN has officially launched, with a roster of initial partners including the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Founded by Amber J. Lawson (CEO of Comedy Gives Back), Good Amplified’s mission is described in a release as “guiding nonprofits in driving awareness, donor retention, and revenue via YouTube.” The McN’s team does this by optimizing a non-profit’s current videos for better discovery, helping the organizations develop and produce new video content, and matching a non-profit with a digital influencer who will promote its message. So far, Good Amplified has teamed with several non-profits like Make-a-Wish Foundation,...

Feeding America is the “nation’s leading domestic hunger relief charity” helping to nourish the one in six Americans (yes, one in six) that doesn’t have enough access to food to sustain a healthy life. Comedy Gives Back is a “social benefit company” co-founded by Amber J. Lawson that connects charities with entertainment industry professionals and other prominent members of society for live streamed events to raise dollars, awareness, and action for a cause. And Yahoo, is, of course, Yahoo. And with all their collective influence and powers combined, the three entities are joining forces for Yahoo Presents Comedy Gives Back (Cbg Live) @ SXSW, a comedy celebration to generate laughs and appreciation for Feeding America’s cause. American actor and comedian Adam Pally (who you may recognize as Max Blum in the ABC comedy series Happy Endings and/or Peter Prentice in Fox comedy series The Mindey Project) will...

Tubefilter is proud to sponsor Top 10 in Digital Comedy, a panel at Digital Hollywood featuring leaders in online comedy. Top 10 in Digital Comedy is moderated by Amber J. Lawson, the "Comedy Impressaria Extraordinaire," as a part of Digital Hollywood's Los Angeles Content Summit. The panel is a part of Monday's Digital Comedy Summit, which includes Women In (Digital) Comedy: The Funnier Sex? and How To Turn Your Funny Idea Into A Web Series, as well as a Writers Boot Camp breakfast with Kevin Pollack and Transforming the World Through Comedy kickoff event. Top 10 in Digital Comedy Amber J. Lawson unveils her Top 10 Picks in Digital Comedy for 2011. Moderator: Amber J. Lawson, Comedy Impressaria Extraordinaire David Beebe, VP Digital Studio, Fishbowl Worldwide Media David Tochterman, Head of Digital Media, Innovative Artists Allison Kingsley, Svp Digital, Ovation We had a chance to peek at Lawson's Top 10 Picks, and—spoiler alert—the clear winners are women and podcasts.

The International Academy of Web Television is announcing today that the inaugural "Iawtv Awards" to be held in Las Vegas at the 2012 International CES. The Consumer Electronics Show is the largest consumer technology tradeshow, held annually in Las Vegas. "We are launching our Awards during 2012 CES because it is the world's leading technology and content conference," said Iawtv Awards Committee Chair Amber J. Lawson. The event will take place on January 12, 2012 as a part of the CES programming. "To have the show during CES not only allows us celebrate excellence in online video, but also proves that more mainstream audiences recognize the quality and unique content the web television industry provides," said Paul Kontonis, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Iawtv. The Iawtv Awards will consist of 33 categories honoring web series and talent, both in-front of the camera and behind the scenes. A full list of categories for the...

Before Kevin Pollak had me at “Hand me the keys you #$%^ing @#$% sucker!” he had me at his stand-up. The comedian’s comedian self-deprecating style, uncanny ability to imitate others, and spin said imitations into compelling routines is a special kind of entertainment that rarely ceases to engage. Pollak’s stand-up routine is a special kind of entertainment for Pollak, too. It’s one of two times in his professional career (which spans 50-some-odd movie roles and a handful of television appearances) where he’s had 100% creative freedom, control, and ownership of an idea. So, when’s the other time Pollak’s conceived a project, kept the project safely guarded, and executed the project exactly per his vision instead of reluctantly handing it over to studio execs to later lament how much the whole thing got mucked up under the purview of a design-by-committee Hollywood bureaucracy? On the web. At...

Every day, advertisers are spending more money on web video. As an independent producer, how do you access this opportunity? The Caucus for Writers, Producers, & Directors, an alliance of television and new media content creators, explored this question with its latest panel "The Creative Independent and the Web," held yesterday morning at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The panel, moderated by Natpe President & CEO Rick Feldman, offered perspectives on the different pathways producers can get to the money by creating the content that advertisers are looking for. Lori Schwartz, Chief Technology Catalyst at McCann Worldgroup, explained that brands want to be involved in independent online video, but encounter difficulty discovering and connecting to the producers. "It's still the wild west out there," she remarked. For Tim Kring, Creator and Executive Producer of Heroes, finding a meeting with advertising agencies wasn't difficult for him. Still, he commented, the brands gave a significant...

AOL is getting into the late-night game, with Kevin Smith, Adam Carolla, and Kevin Pollak joining forces for a nightly online video series.

All three men already have popular online programs or podcasts: Smith — who has had a busy week at Sundance — has his Smodcast Network, Pollak has Chat Show and there’s The Adam Carolla Show. Now AOL is teaming with those existing shows to create a daily video series.

“The first time I ever went online was via AOL,” Smith says. “That means I’ve been a paying member for over 15 years — all without knowing I was investing in my own future.

This year Natpe is getting serious about the future of content. After decades as the leading trade organization in television world, the 46 year-old institution is embracing the digital content revolution head on. This year’s Natpe Market, relocated from its previous home in Las Vegas to the even balmier Miami Beach, is giving some sizable airtime to the digital folks, with a whole track of sessions with speakers like iJustine, Rob Barnett, Smosh, Rhett & Link, Amber J. Lawson, Bernie Su and Al Thompson. The Market runs from January 24 through the 26th, but capping off the Market’s busy Wednesday are the Digital Luminary Awards. This year Natpe reached out to us here at Tubefilter to team up in pulling together the awards. There are five award categories honoring both the shows themselves and the brands and companies that back them. And did we mention that Bannen Way creator-star Mark Gantt is hosting?...

As we close out 2010, AOL has been busier than Congress this month with a flurry of new deals for us to chew on before New Year’s. The latest is a key talent hire in bringing on Amber J. Lawson as the company’s new Head of Video Programming. Lawson will oversee AOL Studios, AOL Video hub, AOL.com and deals with 3rd party production companies making original content for the network. More specifically, she’ll now have about 566 million video streams a month to look after. The hire takes Lawson from her post at online network Babelgum where she was the Comedy Publisher, growing the site’s comedy channel into a respected curation of comedic shorts and series. Notable pickups include Streamy Award-winner Kevin Pollak’s Vamped Out and the popular Kids Reenact series from Landline TV. Much of AOL’s new focus on original web video can be tracked to David Eun,...

Babelgum inked a content development and distribution deal with renowned improv powerhouse Upright Citizens Brigade in early October. Babelgum's Comedy Publisher, Amber J. Lawson told us the partnership is a "big win" that will bring more high-quality "satirical, political smart comedy" to the site. Last week, Babelgum scored another big win that will amp up its celebrity-driven comedy programming. The entire library of Celebrity Liar will be distributed on Bablegum's web and mobile video content platform. Celebrity Liar is a game show that tips its hat back to classics from the genre's celebrity-driven days, including Match Game, What's My Line?, and Liars Club. Here's the premise: The show features two celebrities telling the same story as if it happened to them, but in fact it is only true for one celebrity. The online audience decides which of the two professional liars is actually lying. In each episode, the game is played twice,...

In his 30-year career, Kevin Pollak has appeared in more than 60 films and created indelible roles in such modern classics as A Few Good Men and The Usual Suspects. His Internet awakening occurred in 2009, when he started his Streamy Award winning weekly talk show Kevin Pollak Chat Show backed by Jason Calacanis (Mahalo). He ventured into the world of Web video with his acclaimed original Web series Vamped Out (it was his directorial debut and he wrote and starred in it as well). Vamped Out returns for season 2 on Babelgum this fall. In a series of interviews about his projects, Pollak shares the story of his evolution and what he loves about this new entertainment medium.

Fast Company: How did Kevin Pollak Chat Show start?

Kevin Pollak: About a year ago, I was visiting Jason Calacanis at Maholo's offices. He was doing a live streaming thing with his disciples,...

Here are eight things that Cameron Carlson learned at The American Cinematheque's Monday panel on web series and emerging trends in online content development. Instead of giving up on Hollywood after pursuing conventional career routes, the intrepid panelists took their chances on the web. Videos after the jump. 1. When your career stalls, do it yourself. Other than distributors Jim Burns (executive producer, FearNet.com) and Amber J. Lawson (comedy publisher, Babelgum.com), the panelists talked about stalled careers as actors or filmmakers. They weren't getting anywhere, until they decided to produce content for the web. It helps that most knew talented actors, DPs, writers, and editors in similar straits. Fortunately, it worked out for them. Mark Gantt revitalized his acting career by producing his own web action ...

Illeana Douglas attending the Los Angeles premiere And screening of "Vamped Out" at Cinespace.Photo copyright by Tommaso Boddi / PR Photos. Kat Steel attending the Los Angeles premiere And screening of "Vamped Out" at Cinespace.Photo copyright by Tommaso Boddi / PR Photos. Kevin Pollak, Matthew Perry attending the Los Angeles premiere And screening of "Vamped Out" at Cinespace.Photo copyright by Tommaso Boddi / PR Photos. Sebastian Roche attending the Los Angeles premiere And screening of "Vamped Out" at Cinespace.Photo copyright by Tommaso Boddi / PR Photos. Matthew Perry attending the Los Angeles premiere And screening of "Vamped Out" at Cinespace.Photo copyright by Tommaso Boddi / PR Photos. 04/09/2010 - Amber Lawson, Tim Gibbons - Los...

Anyone familiar with Kevin Pollak's work knows that he has a devilishly dark sense of humor. That's also why we're so jazzed about his latest project, Vamped Out. Excited? Cool! We've got all the whens, wheres, and hows regarding how you can dig on it!

From the Press Release

Independent web and mobile video content platform Babelgum announced today an exclusive series deal for "Vamped Out" on its Comedy Channel. The first of six episodes will go live on April 12 at Babelgum.com. Each additional episode will air each Monday for the following five weeks.

"Vamped Out" marks the directorial debut of actor Kevin Pollak (Usual Suspects, Cop Out) and stars known actors from film, television, and Broadway. Pollak co-created and stars in the series with Broadway leading man and film actor Jason Antoon (Contact, Minority report). Other cast members include Samm Levine (Freaks & Geeks, Inglourious Basterds) and Seana Kofoed (Broadway's Proof,...

Date-a-Human is Babelgum's new sci-fi comedy series directed by Joy Gohring that's specifically targeting a female sci-fi audience. The first three of the six-episode series is live now at Babelgum.com/DateAHuman.

Date-a-Human follows a young woman Allie, a human female, who has had her heart broken by a human male for the last time. Fortunately, Allie’s catlike roommate Ruthie has the solution and sends her looking for love online. Viewers can follow Allie’s love adventures and mishaps as she experiments with Date-a-Human.com, a dating site devoted to interspecies match-making...

Joy Gohring is a 2009 graduate of The American Film Institute’s prestigious Directing Workshop for Women. Last year Gohring was recognized by Filmmaker Magazine in its "Top 25 Filmmakers to Watch" issue.

"We really wanted to take a new spin on love and dating and what better way to do that than to bring aliens into the mix.

You may not be familiar with Babelgum just yet, but that should change as Dread Central teams up with the integrated web and mobile video content platform to provide live streaming content Halloween night both along the annual Weho Parade route and at the Art of Elysium fundraiser at the W Hotel in Westwood.

First, a little bit of what Babelgum is up to. Positioned between user generated video hubs and network TV-oriented destinations, Babelgum focuses on the third part of the ecosystem: innovative, professionally produced content on five very specific passions – Music, Comedy, Film, Urban Culture, and Nature/Environment – curated by experts in their fields. Babelgum’s programming is comprised of exclusive original productions as well as independent and mainstream titles. The company has also set up a series of online contests to nurture independent film, music, and art talent: the Babelgum Online Film Festival, the Babelgum Music Video Awards,...

NEW YORK -- National Lampoon will return to producing live entertainment by bringing back a re-imagined version of the Lemmings sketch comedy troupe, which launched the careers of John Belushi, Christopher Guest and Chevy Chase.

The company on Wednesday described the new Broadway show, called "National Lampoon Lemmings Comedy Troupe Presents America 2.0," as a 90-minute interactive show with short videos between sketches. It is designed as "a satire on today's blown-out tabloid world."

Characters include the Gangsta Rap Wizards and Michael Vick touting his new dog food.

As did its 1970s counterpart, the new Lemmings comedy troupe will showcase young sketch comedians.

"We have created a stable of talented actors, writers and filmmakers we look to grow within our family in our many television, film and Internet projects," said Lemmings producer Amber Lawson.

The Lemmings show was created by Lawson, director-producer Jay Leggett (In Living Color, Without a Paddle) and executive producer Scott Rubin.

The Lemmings cast includes Adam Devine, Anders Holms, Annie Savage, Blake Anderson, Jen Cain, Jillian Bellcq, John Moody, Mark Gagliardi and Sitara Falcon.

Marla Sokoloff just wants to rock. Sokoloff, a co-star on ABC's The Practice, has signed on to star in an ABC drama project from Touchstone TV and Maverick Films centering on a teen pop star, Alyx Mason, who turns her back on the glitz and glamour to focus on honing her chops as a musician. The project, tentatively titled Alyx, was created by Brad Bredeweg and Amber Lawson and developed by Sweet Lorraine Prods. Ehrich Van Lowe, head of Sweet Lorraine, will executive produce along with Maverick principals Madonna and Guy Oseary. Melissa Rosenberg (Boston Public) will pen the script and also serve as an exec producer.