Shorts »
'The Piper' Plays a Tune to the Big Screen
Filed under: Horror, Independent, Deals, Shorts, Newsstand, Comic/Superhero/Geek
Dark and gritty have become the keywords for comic-based movies, but it's not a trend that's confined to the big screen. A lot of comics are saving studios the trouble, and spinning their own gloomy version of a popular tale, and Hollywood is responding by optioning them all up. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the latest to sign on the dotted line is Zenescope, who will be helping to bring The Piper to the big screen.The Piper is a four-issue series by Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco, and is part of Zenescope's Grimm Fairy Tales line that puts a lot of emphasis on the grim. (That's not hard given most original fairy tales.) Piper takes the story of the Pied Piper of Hamlin, and turns him into a bogeyman that is revived by high school student Sean. Tormented by bullies, Sean seeks someone to help him exact revenge. But if you've seen any film where a figure is revived by the Book of the Lost, you know things will get a lot bloodier than anyone imagined. You can check out the first few pages online. As usual with Zenescope's books, the art is pretty special.
Persistant Entertainment has the project open to writers, so if you're a screenwriter who is feeling a little bloodthirsty, you can give it a shot. The rest of us will have to wait to see if it comes together, and if it's a strong enough tune to carry us into the theater.
Review: New York, I Love You
Filed under: Romance, New Releases, Theatrical Reviews, Shorts
Armed with a collection of the world's notable directors, Paris je t'aime hit screens with a good deal of impact and buzz. It was to be the first piece in producer Emmanuel Benbihy's "Cities of Love," a collection of films detailing romance and metropolitan life across the globe, a series planning to travel to the likes of New York, Rio, Shanghai, Jerusalem, and Mumbai.
Three years later, the second installment is finally upon us with New York, I Love You. With only minor changes, the film continues the tradition of joining many internationally diverse filmmakers for the journey through a popular city, but the buzz has diminished. The film is slowly making its way across screens in the U.S., and will break into Canada come November 27. But how could one of Hollywood's most beloved cities find its ode so woefully under the radar? It's not an easy question to answer because while New York, I Love You might be flawed, it's also sweet, engaging, and nicely representative of that small island cluttered with millions of people.
What Happened Once Carl's House Took Off In 'Up'?
Filed under: Animation, Comedy, Disney, Shorts, Family Films, Newsstand, Movie Marketing, Trailers and Clips
In all of your viewings of Up, did you ever wonder what happened to the Shady Oaks employees who helplessly watched as Carl floated up, up, and away? Well, wonder no more. Pixar wrote and animated a little short called George and AJ that answers all your questions, and then some. Watch carefully when Carl's house soars over their heads -- you'll see an angle that reveals just where one particular character was hanging on for dear life.
What's really cute about this short is that it isn't just about George and AJ, but what the entire city thought of Carl's flying house. Up never stopped and went back to North America to see if anyone noticed his unusual method of flight (and very wisely, too), but this spin-off deals with some of the ramifications. It's funny and moving, and makes for a bittersweet commentary on just how we deal with the elderly members of our society.
Now, if we can just get a spin-off that tells what Russell's mother thought about her son's prolonged absence. Somehow, I don't think any cell phone he may have had on him could get good reception at Paradise Falls ....
The short is embedded below the jump, and it's just the thing to watch on a dreary Monday. Enjoy!
Watch This: Before 'The Box' There Was ... 'Black Button'
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Shorts, Trailers and Clips
.jpg)
It's always hard to believe it when filmmakers say they had never seen or heard of another, similar film when they made theirs. Such is the case with Black Button, a 7-minute short from some aspiring Australians made for a mere $200 featuring a well dressed man who offers a person $10,000,000 if he'll simply press a button, killing someone else in the process.
Dark Heart Productions, the makers of Black Button, claim to have no knowledge of Richard Matheson's Button, Button, the Twilight Zone episode that inspired The Box, and in this particular case I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Their short has a very different ending and moral core than either incarnation of Matheson's story; and unlike The Box, at only a handful of minutes, Black Button doesn't have nearly enough time to spread itself too thin.
Watch the short film over at SciFi Squad, then let us know which one you liked better: Black Button or The Box?
Have You Watched the Lynchian 'Interview Project' Yet?
Filed under: Documentary, Shorts, DIY/Filmmaking
Years ago, the Internet was an accessible haven for meeting people across the world -- for learning about new cultures and expanding horizons without leaving your desk. With the commercialization of this space over the years, however, that push has been forgotten. But the new project from David Lynch's son Austin and a friend named Jason S. is changing that, just a little.
If you've heard about the Interview Project already but haven't gone, I implore you to head over right now and check it out. The pair traveled across the U.S. for 70 days, interviewing random people they came across, young and old, both men and women. The collection of footage was then edited, and gets released every few days over at davidlynch.com. Lynch's vision definitely runs in the family. It doesn't hold the eeriness associated with much of the director's work, but it has the same eye for humanity (think mini bits of The Straight Story).
What I love most about the collection is how cinematic each piece is, even when utterly simple or mundane. It goes to show how great any documentary can be with just a little more attention given to art and the subject. (Which, of course, also makes me demand more from homegrown projects.) It's like a little spotlight on the random people we pass on a daily basis without thinking about twice -- this swarm of stories and quirks we're close to but blind to -- that's captured and projected onto a canvas.
What do you think of Interview Project?
AFI Fest: See 'Dr. Parnassus,' 'Bad Lieutenant' and More - For Free!
Filed under: Independent, Shorts, Distribution, Exhibition, Newsstand, Other Festivals
When it comes to film festivals, cinephiles have a lot to choose from. But if you're in Los Angeles from October 30 – November 7, there's only one film festival that will have The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, The Road, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Youth in Revolt, A Single Man, and tons more buzzed-about indie, foreign, and genre gems – ALL FOR FREE. That's right, folks: AFI Fest is giving free admission for every single one of their films this year, so how can you possibly resist?
As Peter Martin wrote back in May, AFI's groundbreaking move to free ticketing is a daring experiment. (Tickets can be reserved online and via phone starting October 16.) I suppose the rationale is that if the cost of a ticket precludes film goers from attending, why not make it even easier to participate? One look at AFI's line-up, released yesterday, pretty much makes the decision for you.
Get the full list of (FREE! ) AFI Fest screenings after the jump.
Watch This: Jim Henson's 'Time Piece'
Filed under: Shorts, Trailers and Clips
I miss Jim Henson.
Yeah, I miss the world of puppetry he became famous for, how could I not? But there's something I am missing a whole lot more. I miss the man and creator I never knew, the one I wish could have balanced the Muppets and Sesame Street with his previous adult fare. See, back in 1965, he wrote, directed, and starred in a short film called Time Piece. Let me rephrase that -- the awesome short called Time Piece that earned him an Oscar nomination.
A wild, surreal look at the philosophy of time, the film starts with Henson in a hospital as a doctor tries to listen to his irregularly beating heart. Henson taps his fingers, he coughs, and soon he's not an invalid. Visually and aurally set to the same beat, Henson's Man is briskly taken through a number of settings and scenarios. I'm talking everything from reenacting Tarzan's epic, vine-swinging cry to a lascivious dance scene that mixes dancing chickens, nipple tassels, and the champagne pop of sexual innuendo. And it's all from the mind of Jim Henson.
Time Piece has got a '60s groove, and while its absolutely puppet-free, some visuals definitely have that early '80s PBS feel. And like I haven't gushed enough, when all is said and done, Henson wraps it up with an ending credits sequence that's just plain excellent. I know he loved those puppets. But oh, how I wish he made more films like this. Watch it after the jump.
Guy Maddin Talks Night Mayors, Filmmaking, and Sissy Boys
Filed under: Shorts, Interviews, Toronto International Film Festival
Guy Maddin is not your everyday director. Over the last twenty years, he's made a name for himself with his beautifully hazy black and white shorts and features, from the docufantasia wonder of My Winnipeg to the hops-filled thrills of Isabella Rossellini and The Saddest Music in the World. These projects have inspired many to call him the Canadian David Lynch, but while the two create rich fantasies for their films to thrive in, Maddin's always have a clear-cut narrative. The path might be surreal, strange, and utterly fantastical, but it's also easily understandable. With his latest, Night Mayor, Maddin turned an ode for the NFB's 70th anniversary into the tale of an immigrant who harnesses the power of the aurora borealis to help teach Canadians their national identity.
During TIFF, Cinematical had a chance to talk to the filmmaker about how Night Mayor came to be, Maddin's cinematic process, the magic of collaboration, and his next project (a choose-your-own adventure!). On top of more timely chatter, Guy also took a moment to share the story behind Sissy Boy Slap Party (my favorite guilty pleasure), and how a moment of spite turned into a memorable short.
Watch '28 Days Later' in One Minute, in One Take
Filed under: Action, Drama, Horror, Shorts, Fandom, DIY/Filmmaking
Sometimes making your way through an entire major motion picture can be so very trying. Or maybe all you really want is a refresher on how someone like Forrest Gump went from zero to hero over the course of a two hour-plus feature film. Enter the "One Minute" film, as perfected by a group of UK film students who've amassed a growing fan following on YouTube. Their latest offering: "28 Days Later in One Minute, in One Take." Watch it after the jump – it'll only take 60 seconds of your life!
It all started last spring, when a group of British film students at the University of York shot a condensed (and dare I say it? More watchable) version of Forrest Gump for a one-minute film competition. When "Forrest Gump in One Minute, in One Take" blew up on YouTube, the group – comprised of members of the campus film making society -- discovered there might be something to this 60-second movie business. A few months later "Kill Bill Parts 1 & 2 in One Minute" followed, a virtuoso piece of carefully plotted choreography that manages to tell the entirety of Quentin Tarantino's two-flick vengeance tale in much, much less time.
After the jump, watch "28 Days Later in One Minute, in One Take."
TIFF Shorts Roundup: From Night Mayors to Runaways
Filed under: Festival Reports, Shorts, Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto might have its own short film extravaganza -- the Worldwide Short Film Festival -- a week rife with pithy pieces of cinema. But every year, just a few months later, there's a second serving at TIFF with the collection Short Cuts Canada.
This year, the NFB (National Film Board of Canada) had a bunch of shorts in the mix, and when I got a handful in the mail, it was like an Oscar-led explosion. Talent abounds in these films. That's not entirely surprising considering the fact that we've got the latest from Oscar-winner Chris Landreth and Oscar-nominee Cordell Barker, plus a slew of other notable talent. Talent, I must say, that's topped with Night Mayor, the short the NFB commissioned Guy Maddin to do as part of the board's 70th anniversary.
Read on for the details of Night Mayor, Vive the Rose, The Spine, and Runaway.
Is Taylor Lautner Our Next Superhero?
100 Greatest Films Beyond the Canon
'Entourage' Movie in the Works?
Spielberg Backs Out of 'Harvey'
Discuss: Should Gay Actors Stay in the Closet?
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
