DC Shorts Film Festival

Of all the gin joints in all the world.

By Taylor on February 18, 2008 10:09 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I am so flippin' happy the writer's strike has ended, you guys have no idea. I was going through serious TV withdrawl at this point. Where's my Barney Stinson and his legen - wait for it - dary lines? What would I do without Dr. Greg House and his Amazing Diagnoses of Magical Wonder?

Wait - this is a film blog, right?

Okay, so I have a TV problem. But I do realize that the strike had an adverse effect on the film industry. I was sad to see Angels and Demons pushed back (the better of two tales of High Adventure and Heresy). And Johnny D's new movie, whatever it's called. But, unlike with TV, the effects of the strike on film won't be seen for a year or two yet. Still, it gives me something to worry about.

Case in point: Movies preview: 8 awaited titles for the 2008 viewing season. That's just this year's pre-strike material. Yikes. Mind you, I love a good blockbuster, but it seems like the trilogies and series really dried up in 2007. Some in there I definitely don't mind. I had never heard of Iron Man (don't blame me, I'm a girly girl who wears pink!) until I saw the trailer, but Robert Downey Jr. being a snarky and cynical yet utterly badass superhero? Sign me up! Speed Racer, besides having a sweet cast and dazzling visuals, leaves me cold. I do have a deep, deep love for Edward Norton, though. I would marry the man. So I'm looking forward to his interpretation of The Incredible Hulk, but only because it's Ed. My man. I'm really looking forward to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but because I love the books, not the movies. Doesn't count!

But as far as the big eight on that list go, I'm only really looking forward to two of them, and I hope you know which ones they are: The Dark Knight and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But then again, who isn't? Again, more movies filled with bad-assery all around. Because I was brought up by a Trekkie, and I'm addicted to LOST, I am looking forward to Star Trek, but it's just been pushed back to 2009. So again, doesn't count. And as much as I love Mamma Mia, I really don't want to see Meryl Streep hit on Colin Firth. He's mine! Him and Eddie Norton.

I'm so picky, I know! And I'm turning into a snob more and more every single day. And working at the DC Shorts Film Festival isn't exactly helping. So many of the entries that are coming in are so good - and I've just read the summaries! More and more I'm understanding the art of the short film - how it accomplishes in 20 minutes (or less!) what a feature-length film does. A short film has to not only tell a full story, but it has to have developed characters that you care about. Let me tell you, this is hard. A lot of these films are less than 10 minutes long - that's 10 minutes to get you to care about a person. I'm taking a screenwriting class, and let me tell you, I don't think I can do it! And my "short film" is 40-pages long, not five! So applaud these people, because they do good stuff. And, fun fact (let's have fun with them, people!): Wes Anderson got his start on the short film circuit. And Rushmore was awesome. So there.

Okay! Your image of the week:

And throw me a bone here, people. Take a guess, have fun! I made it easy.