Brett Erlich is the co-host of The Rotten Tomatoes Show, as well as a writer, co-host and associate producer for InfoMania. Both shows are on Current TV and you need to watch them if you haven’t already. Take a second, stop watching CNN or MTV and go watch some Current.

I had an awesome time talking to Brett on The Social Nerdia Show! and you can listen to it below, on blogtalkradio, or as a downloadable/five-star-reviewable/subscribable podcast on iTunes).

I’ve been a fan of Current for a while now. With shows like Vanguard and Super News!, it’s as if Current knows what I want to watch. So when I heard that The Rotten Tomatoes Show (based on rottentomatoes.com) was coming to my television via Current, I got very excited. With hosts like Brett Erlich and Ellen Fox, as well as a ton of clever viewer-created movie reviews, the show has become a part of Thursday nights for me.

Brett told me about how the show got started, how they select the user-generated reviews, and how much he enjoys working at Current. The show is a great example of what you can do by combining television and the web. Part of its success is that they are crowdsourcing some of the best material to movie fans and critics sitting in their living rooms.  Brett explained that it’s good that the show is more than just the opinion of the hosts and that “the more people we have contributing opinons, the better the show gets.”

So many people becoming film critics and spreading the word like a virus has definitely made it a bit challenging for movie studios. They can no longer simply depend on great marketing and polished trailers. For a movie to succeed, it might actually have to be good these days. Word of mouth has gone from casual conversation at a dinner party to millions of random people sharing thoughts in the internets. Sure, some movies like Snakes on a Plane bomb even with great online buzz, but I doubt District 9 would be the movie it is if it had come out 10 years ago.  (more…)

In this 8th edition of Random Tuesdays with Summer Rose, I go to one of the coolest cities on Earth. Or at least just one of the coolest cities that I can drive to.  All I can say to you is that it is weird, and that weird is good and that weird must be kept weird. So there.

Oh, by the way, if you like the video (or don’t), please vote for the “Here Come All the Latino Bloggers” panel that’s up for consideration at SXSW Interactive 2010. The internets depend on your vote!

Don’t forget to check in next Tuesday because I might have a back-to-school special. Maybe.