From the guys who brought you search, here’s the “Virgin Airlines” pre-flight animatic on Google TV - yes, their official two minute introductory video. This hardware/software jawdropper potentially open sources your TV, freeing you from multi-devices and esoteric program guides.

Plus, it kills the Apple TV and puts a general hurt on all set-top devices including indie notables like Boxee. I think Google has figured out TV - separate from their early Dishnet advertising beginnings - now to see what the ad ratios and overlays look like on your HD tv (those screenshots are thankfully not animated…yet).  

via Is Hollywood always in panic mode? Ari Emanuel’s history lesson | The Big Picture | Los Angeles Times

[Ari Emanuel slipped this 1970 Life magazine to his agents recently. Per Patrick Goldstein:] Don’t overreact to the current studio cost-cutting frenzy. As this story makes all too clear, the more things change, the more things stay the same. Studios always think they can make the movie business into a more rational enterprise, but that’s a bean-counter fantasy. Making movies will always require a leap of faith.

Just as today’s studio chiefs think that they can now make “Transformers” and “Hangover”-style hits without movie stars, Bluhdorn was convinced that high-priced talent was superfluous. “You get from these big stars a document of conditions of how many hours they’ll work, what they’ll do and won’t do…. Well, who needs them? With today’s young audiences, names won’t sell a picture anymore. A great script and a devoted director — that’s what makes things happen. Substitute “special effects” for ”script” and you could easily slip those words into any of today’s studio bosses’ mouths.

via YouTube’s Content Head Jordan Hoffner Leaving To Join Ben Silverman’s New Venture | paidContent.

Jordan Hoffner, the head of content partnerships for YouTube, is leaving the company, and joining Ben Silverman’s new content venture at IAC (NSDQ: IACI), we have learned. The move from YouTube was announced internally today. This is the second senior digital exec to join Silverman’s venture, after we first reported on Drew Buckley also joining it last month.

via But Who’ll Break Up The Fistfights? – Deadline.com.

James Murdoch, Howard Stringer, Les Moonves, David Zaslav, and, interestingly, Comcast’s Brian Roberts and GE’s Jeff Immelt back to back, will be speaking at the annual hush-hush Quadrangle confab being held Wednesday and Thursday in NYC. [...] Speakers — Emilio Azcárraga, Grupo Televisa; Dennis Crowley, Foursquare; Barry Diller, Iac; Brian Dunn, Best Buy; Charles Forman & Dan Porter, Omgpop; Reed Hastings, Netflix; Reid Hoffman, Linkedin. More after the jump…  

Finally, a JibJab-esque (”This Land is Your Land”) video on the credit crunch. As a thesis project, the practicality and enjoyment factor created by Jonathan Jarvis’ innovative little short is well worth publication (outside of academia). Boing Boing does a pretty fair job, via its comments, in analysis how correct the video is. As far as PSAs - public service announcements - there has to be some model in original programming online and off that will support artists reinterpreting modern society. Last year’s great example was GirlEffect.org, funded within the $100M that Nike Foundation and Warren Buffett put together. Who are the Sinclair Lewis’ of modern video exploration+creative visualization today?

Jeff Jarvis’ book came out this past week - yes, we recommend buying it immediately as we did - and then BusinessWeek does a related cover story. Most be a good week for Jarvis, whose BuzzMachine blog and regular Davos’ accolades help him challenge businesses to iterate more openly and innovate their practices. Per Chris Anderson (of the Long Tail): “Google is not just a company, it is an entirely new way of thinking about understanding who we are and what we want.” But where does Google go next?