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Eat My April Fools' Shorts: Little Films That Fool You Bigtime

By Christopher Campbell (Subscribe to Christopher Campbell's posts), Posted Apr 1st 2011 5:00PM
Filed under: Columns, Cinematical


Welcome to a special edition of the bi-weekly Eat My Shorts column, shorter than usual and themed to April Fools' Day. I thought it appropriate to write on short films today because for a long time, to me, the format was synonymous with twist endings. I used to think most shorts were basically just simple gags or practical jokes adapted to the screen.

That's the way it seemed when I was in film school, anyway, with everyone's first-ever assignment to make a five-minute silent work, which tended to involve a humorous setup followed by a visual punchline. Basically something as slapstick-simple as the Lumiere's pioneering 'L'arroseur arrosé' (aka 'The Sprinkler Sprinkled'), which you can watch after the jump.
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Ashton Kutcher and Justin Bieber to Team Up in New Comedy

By Christopher Campbell (Subscribe to Christopher Campbell's posts), Posted Mar 31st 2011 11:40AM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical, Celebrity Gossip


What will Justin Bieber be like at 30? Many reportedly think he'll be in rehab by then, but those are some depressingly cynical Americans. Hollywood sees him more as evolving into the Ashton Kutcher type, at least in terms of his appearance and who could play him at twice his present age. According to the L.A. Times, the pop star and the comedic actor are expected to collaborate for the non-musical movie 'What Would Kenny Do?' about a guy who travels in time to guide his awkward 17-year-old self through high school.

Sounds kind of like '17 Again' meets 'Hitch' meets elements of 'Back to the Future,' but will it have the same appeal for Bieber fans that his recent (underrated) documentary 'Never Say Never' had if it's only going to showcase his acting rather than his singing and slow-motion hair-swishing? That doc is currently the highest-grossing concert film of all time, by the way, and domestically took in about the same as Kutcher's latest, 'No Strings Attached.' Also, due to Bieber's busy schedule, 'Kenny' won't go before cameras for another year. Will Bieber Fever be cured by then?
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Doc Talk: What's the Most Important Ethical Concern for Documentary Today?

By Christopher Campbell (Subscribe to Christopher Campbell's posts), Posted Mar 30th 2011 9:30PM
Filed under: Documentaries, Columns, Cinematical


What is the biggest ethical concern for documentary today? Yes, it's a BIG question. But it's worth trying to answer even if it's not easy to do so. Ethics are such a big deal in documentary discourse, probably the toughest topic to wrap our heads around, or come to many conclusions about. Panels and lectures on documentary ethics can be found at nearly every film festival and conference, and sometimes they occur at more random times and places, too. And none of these discussions ever finish with definite resolutions.

Last week I attended one of these irregular events, one hosted by The New York Film/Video Council and titled "Crossing the Line? A conversation on ethics and documentary film." P.O.V.'s Yance Ford moderated the talk, which featured filmmakers Albert Maysles ('Grey Gardens'), Tia Lessin ('Trouble the Water'), Stephanie Wang-Breal ('I Love You, Mommy') and Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman ('Catfish') talking about dilemmas involving underage subjects, hidden cameras and representations of character.
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'Tron 3' Viral Video Teases Potential Villain in Next Film

By Christopher Campbell (Subscribe to Christopher Campbell's posts), Posted Mar 29th 2011 1:10PM
Filed under: DVDs, Movie News, Video, Cinematical


If you were one of those people watching 'TRON: Legacy' wondering what Cillian Murphy was doing there in such a minor, uncredited role, we're getting closer to an official answer. Speculators presumed immediately that Murphy, who appears early on during the ENCOM boardroom scene but is never brought back into the story, was holding his place for 'TRON 3,' for which he'd be the villain.

This makes sense given that he's named as Edward Dillinger, making him the son of the original 'TRON' villain of the same name (played by David Warner), and of course Murphy is often a bad guy these days. Now we get the next hint that Murphy's Junior Dillinger will be back for the next sequel: an Easter egg on the 'TRON: Legacy' Blu-ray (out next Tuesday). The following video features a conversation between the two Dillingers, including a vocal reprisal from Warner:
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'Winnie the Pooh' Veteran Now Working on New Mickey Mouse Movie

By Christopher Campbell (Subscribe to Christopher Campbell's posts), Posted Mar 25th 2011 4:00PM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical


Isn't it strange that Mickey Mouse has never really had his own animated feature? We don't call it the Mouse House for nothing. Mickey's the king of the Disney cartoon characters, yet he's still only been the star of shorts. Goofy and Uncle Scrooge have had their own long-form theatrical endeavors, so why not the little guy we most associate with the studio? Well, there's a chance of him finally being honored with a feature-length movie, if Disney bites.

Longtime Disney animator Burny Mattinson, who received an Oscar nomination for directing 1984's 'Mickey's Christmas Carol' (which I always thought of as a full movie when I was a kid -- but it's only 24 minutes), told Bleeding Cool that he wants his follow-up to working on the upcoming 'Winnie the Pooh' to be a feature film starring Mickey, Donald Duck and Goofy. So it's the whole gang, not just Mickey, but it's better than we've had before.
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Nic Cage and John Travolta May Reunite for Two New Thrillers

By Christopher Campbell (Subscribe to Christopher Campbell's posts), Posted Mar 25th 2011 1:20PM
Filed under: Movie News, Cinematical


Our prayers for a 'Face/Off' sequel remain unanswered (maybe the harpoon wasn't that lethal?), but wishes for at least Nicolas Cage and John Travolta to go head to head again may still come true. Twice even. According to Vulture, the actors will possibly first co-star in 'Shrapnel,' a cat-and-mouse action thriller about a Bosnian soldier looking to get even on the American who wounded him. Hopefully the "wounded him" part means the guy also took his "face ... off" and stole it, switching it with his own. Doubtful, I know.

The script for 'Shrapnel' is by Evan Daugherty, who also penned the upcoming 'Snow White and the Huntsman' (that's the Kristen Stewart one), and was featured on the 2008 Black List of best unproduced screenplays before landing on John McTiernan's directorial slate last fall. McTiernan has since been sentenced to jail on a perjury charge (currently being appealed), so maybe John Woo can step in? Doubtful, I know. (Woo is better off in China, making good films again.) Someone needs to sign on soon, though, as the film is set to begin shooting in June.
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Eat My Shorts: SXSW 2011 Shorts and Mediums

By Christopher Campbell (Subscribe to Christopher Campbell's posts), Posted Mar 23rd 2011 10:00PM
Filed under: Documentaries, SXSW Film Festival, Columns, Cinematical


Eat My Shorts is a bi-weekly column that showcases and reviews short films.

More than 130 short films, including narrative, animation and documentary varieties and new works from the likes of Harmony Korine (we shared that awesomeness earlier) and Ondi Timoner, could be seen at SXSW this year. That's not even including the music video program, which could very well count, especially since some of the official short series featured examples of the format. At lengths of anywhere between a minute and a half-hour each, that's a lot of entertainment.

While in Austin, I managed to only see a small fraction of the offerings, such as the four excellent selections for this year's Medium Cool program of "(not so) shorts." There was the early Jarmusch-like 'John's Gone' by the Safdie brothers, the long-form Arcade Fire video, titled 'Scenes from the Suburbs,' from Spike Jonze (also reviewed here; see the abridged version here), Jessica Lux's beautiful magical realist fairy tale 'Join the Dots' and Lindsay Mackay's 'Clear Blue,' which is an enchanting mix of 'Splash' and 'Cocoon' (a tribute to Ron Howard?). I also really like a narrative short I saw via screener, the darkly comic 'Animal Control,' which isn't recommended for pet lovers with weak stomachs.

While none of those favorites are on the web, a great many SXSW '11 shorts are -- especially from the program of films directed by Texan high schoolers -- so I've curated ten I think you'll enjoy and link to those others I've managed to find online. Watch 'em after the jump.
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