He's a star
but only after hours
The Scoop
By Mary Beth Sammons
December 18, 2005
Recent University of Chicago graduate Joe Hanson spends his weekdays as a neophyte copywriter cranking out jingles at media giant Leo Burnett USA.
But his creativity swings into overtime after hours, when the 22-year-old's budding TV career has him appearing in a hilarious series of short clips: visiting a dominatrix, a tattoo parlor and entering a freestyle rap battle competition in Wicker Park for Al Gore's new cable network, Current TV. Hanson made his "Joe Gets . . . " series of six films in collaboration with his U. of C. buddy Hassan Ali.
Targeted for the iPod generation, 18- to 34-year-olds, Hanson's series won first prize nationally in Current's debut short-film competition. The prize: a day on the set with Dave Meyers, a director who has done music videos for artists such as Mick Jagger, No Doubt, Outkast and Jay-Z.
Now, with his Web site the most popular hit on the satellite network's online studio (receiving close to 10,000 hits to view his collection), Hanson's star is rising. Reality TV fans also will recognize Hanson, whose claim to fame was appearing last season on the WB's "Beauty and the Geek."
At U. of C. he made a bunch of short films that ranged from a documentary about Alan Keyes fans to a parody that mixed "Requiem for a Dream" with "Lord of the Rings." His senior year, he skipped/ditched class to be on the WB show, which he says "made me very popular with girls all the way from the age of 12 to the age of, well, 14."
His next film adventure: "Bikram yoga, or I might try being a male stripper," he said. "Honestly, my social life is very conservative."
Visit Hanson at Current at www.current.tv/studio/people/binowhite.
Source: Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/