HBO Acquires Short Film Shot Entirely in Second Life

I've never entered the virtual online universe known as Second Life myself, but it's been gaining popularity and entering mainstream awareness more and more. (Weblogs, Inc. even has a blog devoted to it, called Second Life Insider.) Late last year, the Sundance Channel set up Sundance Island in the virtual environment to promote and show films; one of the first films screened within Second Life was the indie feature Four Eyed Monsters. Now HBO has announced a deal to buy the distribution rights for a documentary shot in the world of Second Life.

Hollywood Reporter says that the 35-minute film is called Molotov's Dispatches in Search of the Creator: A Second Life Odyssey, and it's a tour through Second Life, hosted by an online avatar known as Molotov Alva. Wired's article on the sale reports a different title for the film: My Second Life: The Video Diaries of Molotov Alva, and notes that HBO is actually planning seven episodes total in a My Second Life series. The title Wired references is the one used on the Molotov Alva website. Whatever the short doc is called, its fate will be something to watch -- HBO says it plans to submit the film for Academy Award consideration in the animated short category.

Will Academy members take it seriously? Will HBO viewers show a significant interest in the film? The impact of Second Life on Hollywood -- and vice versa -- could be fascinating. In the meantime, you can watch the short film in question on the Molotov Alva website. HBO plans to air the series in 2008.