R-JENERATION: Sisters’ online ‘Hillywood Show’ drawing millions of views

Sisters Hilly and Hannah Hindi have 47,961 Twitter followers combined; their Internet hit, "The Hillywood Show," has 65,350 "likes" on Facebook; their "Twilight" parody set to Katy Perry's "Hot n Cold" has more than 6 million views; and their YouTube channel has around 33 million video views and 147,439 subscribers.

Those figures began to mount well after 2006, when the sisters entered a web contest for America Online called "Be a RED Star." Las Vegas resident Hilly Hindi entered her idea, "The Hillywood Show," which places various famous characters in scenes of different movies.

Here's an example: In episode three, Dr. Emmett Brown from "Back to the Future" saves pirate Jack Sparrow from the desert by giving him the time-traveling Delorean.

Hilly placed third, but losing did not hamper her dreams. She liked to see how the different characters would interact. Undeterred, she and her sister Hannah went on to film 15 episodes of "The Hillywood Show."

In every episode, Hilly dons a wig and her pirate costume to become "Pirates of the Caribbean's" Sparrow, who is always the central character. The sisters are more than just fans of Sparrow's gold teeth and braids; they appreciate Johnny Depp's work overall. Characters such as Mort Rainey from "Secret Window," Willy Wonka, Ichabod Crane and Sir James Matthew Borrie from "Finding Neverland" pay a visit to "The Hillywood Show."

The last couple of episodes incorporate the music and characters of "Sweeney Todd." Hannah played Mrs. Lovett, Depp's partner in crime. Hannah said playing a new character is refreshing and Mrs. Lovett was her favorite and most challenging.

Hilly, on the other hand, likes playing recurring characters and prefers roles that do not require her to have facial hair.

"It's fun pretending," Hilly said.

After many characters and 15 episodes, the sisters did not have the viewership they sought. As a last hurrah before shutting down the show, they decided to give it one last shot with something new.

They opted to parody one movie: "Twilight." It was essentially a music video for the box office hit. In the "Hillywood" version, Bella, played by Hilly, sings Perry's "Hot n Cold" to Edward. They uploaded the video on Feb. 11, 2009. The next morning, they had 100,000 views, and the show has since taken off.

" 'Twilight' fans made 'The Hillywood Show' what it is," Hannah said. "They deserve the best."

The sisters never parody something they hate, because "one must have an understanding of the franchise," Hilly said.

The "Hillywood" parodies do not take the satirical or humorous angle like "Saturday Night Live." Instead, they present their own take on a piece of work.

"We never make fun of it," Hilly said.

They have since made parodies for all four of the "Twilight" movies and other hits including "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," "The Runaways" and "The Dark Knight." Most recently, they posted a parody for "The Hunger Games."

Sometimes producing parodies also means altering the lyrics of the songs to fit the movies.

For "Harry Potter," they played with Rebecca Black's infectious "Friday." Instead of "Everybody's Looking Forward to the Weekend," they sang "Everybody's Looking Forward to the Movie, Part Two." The "Potter" parody has 3.6 million views on YouTube.

They also parodied Marilyn Manson's "This is Halloween." The "Hillywood" version was titled "Gagaween." The Hindi sisters are professed Lady Gaga fans. Since they started producing their parodies, they have come to love her more. Four of the nine parodies feature Gaga music.

After posting the "Gagaween" video, Lady Gaga herself tweeted about it: "OK THIS MONSTER VIDEO IS AWESOME. The haus of gaga peed in the bed laughing. This girl looks just like me."

When they are not attracting Lady Gaga's attention and making parodies, the sisters take "Hillywood" on the road. Their 2012 tour schedule consists of "Twilight" conventions, "Vampire Diaries" conventions and a trip to Italy for Night ItaCon.

Both sisters are appreciative of their fan base and do the parodies for their supporters.

"The Hillywood Show," despite its name, is not a one-woman show. Hilly comes up with the ideas, but Hannah makes it happen.

One of the first steps in turning Hilly's ideas into reality is casting them. The sisters try to keep the cast to friends and family.

Hannah is the director, makeup artist, actress and cinematographer. Hilly is the creative force behind the show. She is the leading actress, starring in each video and editing the final version to post on YouTube. Hilly credits her sister with much of the show's success.

While they do have their fights, both understand that the show must go on.

"We are always going to be there for each other," Hilly said.

"We need each other," Hannah added.

In five years, Hannah hopes that "The Hillywood Show" will be on a TV network sort of like an "SNL" for teens. Regardless, she wants to be involved in the industry. Hilly is open to a variety of options. She plans on releasing a single in the next couple of months.

"I never want to say we didn't try," Hilly said.