ROBO-REPORT: SPOOF!, 405 & Tim Burton's KUNG FU

Greetings, bandwidth junkies! ROBOGEEK here with some recommended online weekend viewing.

Like many of you, I've been somewhat dismayed and befuddled by the whole online short film revolution. On the one hand, as a devoted fan of short films, I'm thrilled; on the other hand, given the deluge of content, I'm slightly dazed and confused by the enormous volume. So much to see, and so little time! How does one choose?

Well, it certainly helps to have broadband access, and since I've gotten addicted to the evil Time Warner's Road Runner cable modem service I've grown a little more adventurous in my online exploration. Recently, I've been sampling some content I never would have taken the leap of faith to download on a phone modem. I figured I might share some of the fruits of that with you today, and tip you off to some stuff that's worth the download.

Everyone and their dog has of course heard of last year's GEORGE LUCAS IN LOVE, Joe Nussbaum's wildly successful and inspired short satire which is hosted by the good folks at MediaTrip.com (and is available for sale on VHS at Amazon.com). It may be old news, but it sort of represents the fulcrum of the current obsession with short films that are being made with the hope of landing "a deal," and arguably opened the floodgates to an annoyingly voluminous tsunami of shorts all hoping to emulate its success (i.e. "Mission:Imp," "Saving Ryan's Privates," the kazillion "Blair Witch" spoofs, etc.)

This is basically the point of "SPOOF! An Insider's Guide to Short Film Success," which is an 11:24 short film written and directed by William Sherak (none other than the son of Fox kahuna Tom Sherak) and Jason Shuman, produced by Lucas Meyers, and starring Danny Strong. SPOOF! tells the tale of a frustrated aspiring filmmaker who sets out to make the ultimate short spoof in order to snag a sweet development deal for him and his friends. In the process, the short mocks the entire out-of-control sub-genre. It's also pretty damn funny (and features several cameos that I personally found quite amusing).

You can check out SPOOF! on iFilm at http://www.ifilm.com/ifilm/skeletons/film_detail/0,1263,206765,00.html -- where it's available in a variety of sizes and formats.

One of the most impressive shorts I've found online was recommended last weekend on "Roger Ebert & The Movies," and it's called "405," by visual effects artists Bruce Branit and Jeremy Hunt. The film is quite an accomplishment, considering it's the product of just two people, three months, and off-the-shelf hardware and software. (Of course, it doesn't hurt that these guys have credits spanning two "Star Trek" series and "The X-Files.")

Basically, 405 is about the hapless driver of a Jeep Cherokee who wanders onto the 405 freeway without realizing it's been cleared for the emergency landing of a DC-10. It's an instant classic, and has gotten some serious buzz in the last month-and-a-half since its debut.

Check out 405 for yourself at http://www.405themovie.com/ and you'll understand why it's the most-downloaded short in the history of iFilm (and got Branit and Hunt signed by CAA). Just make sure you watch it first, and _then_ read how they did it. (It's more fun that way.)

Lastly, there's the new film from Tim Burton. What? No, it's not the "Planet of the Apes" thing, silly. (They aren't really going to call it "The Visitor," are they?) It's a commercial he directed for Timex, which kicks off their new i-Control ad campaign. Shot in Prague, it's simply called "Kung Fu," and it kicks ass.

So much so that, while watching it, I couldn't help but imagine that its protagonist ("St3ve") was Bruce Wayne. Yes, I know he doesn't exactly look like Bruce Wayne, but I was musing (just as I was after seeing "Sleepy Hollow"): what would it be like to see _this_ Tim Burton do a "Batman" movie _now_, given how much he's matured and evolved as a filmmaker since 1989? (Ponder it for yourself in Talk Back.)

Anyway, the "KungFu" spot is available in three versions all in QuickTime format only. You can find them at http://www.timex.com/tradingcards/spot_all.html

Still pondering the cube,

- robogeek@robogeek.com