High Maintenance
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Back to One, Episode 65: Emmy Harrington
I first was introduced to the incredible talents of Emmy Harrington on the set of Caveh Zahedi’s The Show About The Show, where she plays “Slut Machine,” and witnessed, first hand, her ability to adapt to all types of run-and-gun shooting environments and unorthodox directing styles and deliver a great performance take after take. You can also see her work in shows like High Maintenance and Jessica Jones, and an award-winning film she wrote, directed, and stars in — Two Little Bitches — is currently making the festival circuit. I sat down with her a couple of days after directing […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jul 10, 2019 -
Early Adopters or Canaries In a Coal Mine? Niall McKay at the Screen Forward Labs
At the opening party for the Irish Broadway musical, Once, as my wife Marissa and I sucked down free drinks and hors d’oeuvres in a swanky Manhattan penthouse, we got the idea for creating a series about people in New York who go to events and screenings for the free food and drink. We called it On The Lig, an Irish/English expression for being “on the mooch.” Fast forward three years, one Kickstarter campaign and eight shooting days later and we have a wonderful new pilot. Starring Jonny Hopkins (The Leftovers, Public Morals and Kick-Ass) and John Keating (Boardwalk Empire, The […]
by Niall McKay on Dec 7, 2015 -
Trailer Watch: High Maintenance, Season Two
The back half of the second season of our favorite web comedy series about weed delivery, High Maintenance, drops on Thursday, and the trailer is above. If you’re a regular Filmmaker reader you’ll know creators Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair from their inclusion on our 25 New Faces list in 2013. They landed on the list based on the first episodes of High Maintenance, which has since taken off (check out the list of plaudits at the head of this trailer). For the second season, Blichfeld and Sinclair have added production polish by virtue of a deal with Vimeo, and […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 3, 2015 -
Let’s Kill the Web Series
Recently I conducted a nonscientific survey among friends. I asked, “What do you think when I say ‘Web series?’” The response was overwhelmingly negative. From a Hollywood agent friend, I heard, “Waste of time and money.” From a television writer, I heard, “Someone asking me to help crowdfund their reel.” But the most damning response came from a friend outside of the new media/film/TV industry. Their response was simply “Ugh.” As someone who has made a career making Web series and online videos, that’s disheartening, to say the least. You could have the most brilliant concept for a Web series, […]
by Todd Bieber on Jan 21, 2015 -
High Maintenance Director Katja Blichfeld Offers Advice to Young Filmmakers in First She Does Podcast
Episode One of She Does podcast features the talented Katja Blichfeld. Katja, along with her husband Ben Sinclair, writes, directs and produces High Maintenance, which recently became Vimeo’s first original series. We talked with Katja about her Danish roots, growing up in Southern California, aimlessly wandering through community college, finding a mentor, working with Tina Fey on 30 Rock as a casting director balancing work and life with her husband, and the pressure of being a first-time director. Below we have provided five takeaways from Katja. Trust your childhood instincts “I have a very distinct memory of 6th grade, producing […]
by Elaine Sheldon and Sarah Ginsburg on Jan 14, 2015 -
“There are No Restrictions, Except For Pornographic Material:” Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld on High Maintenance
High Maintenance, the widely reputed, gold standard of web series, began as an experiment of sorts between Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld. When interviewed for our 2013 25 New Faces issue, the pair expressed the foremost need to “get out all these weird stories that have happened over the years.” Now Vimeo’s first venture into original programming, the husband and wife team are pushing the envelope in a whole new way. With episodes nearing a 20-minute runtime and tonal highs and lows as accomplished as any feature film, High Maintenance challenges the very serial format it calls home. As of today, all three episodes from […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Nov 11, 2014 -
Vimeo Launches Original Programming with High Maintenance Web Series
Following in the footsteps of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon et al., Vimeo has boarded the original programming train with its acquisition of 25 New Faces’ Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld’s wonderful web series High Maintenance. Sinclair and Blichfeld began posting episodes of the serial, which stars Sinclair as a pot dealer who services a rotating ensemble, on Vimeo last year. In an email, Blichfeld said the following of their decision to join forces with Vimeo, “We have full creative control (writing, casting, etc.) of our work, which is unique. The episodes can vary in length as well. Basically we get to do High Maintenance […]
by Sarah Salovaara on May 29, 2014 -
Watch: High Maintenance, Episode “Rachel”
The latest episode of High Maintenance, 25 New Faces duo Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld’s popular web series, relies on situational humor rather than one-liners. Featuring Dan Stevens as a stay at home dad cum cross-dressing screenwriter, “Rachel” refers not to the protagonist’s alter ego, but his preferred designer. Enjoy one of the final episodes of Cycle Three above.
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 26, 2014 -
“25 New Faces” Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair Launch Latest High Maintenance Episode, “Matilda”
Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair, from 2013 crop of “25 New Faces,” have just debuted the latest episode of their awesome and very funny web series High Maintenance. “Matilda” deviates a little from the usual rules of the show as Sinclair’s unnamed pot dealer is for the first time the central figure in the story, and the action extends beyond its usual environs of New York City. For regular watchers of the show, there are also some welcome return appearances by notable characters from previous episodes; to say more would only be ruining things…
by Nick Dawson on Feb 5, 2014
