photo by Gaetan Lee
Spencer Morgan of the New York Observer writes:
On March 17, Cobble Hill–based Web prankster Ze Frank will end his daily, year-long Internet video show to go all Hollywood. “The one thing I took away from my meeting with Jeffrey Katzenberg is that the work begins now,” said Mr. Frank, who was accidentally rewarded with fame after a jokey video, “How to Dance Properly,” went utterly viral in 2001.
Last summer, Sharon Sheinwold, a partner at United Talent Agency, arrived at zefrank.com from the Web log scobleizer.com and spent the next three days “getting lost” in the site. Soon after, she and U.T.A. owner Nick Stevens flew out to New York to meet Ze Frank in person.
The power meeting went down at the East Village eatery Zum Schneider on Sept. 10. Mr. Frank, whose parents are both German and who spent much of his childhood in the homeland, feasted on radishes with cheese, while Mr. Stevens and Ms. Sheinwold picked at less ambitious platters. During the courtship, Mr. Frank was struck by Mr. Stevens’ energy as well as his language.
“He was like, ‘We’ll do this, we’ll do that, we’ll pump that area.’ And I was like, ‘Wait, did you just say you’ll ‘pump that area’?” said Mr. Frank. “In a way, it was my best expectation of Hollywood. In and of itself, it was such a creative statement, I definitely felt like I could work with this guy.”
[via newteevee]