So I’m thoroughly digging on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog — the surreal webisodic series by Joss Whedon — and I’m thinking that Hollywood’s foray into online video might not be a bad thing…

Granted, this is Whedon at his unhindered finest: he created Dr. Horrible during the writer’s strike, so he didn’t have studio execs sniveling over his shoulder. In addition, the series boasts Hollywood-caliber production values and killer talent (Neil Patrick Harris can really carry a tune while setting an Olympic record for facial expressions).

So I do celebrate the fact that the Web has opened doors for independent artists and producers like myself, liberating us from the evil villain GAMO (Gargantuan American Media Oligopoly). But as an entertainment junkie, I’m also saying, “keep it coming, Hollywood, keep it coming!” I like what the big guys produce when they’re not doing the deed for the sake of ratings or box office…

That same day, I get an email from a friend announcing that he’s developing a website for Charlize Theron. My friend is also a filmmaker, so I ask him if he’ll pitch her on doing a webisodic series. My friend asks why she would want to do that: she already has fame and fortune and more film offers than she can possibly handle. Why would she bother with a relatively low-budget, unproven medium?

Indeed, why do any of them do it? I don’t know how much Neil Patrick Harris earned for Dr. Horrible, or how much Rosario Dawson (pictured) is getting paid for Gemini Division (another recent webisodic series, this one backed by NBC), but I’m surmising that it’s not about the money. At least, not entirely.

Although the Screen Actors Guild is splintering into fratricidal pieces over how much actors should get paid for online productions, so far there hasn’t been a single online “hit” worth fighting over. All of YouTube, for example, will make an estimated $200 million this year — not chump change, but roughly what the top summer flicks make in about three months (or, in the case of The Dark Night, about three minutes).

Even the YouTubers aren’t buying mansions with their share. I recently observed a discussion featuring some YouTube stars — or cewebrities — including former Rocketboom host Amanda Congdon, French Maid TV producer Tim Sweet, and Hayden Black of Goodnight Burbank and Abigail’s X-Rated Teen Diary. I’m impressed by their accomplishments to date — applause, applause, applause — but none of them is yet making a fat living online.

So why would Hollywood stars bother to plunge headfirst into such shallow waters? And why should others follow? Oh let me enumerate the reasons…

1. Self-Promotion: Everyone can always use a bigger fan base. Just ask Eddie Murphy. The exposure helps promote the “true” products: impending movie or TV launches — for example, Joss Whedon has a new series, Dollhouse, coming to network TV soon. In addition, if a star has her own clothing line, fragrance, or even a favorite charity, she can use the series to promote them.

2. Control: The Internet = no studio interference. A director can savor that rare prize: 100% control over the script, casting, etc. The actors have the opportunity do things that they’ve always dreamed of, but that the studios haven’t yet allowed them to do, like write or direct. Writing or directing an online hit will give them more clout back at the ranch.

3. Creativity: In addition to lack of studio interference, there’s no FCC or MPAA running around with whips and muzzles. More importantly, not having to worry about ratings or box office receipts allows imaginations to run amok and flout Hollywood conventions. Just look at HBO’s groundbreaking fare and, of course, Dr. Horrible.

4. Toehold: While there may not be a lot of wealth in webisodes right now, everyone’s talking about the Internet as the future of filmic entertainment. So many Hollywood players want to be hailed as “pioneers” — or they want to create a buzz before everyone else jumps into the pool.

5. And, yes, money: I spent $5 to download Dr. Horrible from iTunes because I hate watching long streams. Would I spend money to download my other favorite series, Tiki Bar TV? Uh, no. I’ll stream that. And that’s because I irrationally equate a celebrity-driven Hollywood production as worth spending money on. And I’m not alone in my illogic: Dr. Horrible was reportedly the #1 downloaded TV season on iTunes for five weeks in a row. In addition to consumer purchases, the series also garnered sponsorship from the likes of Dove and Best Buy. The total revenue might be pocket change for a star, but it pays for the production or can be donated to charity.

So, alas, my fellow independent producers, the all-too-brief era when user-generated videos ruled the web has ended. Hollywood has arrived. Yes, there will still be millions of views of our free work posted on YouTube, but Hollywood has raised the ante — and is getting paid for it. To compete, we’ll need to pump up our production values and sharpen our creativity to a lethal edge. We might even need to get (shudder) agents. And that’s a pretty horrible thought.

Update 5/6/9: As I predicted, the video sharing sites are fleeing from UGC and embracing professional content in a big way. Metacafe, for example, just kicked its indie producers to the curb by terminating its Producer Rewards program.