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With micro-budget drug trip horror picture Popskull director Adam Wingard delivered a virtual masterclass on what can be accomplished with virtually no budget whatsoever, provided that cast and crew are talented and dedicated. Hollywood's not interested in your ideas? The Wingard philosophy is basically screw 'em, don't need them anyway.
Popskull made me a true believer in the Wingard aesthetic and after a nudge from my Fantasia cohort Mitch Davis last year I made a point of contacting the man and asking for a look at his recent short films. And, once again, I fell in love. There were a lot of stellar pieces included in what he sent but the biggest gem for me was Laura Panic, a film I immediately booked to screen at The Worldwide Short Film Festival here in Toronto.
But what I didn't know at the time was that Laura Panic was the first entry in what has now become a trilogy of shorts linked thematically by stories of young women forgetting to take their medication. Titled, appropriately enough, the Forgot My Meds trilogy, Laura Panic would later be joined by Cerebella before being rounded out by the just-completed Her Name Is Laura Panic. But why talk about them when I can show them to you? We've got the entire trilogy embedded below.
Popskull made me a true believer in the Wingard aesthetic and after a nudge from my Fantasia cohort Mitch Davis last year I made a point of contacting the man and asking for a look at his recent short films. And, once again, I fell in love. There were a lot of stellar pieces included in what he sent but the biggest gem for me was Laura Panic, a film I immediately booked to screen at The Worldwide Short Film Festival here in Toronto.
But what I didn't know at the time was that Laura Panic was the first entry in what has now become a trilogy of shorts linked thematically by stories of young women forgetting to take their medication. Titled, appropriately enough, the Forgot My Meds trilogy, Laura Panic would later be joined by Cerebella before being rounded out by the just-completed Her Name Is Laura Panic. But why talk about them when I can show them to you? We've got the entire trilogy embedded below.
Video
Laura Panic
Cerebella
Her Name Is Laura Panic
seriously? i mean, y'know - good work an' all...but youtube is littered with stuff like this with that same pseudo arty-farty student film aesthetic. Its the Post-Matrix style du-jour...its all just meaningless emo-nonsense.
Yep, really. Wingard is worlds beyond what most are capable of with this stuff. I'd say Adam and Zak Forsman (I Fucking Hate You) are pretty easily the top of this particular style. I've never seen anyone else come even close.
I agree with you on this, Tood. Saw quite a few of his short films 2 years ago at Fantasia and I was pretty much blown away. Popskull didn't do much for me though.
Do you know if he's planning to make another full-length feature any time soon ?
I meant to say that neither Pop Skull nor Home Sick did much for me.
I just asked him that exact question. Last we talked about it he had a couple things he was trying to get off the ground but nothing definite.
well, seriously then -- but in absolute objective fairness i stand by what i said. he might be your mate an' all or might've given you a flick of the wrist in the bathroom, but this stuff is nothing new, daring, original or exciting...the handycam used certainly captures the scenery very nicely but we can thank Sony or whomever for that.
Worlds beyond?
Hmm...nope.
Again, as I'm continually seeing here, it just feels like another biased review and celebration of mediocrity. You guys used to discover really exciting stuff & you can't be blamed for the ongoing tidal-wave of web based crap but just because it made it into some festival and might have won some redundant prize akin to the toy in the bottom of a cornflake packet doesn't mean its any fucking good.
And by 'good' you obviously mean 'to my tastes'. There's nothing objective about an opinion - an exchange of which is what this conversation is - and you're expressing yours in very poor taste. It's quite possible to disagree with someone without being a dick. You should try it.
What a waste of time. These suck ass. Voiceover is the crutch for someone who can't (or doesn't) want to make a decent movie. These all look like they are someone copying someone else's style.
And Popskull was 2 hours of my time that I want back. Wingard sucks balls and can't make a movie worth shit. Please post something good here of don't post anything at all.
CEREBELLA was beautiful. The last few moments of her falling asleep really affected me for some reason. Can't put it into words but the moment resonated. I thought the voiceover in particular was masterfully executed in its writing and performance. Sure its generally considered a crutch by writers who read a lot of how-to books, but here its in the hands of a first class FILMMAKER. The VO opened me up to the character in an insightful, warm, and at times, funny way. What an amazing little film.
Figured you'd probably appreciate these, Zak ...