It is a common film school dream (and delusion) that your short film will catch the eye of the right person and soon you’ll be fighting off offers all around town. In the past several years, this has become somewhat of a reality for those making flashy FX heavy shorts. Neill Blomkamp burst onto the scene with his short “Live From Joburg.” Fede Alvarez’s “Panic Attack” got him a deal with Sam Raimi. Is Ben Craig next in line?
Heat Vision is reporting that Craig, an art director at an advertising firm in Edinburgh, Scotland, is now fielding inquiry offers from the likes of Warner Bros, Fox, Paramount, Vertigo, CAA, WME, Benderspink, and Underground Films because of his short film “Modern Times.” Most interestingly, Craig claims he had never even attempted to make a film before thinking of “Times,” which was inspired by an article he read about the British Film Institute restoring and archiving old movies (this will make sense once you’ve watched the film).
“Modern Times” is very technically impressive, especially as a first effort, and I wish Craig luck. Though there isn’t really anything in the short that has me lusting to see more of the man’s creative visions or ideas. The first portion looks like a music video version of Moon, and the cute payoff ultimately makes the whole thing seem like a clever ad for AMC or TCM. His sensibilities seem perfect for advertising actually. If nothing else Craig clearly has a bright future as a sought after commercial director now.