Cowboys & FreddieW (ft. Jon Favreau)

Cowboys & FreddieW (ft. Jon Favreau)

Directed by Freddie Wong

United States, 2011 (3 min 31 sec)

Freddie Wong is a popular Youtube filmmaker notable for his video game related videos and special effects. In this video, Freddie is accompanied by Jon Favreau on the set of a Universal backlot. A small western duel with some out of place gadgets and guns takes place.

This video is the result of Favreau contacting Freddie to do something related to “Cowboys and Aliens.” This video is clearly star driven as it deviates from Wong’s usual themes of video games. It seems to me that Favreau saw with as an opportunity to give a popular film maker more exposure while at the same time promote his new movie further. I think this video is worth looking at because I found it very interesting that a Hollywood actor and director would take notice of a Youtube star and provide him with a chance for more exposure. It's pretty shocking to see someone you follow on Youtube suddenly star in a video with a celebrity.

Interview Date

INTERVIEW DATE - D.C. Shorts Festival

Directed by Mike Lemcke

United States, 2011, ~20 mins

The short “Interview Date” by Mike Lemcke is the tail of two meetings set up by two separate groups getting mixed up and having some hilarious effects. Simply put, the short follows the stories of a job interview and a online date coming together and getting mixed up. With one person from each appointment with a person from the other appointment hilarity ensues as both groups attempt to figure out what’s wrong. Without ruining the final plot twist, the ending wraps up the short with a funny scene that most people won’t see coming.

Overall this short was the best short in the showcase I viewed while at the D.C. Shorts Film Festival. While it was the first short, it left such a memorable impression that it was the short I wanted to write about. What set this short apart from most of the shorts that I saw was the way it ended and it’s hilarity. When it comes to how this short ended, it had a physical ending that left me satisfied while others in the show case such as “Sweetness & Art” left me wanting more. However “Interview Date” really set itself apart because it kept me interested throughout the entire short. While other shorts were great, some of them lost me very quickly or seemed to skip parts of a story. This doesn’t mean that there weren’t a few issues with the film such as spending too long in the apartment at the beginning however compared to everyone else it was by far the best. That’s why I was really happy to see that you got the DC Shorts 2011 Audience Honorable Mention and the 2010 DC Shorts Screen Play Competition. Congratulations on the awards and thanks for making such a great short film!

FIRST DATES- DC SHORT FILM FESTIVAL

Sam Wasserman, USA, 2010

http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi979081497/

The film is about dating in the digital age and how awkward meeting people off the internet can be. The story has many different characters, all single men and women trying to date in a crazy world. The story seems to have a random structure following various people from one date to another but in the end it allows for a circular story and connects the characters. The plot was pretty shallow though ,the short snippets of dates were humorous but lacked real character and had little story development. Regardless of this I don't think a plot is necessary for this story and the short functions well. Everyone in the theatre including myself laughed many times throughout the screening of the film . I found it interesting that the directors cast two tv stars for the short film First Dates. Ryan Eggold from 90210, and Madeline Zima from Californiacation were two of the main characters in the movie. I feel like having the sitcom gave the whole film a more tv feel than cinema. Despite this I really liked the humor and think comedy is incredibly hard to write and execute well in film so I tip my hat to the director and writer!