Look up Channel, channel, or channels in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Channel, Channels, and similar terms may refer to:

• Channels (band), a rock band fronted by ex-Jawbox singer/guitarist J. Robbins
• Channels (film), a 2008 film
• Channel, synonym for pre-chorus in popular song structure
• Ion channel, a protein that allows ion flow through a cell membrane
• Mediumship (also known as channelling), communication with spirits
• Meridian (Chinese medicine) (or channel), a concept central to traditional Chinese medical techniques such as acupuncture, and to martial arts such as tai chi and qigong
• Legal channeling, the act of legally making one entity responsible for an event, and thereby dismissing other parties from liability for an event

Places[link]

• Channel (geography), in physical geography, the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks
• Stream channel, a hydrologic scientific term for physical confine of a stream (river) consisting of stream bed and stream banks

Europe[link]

• English Channel, the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Great Britain from northern France
• Channel Tunnel, or the Chunnel, a rail tunnel underneath the English Channel linking the U.K. and France
• Channel Islands, an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy

North America[link]

• Channel Islands of California, a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California
• Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
• Channel Lake, Illinois
• Channel, California, a former settlement in Butte County, California, United States
• Channel Home Centers, a defunct home improvement chain based in the northeastern United States

Australia[link]

• Channel Highway, a regional highway in Tasmania, Australia
• Channel Express, a defunct British airline

Business[link]

• Distribution channel, a chain of intermediaries, each passing the product down the chain to the next organization, before it finally reaches the consumer
• Marketing channel, set of activities necessary to transfer the ownership of goods from the point of production to the point of consumption

Technology[link]

• Communication channel, a transmission medium, e.g. a wire, or a multiplexed connection, e.g. a radio channel, used to convey an information signal from a sender to a receiver,
• Channel (digital image), the grayscale representation of a primary color in a digital image
• Channel (programming), in computer science, a tool used for interprocess communication
• Television channel, a television station or its cable/satellite counterpart
• Channel (broadcasting), a range of frequencies assigned by a government for broadcasting
• I/O Channel, in computing, a high-performance input/output (I/O) architecture
• Audio channel

Fiction[link]

• Channeler (The Wheel of Time), fictional characters in the Wheel of Time fantasy book series by Robert Jordan
• Channeling (Rolemaster), in the Rolemaster role-playing game

Sport[link]

• Channel (association football), football (soccer) terminology for particular areas of the pitch
• Channel Football Club, an Australian rules football club in Tasmania

See also[link]

• Canal
• Chanel (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Tommy Wiseau is a screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. He is the founder of the film production company Wiseau Films. Wiseau is best known for his film The Room which has been described as "one of the worst movies ever made" and has gained cult film status.^[1] Wiseau also made the documentary Homeless in America and filmed the pilot episode of the sitcom The Neighbors.^[2][3]

Personal life[link]

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Despite his vaguely eastern European accent, Wiseau identifies as American.^[4] He grew up in New Orleans^[5] and lived in France "a long time ago",^[6] moving back and forth between the United States and Europe throughout his life, and at some point moved to San Francisco, where he was employed at a hospital.^[6] He also states that he prefers to be referred to as an American.^[4][7] Wiseau studies psychology as a "hobby."^[3]

Career[link]

Wiseau was interested in becoming a rock star before turning to a career in acting. He has said that he has been influenced by James Dean, Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Tennessee Williams, The Guns of Navarone, and Citizen Kane.^[8][9]

Film[link]

Wiseau's best known production is the cult film The Room, released in 2003. The movie was immediately lambasted by critics.^[10] However, The Room soon became a "cult classic" with late-night showings at theaters around the country. Audience members typically arrive wearing wigs resembling their favorite characters, interact with the dialogue on screen, and throw plastic cutlery and footballs around the theater. This attention grew into what was dubbed The Room's 2010-2011 "Love is Blind" International Tour, with the movie being screened in the U.K, Germany, Denmark, Australia and India, among other locations. Wiseau appears at many of these events, posing for photographs with fans and often addressing them before the screenings as well.^[11]

In 2004 Wiseau produced and appeared in a short documentary, Homeless in America. In 2010, Wiseau acted in a short film entitled The House That Drips Blood on Alex, a parody horror film written and produced by sketch comedy group Studio8. The film had a preview showing at Comic-Con on July 24, 2010. It premiered on Comedy Central and appeared online on October 14, 2010.^[12][13]

Television[link]

In 2008 Wiseau produced and appeared in the pilot episode of a television series titled The Neighbors, which he intended to become a regular sitcom. As of October 2011, the pilot has not been picked up by any network for broadcast.^[3]

In 2009 Wiseau guest-starred in a Season 4 episode of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! entitled "Tommy", wherein Wiseau guest-directed a segment entitled "Pigman"; he later told an interviewer he was merely an actor on the episode, and would work with the duo again "any time."^[9] An interview with Tim and Eric in Wired reveals they are working with Wiseau on two series.^[14]

Internet[link]

In 2011, Wiseau starred in a YouTube web series called "Tommy Explains It All." The episodes feature Wiseau explaining his views on various topics ranging from Citizen Kane to the art of kissing.^[15]

Wiseau has also starred in segments on Machinima.com called "The Tommy Wi-show". The segments show Wiseau playing various video games, such as Mortal Kombat and offering commentary. ^[16][17]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Tommy Wiseau at the Internet Movie Database
• The Neighbors website

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2011)

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (March 2011)

Greg Sestero
Greg Sestero
Born	(1978-07-15) July 15, 1978 (age 33) Walnut Creek, California
Nationality	French, American
Occupation	Actor, Model

Greg Sestero (born July 15, 1978) is a French-American actor and model. He is best known for his role as Mark in the 2003 cult film The Room.

Personal life[link]

Sestero was born in Walnut Creek, California and grew up in Danville, California. He is of French and American descent with dual citizenships, and speaks both French and English.^[1] During his freshman year of high school, Sestero wrote a screenplay, a sequel to the 1990 film Home Alone, with a leading role for himself opposite actor Macaulay Culkin. Sestero submitted the screenplay to Hughes Productions and received a commendatory letter from the late 1980s icon John Hughes.^[2]

During his junior year of high school Sestero began modeling, working in locations such as Milan and Paris for designers such as Giorgio Armani and Gian Franco Ferre, and many others. He then returned to America to focus on acting, enrolling in the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, California. Sestero eventually signed on with Hollywood agent Iris Burton, which prompted his eventual move to Los Angeles, California.

Sestero continues to make his residence in southern California.^[3]

Career[link]

Sestero's early acting work included minor roles in the television show Nash Bridges, and the films Gattaca (1997) and Patch Adams (1998). In 1999, Sestero was cast as the lead in Retro Puppet Master which was filmed in Romania. He followed this with a recurring role on the television soap opera Days of our Lives.^[1]

[edit] The Room

Sestero's best known role to date is as Mark, the best friend to Tommy Wiseau's Johnny in the cult film The Room, released in 2003.

Sestero met Wiseau at an acting class in 1998. Wiseau told Sestero that if he was able to raise the funds to make the film, he would hire him as his co-star; Sestero arrived on set only agreeing to work behind the scenes and helped Wiseau with auditions and casting. However when the original actor who was cast as Mark was fired, Sestero stepped in. Sestero has said that he made the film assuming no one would see it and that it would go direct to video.^[2][4]

The film was immediately lambasted by critics and fared very poorly at the box office as well. Ross Morin, an assistant professor of film studies at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, called it "the Citizen Kane of bad movies" and Entertainment Weekly referred to Wiseau as "the Orson Welles of crap." ^[5]

Despite the poor showing Sestero remained humorous and typically deflected much of the criticism of the movie. For example, in one interview when asked about one of the movie's many plot holes, the sudden disappearance of the character "Peter" who is seemingly replaced by the character "Steven" without any explanation, Sestero responds, "We were going to add in that character Steven, but once Peter left, he kind of took over. Peter had other clients he had to tend to as a psychologist, so he couldn’t be at the party. [Laughs.]"^[3][6]

The movie quickly began to receive attention from audience members because of its poor production values rather than in spite of them; it soon became a "cult classic" with late-night showings at theaters around the country. Audience members typically arrive wearing wigs resembling their favorite characters, interact with the dialogue on screen, and throw plastic cutlery and footballs around the theater. This attention grew into what was dubbed The Room's 2010-2011 "Love is Blind" International Tour, with the movie being screened in not just the U.S. but also in the U.K, Germany, Denmark, Australia and India, among other locations. Sestero appears at many of these events, posing for photographs with fans and often addressing them before the screenings as well.^[7]

Later work and appearances[link]

In 2004, Sestero produced and appeared in Homeless in America, a documentary short about homelessness that was written and produced by The Room's Tommy Wiseau. He had a part in the short-lived 2006 television series Fashion House, opposite actress Bo Derek, and an uncredited role in Accepted also in 2006. In 2009 Sestero appeared in an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum and in the movie Alien Presence.^[1]

In 2010, Sestero appeared in Miranda Lambert's music video "White Liar" which won the Country Music Television and the Academy of Country Music award for best video and song of the year; the video was also nominated for best video at the 2010 Country Music Association awards.

In July 2010, Sestero was featured in a 5-second film End Zone directed by Michael Rousselet, one of The Room's original fans who helped propel the movie to cult status.^[5][8] Sestero then starred with NYC comedians Jason Saenz, Nick Turner, and Travis Irvine for a sketch comedy video in which Sestero turned into the "new" Jason Saenz via jaw surgery.^[9]

The July 2010 edition of Diablo Magazine voted Sestero, along with others including Carlos Santana and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, as The Best of the East Bay Stars and Standouts.^[10]

In July 2011, Sestero teamed with award winning comedian Patton Oswalt in "You Got Mail", a 5-second film that features Oswalt as a mailman and Sestero waiting for his suspicious delivery. ^[11]

Sestero continues to model and has appeared in ads for Tommy Hilfiger, Armani, and Ralph Lauren, among others.^[3]

Book[link]

In May 2011, it was announced that he had signed a deal with Simon & Schuster to write a book based on his experiences making the film, Tommy Wiseau and the numerous questions he's fielded from audience members over the years. The book is to be cowritten by journalist Tom Bissell, who wrote about The Room for Harper's, with a publication date scheduled for January 2013.^[12][13]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Greg Sestero at the Internet Movie Database
• Greg Sestero on Facebook

Chris Crocker (born Christopher Darren Cunningham; December 7, 1987)^[4] is an American Internet celebrity, songwriter, blogger, and recording artist residing in Bristol, Tennessee.^[1] Crocker gained international fame in September 2007 from his viral video "Leave Britney Alone", in which he tearfully defended pop singer Britney Spears's comeback performance at the MTV Video Music Awards; his video had over four million views in two days.^[5] The video received international media attention, hundreds of parodies and criticism for Crocker.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]}

He is a self-described "edutainer" who produces and acts in multiple videos.^{[12][2][13][14]} In almost all of Crocker's work he presents himself as an openly gay and effeminate Southern adolescent in a "small-minded town" in the Bible Belt where his sexual orientation and outspokenness are a "subtext... rarely addressed directly and never completely accepted."^[12][13] The Tennessee-based Crocker, a stage name, keeps his identity and exact location private because according to him, and as seen in the public comments to his work; there were safety concerns and death threats in response to his YouTube and MySpace video blogs and profile.^{[12][15][16][17][18]} According to his MySpace profile, Crocker lived in Los Angeles as of January 2008.^[19] As of May 2010, Crocker has returned home to Tennessee and solely travels to Los Angeles for business ventures.^[20]

His work consists mainly of short-form self-directed monologues shot in his grandparents' home.^[21] As of October 2010^[update], Crocker's videos have received a combined 50 million plays on MySpace, and his vlog channel on YouTube is the 100th most viewed of all time in all categories, with over 205 million video views.^[22][23] Crocker's detractors and critics have accused him of narcissism, melodramatics, histrionics, and using Spears' personal shortcomings to bolster his own fame.^{[10][24][25][26][27]} Others have accused Crocker of acting in the "Leave Britney Alone" video, although he insisted it was genuine on a September 2007 appearance on Maury Povich's Maury show.^[18][28][29]

Early life[link]

Crocker was born in East Tennessee to a teenage couple and was raised by his grandparents.^[21] Crocker said he "raised eyebrows" by bringing Barbie dolls to kindergarten for show and tell rather than the toys or action figures usually associated with boys.^[21] He lived in East Tennessee and was homeschooled in response to constant "death threats, bullying and glares at his clothes and makeup"^[12][19][21] specifically after allegedly being "harassed by a homophobic high school gym coach".^[15][30] Crocker lived with his fundamentalist^[31] Pentecostal grandparents who continued raising him when his teenage parents were not able; while his grandfather reportedly knows little about his Internet fame, his grandmother has reluctantly appeared in some of his videos.^[12][21][32]

Career[link]

Crocker's uncensored and "unfiltered" work has been attributed to his isolation as an "effeminate, Southern, flamboyantly gay" adolescent in a "small-minded town" in the Bible Belt.^[12] His sexual orientation and outspokenness have been described as a "subtext... rarely addressed directly and never completely accepted" in his hometown.^[12] According to Crocker, when his grandmother found out that he was gay, she initially "said that [he] needed an exorcism".^[12] Crocker, who laments his town's lack of gay culture, said, "The only gay pride parade where I live is in my bedroom" as he held up a rainbow frosted cupcake.^[33] He added, "We don't have pride and rainbows here. We have MySpace. We don't have bathhouses, we have outhouses."^[34]

Crocker's earliest experience with online networking was as an editor of an e-zine, where he met his first boyfriend, with whom he was only able to interact online and by phone. Crocker later found another online forum, where his acting skills helped him blend in on a free phone party line run out of Los Angeles "filled with flaming black men, black drag queens, and trannies from Compton", where he was outed as white and dubbed "Cracker".^[12] In June 2006, after years of experience on the Internet, Crocker started uploading self-produced videos, characterized as his "singularly bizarre and angry take on gay life and his intolerant town".^[12]

Building a following[link]

Although his chart-topping video defending Britney Spears drew the attention of the wider public, Crocker had already become one of the most-watched video producers on MySpace and YouTube, having gathered what MSNBC described as a "cult following".^[11][18][35] Prior to Crocker's defense of Spears, some of the more than sixty videos he had posted to the two social networking websites had already been viewed more than a million times each, and his YouTube channel was in the top rankings.^[18] In May 2007, Crocker was the subject of a lengthy profile in the Seattle alternative weekly The Stranger.^[12]

In addition to the "Leave Britney Alone" videos Crocker has produced and posted dozens of others with over fifty posted on both MySpace and YouTube, although some are only posted on one site or the other, many becoming "viral video hits".^[12] Some consider them to be bold and seething "flares sent up by a young gay man marooned in a sea of rednecks" who is stuck in a small town that "can't tolerate homosexuality and punishes flamboyance."^[12] Crocker's videos include "sex-filled confessions" and "wild monologues" talking "about everything from AIDS to pubic hair."^[12][18] In many of the videos he portrays characters, such as an older deeply religious woman in the "The Earl Annie Edna show" series and exaggerated comic characterizations of Southern stereotypes earning comparisons to Andy Kaufman and being called "an insidious satiric mastermind".^[36][37]

"Leave Britney Alone!"[link]

Crocker is best known for his Britney Spears videos, posted to YouTube in September 2007. The first part of the infamous work though was posted September 9, 2007 called "Leave Britney Alone pt.1" to his Myspace page, while the better-known "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!" (part 2) was posted to both MySpace and YouTube. In "Leave Britney Alone pt.1", an emotional Crocker stated that he did not want fellow Southerner^[21] and gay icon Britney Spears^[38] to spiral out of control like Anna Nicole Smith, who had died in February 2007. As of November 2010^[update], the video had been viewed over 35 million times and has accumulated a total of over 500,000 comments.^[39] It is just a few seconds shorter than the second part, and Crocker, although emotional, remains relatively calm and composed, becoming teary only at the very end.

In the videos, Crocker lashes out at gossip columnists such as Perez Hilton, and at reality TV star Simon Cowell, who criticized Britney Spears' onstage music performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas.^{[40][41][42][43]} Within the first 24 hours of its posting, the video had accumulated over 2 million views.^[18] As of January 2009^[update], it has accumulated a total of 24 million views and is the second most discussed video of all time on the site (in all categories), with over 350,000 comments.^[40][44] "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!" is one of YouTube's fastest "climbing" videos, reaching the minimum seven million views needed (as of September 2007^[update]) to be included in the "Top 100".^[45] The video was nominated in the Commentary category in the 2007 YouTube Awards.^[46] The video received worldwide attention and earned Crocker interviews on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, The Today Show, Maury, The Howard Stern Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Ryan Seacrest's KIIS-FM morning show. Crocker and his video were also commented on in the mainstream media by shows like The View and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.^[18][47] YouTube said "the melodramatic two-minute clip made Crocker an instant YouTube star" and named it one of the top videos of 2007.^[48] Wired magazine named it the top video of 2007.^[49]

Although sometimes shown in conjunction with news footage of Spears' performance, the "pure performance art" video has become its own story, with the news media and gossip industry offering opinions on the phenomenon and even joking that Crocker could be "an insidious satiric mastermind" and compared him to Andy Kaufman.^[10][36][50] In the video, Crocker proclaims, "All you people care about is readers and making money off of her. She's a human! Leave Britney alone!"^[7][51][52] Crocker stated that although he is often acting in his videos, his emotions were genuine and "straight from the heart"; although he described the clip as a "second take" in one interview, he clarified on Jimmy Kimmel Live that he meant that it was the second part of a longer video, the first part being "Leave Britney Alone pt. 1".^{[16][18][32][53]}

The "LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!" video became a satire target with parody videos as well as references in mainstream television spoofs, and films.^[54] Actor Seth Green's parody, which included him applying eyeliner several times and promoting his show Robot Chicken, called for people to "leave Chris Crocker alone!"^[3][55] Some video responses characterized Crocker as a drama queen and, Wired magazine noted, "sent world Schadenfreude levels zooming to heights unseen since the Fatty Arbuckle scandal."^[49][56]

The January 2008 parody film Meet the Spartans used pop culture references and met with generally poor reviews; the Electronic Urban Report called Crocker's cameo the "film's funniest moment".^[54][57] Both Crocker and the video were also parodied in the South Park episode "Canada on Strike" with a cartoon Crocker running around in a fight between various Internet memes, telling them to "leave the others alone".^[58][59] In March 2008, a "trance remix" dance single "Leave Britney Alone" was released on iTunes and other sites by "Double J" featuring quotes from Crocker's video.^[60] On the Hannah Montana episode, "Welcome to the Bungle", when Lilly phones the journalists to tell them to leave Hannah alone, she accidentally shouts "Leave Britney alone!". Miley questions "Britney?" and Lilly corrects herself by responding, "Oh, oh, sorry, my bad.. 'Leave Hannah alone!'".^[61]

While numerous news and media outlets reported on the viral video, Fox News Channel's morning program Fox & Friends commentators questioned his gender and compared the fabric backdrop in his video to Osama Bin Laden's videos.^[62][63][64] Crocker produced two response videos – Poor FOX "News".. and Rosie O'Donnell was right about FOX "News" (originally posted as "Dear Fox 'News'") – addressing what he characterized as biased treatment while he called Fox News the "Republican, conservative, homophobic channel".^[65][66] Crocker's stated concerns were the commentators calling him a "she/he" and what he felt was their needless questioning of his gender instead of commenting on the content of his video.^[65][66]

Crocker's video was referenced in an episode of American TV series Glee, "Britney/Brittany", in which Brittany Pierce tells the glee club she does not want to perform Britney Spears' music because she feels she has been overshadowed by her fame due to the similarity in their names. Kurt is angry at Brittany, but Santana replies, "Leave Brittany alone!"

Onch promotional deal and lawsuit[link]

In October 2007 TMZ.com reported that Crocker was being sued by Onch Movement Jewelry for 1 million dollars, for fraud and breach of contract and provided a copy of the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles.^[67] Jewelry designer Nelson Chung, professionally known as Onch and a fan of Crocker, hired him as a celebrity spokesmodel for more than two days' worth of publicity work as well as appearance at World of Wonder's Just Britney art show in exchange for airfare.^[68] It was speculated by DMW Media that Crocker had no legal representative as the agreement seemed unbalanced.^[69] Crocker did make appearances including at gay club Rage and the art show where he was interviewed by MTV showing artwork of him in homage to Spears.^[70][71] Onch's YouTube channel also posted videos of appearances which were later removed.^[72]

Mainstream media exposure[link]

Prior to the attention from his September 2007 Leave Britney Alone video, Crocker was seen as viral and was asked by MTV pioneering vlogger and news staffer Matt Sunbulli to provide video for MTV's website which also broadcasts on MTV itself.^[12][73][73] Crocker has indicated that he hopes to develop his acting career and has agreed to develop ideas for a TV show with Los Angeles producer Glenn Meehan and has met with representatives from MTV's gay-themed channel LOGO.^[12][16] According to Variety, Crocker has signed a development deal with 44 Blue Productions to create a "docusoap" reality television show, which will be called Chris Crocker's 15 Minutes More.^[74] Said Rasha Drachkovitch, the production company's co-founder: "It's going to pretty much be the Chris Crocker experience. We consider him a rebel character that people will find interesting. He's going to be a TV star."^[35]

Post-meme career[link]

Crocker performing with back-up dancers at gay disco club Ice in Hamtramck, Michigan in October 2007.

After the widespread recognition of Leave Britney Alone, Crocker has been involved in several projects. In a June 2007 autobiographical comic strip, where Crocker discusses future plans, he states, "I'm going to make the leap from living with my Pentecostal grandparents to living with drag queen roommates. I'm going to star in my own TV show. I'm going to make the leap from outhouses to bathhouses...to my very own house."^[34] In October 2007, Crocker opened Fox Reality channel's "Reality Remix Really Awards".^[75]

Crocker was one of Lily Allen's Internet correspondents on the February 2008 premiere episode of BBC's Lily Allen and Friends where he posed questions for the guest celebrities, in this case David Mitchell and later, Cuba Gooding, Jr.^[76][77][78]

In an April 9, 2008 video blog Crocker announced he refused the television network's offer to star in his own show on the grounds that it would be censored.^[79] Crocker was outraged and refused the deal and claimed he would continue to post his videos on YouTube.com in an effort to draw in more viewers to the video hosting web site."^[79]

On May 23, 2008 rock band Weezer released a viral music video for their song "Pork and Beans" – "a natural anthem for the self-expression that's been taking shape on YouTube" – which featured various mash-ups of viral videos and Youtube celebrities, including Crocker, all playing themselves.^{[80][81][82][83]} On May 22, 2009 Crocker made a video showing a Grammy plaque that he received for his contribution to the band's video.

On July 25, 2008 Crocker posted a video, "www.MsChrisCrocker.Com", in which he states he is leaving YouTube citing issues of censorship from YouTube for removing him from the most viewed and talked about lists and excluding him from their events.^[84] Despite this statement, he has since returned to using YouTube as a means for publishing videos. In August 2008, Crocker was featured in a Sierra Mist commercial.^[85] On July 9, 2009 Crocker appeared on the Comedy Central show Tosh.0.^[86]

Music[link]

In September 2008, Crocker kicked off a music career when he released his debut single "Mind in the Gutter".^[87] The song was initially meant to be the lead single from his unreleased debut album, Turned On. In March 2009, Crocker leaked an unreleased song entitled "Fell for the Enemy".^[88] After the leaking of "Fell For the Enemy", Crocker did not return to the music business for awhile, stating he felt as though producers saw him as "just another paycheck." However, April 2010 saw the release of Crocker's second single, a ballad titled "Love You Better". The single came in two versions, the studio version as well as an acoustic version. Shortly afterwards, in July of the same year, Crocker's third single, "Best of Both Worlds" was released to generally negative reception.^{[citation needed]} October 13 saw the official release of "Fell For the Enemy", the song Crocker had previously leaked online. The following month, Crocker released his fifth single, "Freak of Nature". In January 2011, Crocker released his first music video, for his latest song "Freak of Nature" and in February, Crocker released "I Want Your Bite", which peaked at #12 on the iTunes Dance Charts.^[89][90] Crocker also confirmed a music video for "I Want Your Bite", which will be released in March 2011.^{[dated info]}

On August 29, 2010, Crocker announced via a YouTube video, titled "Me 2 u. [A lil' update]" that he will be "self releasing" his own album in 2011. However, recording will take place in 2010.^[91] The album later was pushed back and instead Crocker announced his first EP titled The First Bite. The EP will include "Freak Of Nature," "I Want Your Bite" as well as three completely new songs. The EP peaked at #3 in the iTunes Electro Album charts.^[92] The First Bite was released digitally on iTunes on March 19, 2011. Crocker released a preview video for his EP on March 15, 2011 and a full song titled "One Day" on 17 March, 2011 on YouTube. On August 7, Crocker's new song "Tug of War" was released. His new single, "Taking My Life Back" was released on November 1, 2011. A preview of a Ryan Adames song, titled "BANG", in which Crocker is featured with Lou, was uploaded onto Crocker's YouTube channel on November 30. The single will be released on December 13.^[93]

On December 10, 2011, Crocker revealed the title of his second EP, Beyond and that it would be released in Spring 2012.^[94]

Documentary[link]

Chris Crocker announced in August 2011 that a film documenting his life over the past few years would be released, titled Me at the Zoo.^[95] He urged his fans to help him raise enough money to fund the movie for release. In less than a month, Crocker received more than enough money and thanked his fans in a viral video.^[96] On November 30th, 2011, Crocker revealed via Twitter that the documentary had been selected to premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.^[97] V has stated that the documentary will premiere on HBO on June 25, 2012.^[1]

Selected videography[link]

Crocker has posted dozens of videos, often to both YouTube and Myspace and has sometimes also removed videos or renamed them. In 2008 he also launched his own website which also hosted his work. As of October 2010, he has 63 videos on his MySpace page and 246 on YouTube.^[2][22]

• "This & that." was posted December 28, 2006 to Myspace and February 25, 2007 to YouTube.^[98][99] Crocker's first video, where he starts very serenely then quickly escalates yelling "You wanna fight me?" in a menacing manner while revealing his scrawny chest belying the absurdity "that anyone would see this waify kid as a threat worthy of violence."^[12] This has been interpreted as a "brilliant way of mocking his virtual haters" but can also be seen as a fantasy fight that he could only win in a virtual world because of his obvious diminutive stature.^[12] The video was hosted on Salon.com and remains one of his most popular with over 3.9 million views and over 30,000 comments as of May 2009.^[18][98][99]

• "Bitch, please!" was posted December 29, 2006 to MySpace and February 25, 2007 to YouTube.^[100][101] One of Crocker's first videos to receive over a million viewers showed Crocker's self-assuredness as he offers increasingly angry versions of the phrase Bitch, please "complete with hair flips, bared teeth, and hand gestures."^[12][18] The video has had over five million views and nearly 30,000 comments as of June 2008.^[100][101]

• "Watch it." was posted January 24, 2007 to Myspace.^[102] One of Crocker's shortest videos at just 1:25 minutes features him dancing erotically and provocatively to Nivea's "Watch It". The video has over 1.4 million views and nearly 7,000 comments as of March 2008.^[102] Likewise "Chris Crocker is Damaged!", posted March 4, 2008 to YouTube, shows him dancing to Danity Kane's "Damaged" and has nearly 2.8 million views and over 34,000 comments as of June 2008.^[103][104]

• "Why I'm Gay.." was posted August 10, 2007 to both YouTube and MySpace.^[105][106] Crocker discusses why he has no need to "come out" of the closet as gay. The video was hosted on Salon.com and has had over 1.2 million views and nearly 12,000 comments as of September 2007.^{[18][105][106]}

• "Kids SHOULD Cuss" was posted August 23, 2007 to YouTube.^[107] Crocker discusses language and the use of curse words like fuck asking "why is shit more profane than poop?" He ties the discussion to free speech and encourages everyone to use swear words and teach them to children to ensure freedom of speech is assured. The video was hosted on Salon.com and has had over 427,000 views as of September 2007, it was subsequently removed by Crocker.^[18][107]

• "Back up, Britney haters!" was posted September 1, 2007 to YouTube.^[108] Crocker's first major departure from describing his gay life in a Bible Belt town and instead on Britney Spears which he thought would be poorly received by his fans.^[18] From a floor covered in Spears-related magazines and memorabilia Crocker asserts he is "a real Britney fan".^[18] The video has nearly 2.7 million views as of October 2010.^[108]

• "Britney, this is for you" was posted September 3, 2007 to YouTube.^[109] Crocker pays homage to Spears' recently released single Gimme More. Just two days after his first video about Spears this precedes his most known video Leave Britney Alone by eight days. The video has been viewed over 4.1 million times and received over 55,000 comments as of January 2008.^[109]

• "Watch Chris Crocker blink." originally titled "Best video EVER!" was posted March 17, 2008 to YouTube.^{[104][110][111]} One of the shortest viral videos – at less than five seconds long – and likely the shortest one Crocker has ever posted shows a close-up of just his face as he smiles into the camera and blinks twice.^[110] The "unwitting Andy Warhol homage" (see 15 minutes of fame) was explained by Crocker that he need only "blink to get the video views I do."^{[110][111][112]} The video was viewed over a million times in the first two days and nearly 6.8 million times and received over 70,000 comments as of November 2010.^[110][111]

Discography[link]

• 2011: The First Bite
• 2012: Beyond

See also[link]

• Celebrity branding
• Famous for being famous
• Gender-bender
• Tila Tequila
• Viral marketing

References[link]