Illeanarama "Supermarket of the Stars"

After seeing this clip on YouTube most viewed list, I got giddy with anticipation for a celebrity-ridden web series. This first “episode” stars Illeana Douglas, an actress with the unique face that I have seen in many shows and movies but can’t quite place where or when.

Setting the scene for more episodes to come, the series follows actress Illeana Douglas' fictional adventures after she retires from showbiz to work at the local supermarket.

An A-list web series? It couldn't be true -- with all the red tape and price tags, such an endeavor would be hard to pull off on the web. So I dug a little deeper into this gem of a comedy show.

Turns out, Illeanarama is a short film that screened in Tribeca in 2004 and at Savannah Film festival this fall. Directed by Illeana Douglas herself, the short stars Jeff Goldblum, Jerry Mathers, Ed Begley Jr, and Justine Bateman. It was also rumored late last year that a series of Illeanarama was slated for a run on E!

So how did it end up on the Tube? With a series that may or may not exist and no conglomerate connected to the project, it seems that Illeanarama was plopped on YouTube as a way to promote another video hosting site. Uploaded to the user name Zeitbyte and adorned with graphic from the site, the first “episode” of Illeanorama sends traffic to the hosting site to find out more about the show.

According to their website, Zeitbyte offers a full range of services and solutions for Internet video and audio, from source to stream. They combine “a filmmaker's eye for quality with the latest in technology know-how to produce high-caliber video streams in easily distributed files and at affordable prices.”

So basically, there is no “new” series, is there? My guess is the site acquired the 22 minute short and just chopped the into 3-5 minute clips. And as a way to grab the attention of the quality-content savvy consumer, Zeitbyte is running the comedy on YouTube under false assumptions. You are found out Zeitbyte, way to build us up with great content just to cut us down!