网络改变演艺圈走红路线图

    两年前，喜剧演员乔伊•迪亚兹可一点也笑不出来。这位凭借在NBC电视台的肥皂剧《我叫厄尔》（My Name is Earl）和亚当•桑德勒的电影《最长的一码》（The Longest Yard）中的龙套角色而成名的演员时年已经53岁，却沦落到为年轻人暖场的地步，影视方面也不见起色，正在考虑职业转型。

    但在网上发布一个时长一小时的专题作品《你和牧师，谁有问题》（It's Either You or the Priest）之后，他已经枯木逢春，星途一片坦荡。卡通频道（Cartoon Network）也注意到他，邀请他担任《儿童医院》（Children's Hospital）的经常角色。其它影视角色也随之而来，包括《愤怒的公牛》的续集（Raging Bull II）。5月份，他担纲的3城市喜剧巡回演出门票也一售而空。

    从家喻户晓的大牌到初出茅庐的新秀，越来越多的独角滑稽秀演员开始利用网络来扩大观众群，并从销售中分得更大一杯羹。迪亚兹就是他们其中的一员。虽然喜剧小品数年前就已经在网上掀起热潮，比如《慵懒星期天》（Lazy Sunday）和其它数码短片，但独角滑稽秀演员如今才开始跟上潮流，在网上直接销售其作品。就这样，他们颠覆了观众追捧演艺名人和演员成名的方式。

    自打电视时代以来，独角滑稽秀演员的成名之路一直就是漫长而崎岖的：在赢得付费演出机会前，你得在籍籍无名的酒吧摸爬滚打，然后为杰•雷诺或者大卫•莱特曼的夜场秀暖场，而极少有人能达到滑稽秀演员的最高境界：在HBO之类的电视网安排黄金时段的专题节目。那时，你就会得到6位数的定金，然后是DVD销售，甚至iTunes下载的版税。

    现在这条路已经发生了变化，而且不仅仅是对初创演艺圈的新秀而言。去年12月份，知名喜剧演员Louis C.K.绕开传统电视网，在其个人网站发布最新专题节目《灯塔剧院现场秀》（Live at the Beacon Theater），每次下载收费5美元。

    彼时，C.K称那只是“一次有趣的尝试”，目的是为了让更多粉丝能够欣赏到自己的才艺。他们可以下载节目，随时观看，而不像在喜剧中心（Comedy Central）那样的电视网上只有一次欣赏机会。

    这次尝试空前成功。仅仅两个月之内，C.K实现22万次下载，收入超过100万美元，扣除25万的制作费用，净利润高达75万美元。（此外，他在纽约的现场演出售票收入并未披露。）本周，他宣布将通过个人网站直接发售39个城市的巡回演出门票，完全把售票公司Ticketmaster晾在了一边。

    另一位滑稽秀明星吉姆•加菲根也在网上招徕观众。4月份，加菲根的新专题《宇宙先生》（Mr. Universe）在其个人网站初次亮相，而不是将放映权出售给收费电视网HBO或Showtime。加菲根不愿透露销售额，但是宣称两个月内已经超过传统电视网合同的收入。他还向在线视频网站网飞 (Netflix) 出售了放映权，观众可以在线播放。

    Two years ago, comedian Joey Diaz had little to laugh about. The then 53-year-old Diaz was opening for younger comedians, struggling to land acting gigs, and considering a career switch.

    But after releasing his work online, Diaz, a comic best known for bit roles in NBC's "My Name is Earl" and the Adam Sandler film "The Longest Yard," has revitalized his career. Soon after uploading his hour-long special "It's Either You or the Priest" online, Diaz attracted the attention of the Cartoon Network, which cast him as a recurring character on "Children's Hospital." Other TV and film roles followed, including a part in "Raging Bull II." In May he headlined a sold-out, three-city comedy tour.

    Diaz is part of a growing circle of stand-up comedians—from household names to people just starting out -- who are using the web to build their audiences and claim a bigger slice of sales. While sketch comedy found the web years ago -- think "Lazy Sunday" and other digital shorts -- stand-up comedians are catching on, moving their bits online and selling directly to viewers. In the process, they're upending the way that audiences find talent, and stand-ups become stars.

    Since the earliest days of television, stand-up comedians have weathered a long and often painful road to stardom: performing for free in obscure clubs, before earning paid gigs, then opening for Leno or Letterman, and in the rarest of cases, reaching the holy grail of stand-up success: a prime-time special on a network like HBO. They'd earn a six-figure advance for the show, followed by royalties from DVD sales and eventually, iTunes downloads.

    But today that path is changing, and not just for comedians trying to break in to the business. Last December, comedian Louis C.K. bypassed traditional networks and released his special, "Live at the Beacon Theater," on his personal website, charging $5 per download.

    At the time, C.K called his decision "an interesting experiment" that allowed more fans to see his shtick. They could download and watch the special whenever they wanted, rather than view it once on a network like Comedy Central.

    But the experiment worked— big time. In two months C.K. brought in over $1 million online—the equivalent of 220,000 downloads— netting $750,000 on a show that cost $250,000 to produce. (He also earned an undisclosed payout in ticket sales for the live event in New York.) This week he announced that he's selling tickets to his upcoming, 39-city tour directly through his website, cutting out Ticketmaster in the process.

    Jim Gaffigan, another stand-up star, is also targeting his audience online. In April Gaffigan debuted his hour-long special, "Mr. Universe," on his website, rather than sell the broadcast rights to HBO or Showtime. Gaffigan won't disclose sales, but says that in two months he's already out-earned what we would have made from a traditional network TV contract. He also sold the broadcast rights to Netflix (NFLX), which allows viewers to stream the show online.