Here’s a look at 11 feature films that got their start as shorts.
Saw (Short; 2003) and Saw (Feature; 2004)
In 2003, two film students from Australia (James Wan, and Leigh Whannell) made a gruesome short about a serial killer who places victims in twisted scenarios that force them to either kill themselves or other victims, thereby "cleaning" the killer of any association to the murders. The goal of this short, based on a feature they had stored away, was to pitch it to various studios and actors in hope of having the full-length distributed. In 2004, their wish came true, and the original ended up spawning five Saw sequels - most of which more cruel and torturous than the previous. In fact, Saw is often credited as starting a brand of "torture porn" in recent horror films. We’re sure Wan and Whannell’s mothers are proud.
La Jetée (Short; 1962) and 12 Monkeys (Feature; 1995)
Terry Gilliam based his 1995 classic 12 Monkeys on a short from French New Wave director Chris Marker named La Jetée. While they are not exactly the same, the feature is clearly inspired by the short - as Gilliam credited in the opening titles of 12 Monkeys. La Jetée is an experimental piece using mostly still photos to tell the story of two survivors of World War III living underground in a futuristic Paris. The two are working with a time travel machine and witness their own deaths. Eventually, the mental health of both deteriorates as they are plagued by their vision. 12 Monkeys, however, is a little more complex. Without ruining a third act twist, the story centers on a convict from the future who, in order to be granted pardon, is sent back to the present to investigate the cause of an epidemic that will eventually wipeout most of humanity. The journey leaves the convict with an unusual side effect: visions and flashbacks that, ultimately, catch up with him.
Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (1967) and THX 1138 (1971)While a student at USC, George Lucas produced Electronic Labyrinth - a short film that would gain him a lot of recognition. Steven Spielberg admits that seeing Electronic Labyrinth as a student was a life-changing experience. The short (about a man living in a dystopian city underground trying to break free) even has hints of the sci-fi films Lucas was yet to make. Eventually, when Lucas' close friend and colleague Francis Ford Copolla struck it big, he signed a multi-picture deal with Paramount that ensured Lucas could turn the short into a feature. When he did so in 1971, Lucas basically added a back-story to the main character (THX 1138), and used fellow friend and then-unknown Robert Duvall to play the lead.
Alive In Joburg (Short; 2005) and District 9 (Feature; 2009)In 2005, South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp made a short-length docu-drama about a group of alien refugees who land in Johannesburg, South Africa, and the effects they have on the local human population. The short deals with issues of apartheid and racism, but it was the stunning CGI and sheer originality of the concept that caught the eye of both Peter Jackson and Hollywood. The three parties were then aligned to make a screen adaptation of the video-game Halo, but when Hollywood got cold feet over such an inexperienced director and backed out, producer Peter Jackson simply told Blomkamp that he would give him $30 million to do whatever he wanted instead. Not a bad deal, if you ask us. Blomkamp decided to turn Alive In Joburg into a full-length feature, and fleshed out the story a little more to include a government bureaucrat who becomes infected with a liquid that turns him slowly from human to alien.
Milton (Short; mid-1990s) and Office Space (Feature; 1999)
Mike Judge's second feature-film (the first being Bevis And Butthead Do America) and first live-action project, Office Space was born from a series of short cartoons Judge aired on “Saturday Night Live” in the mid-90s. The shorts focused on the eponymous character Milton, a babbling, awkward, oddball of an employee and his daily misfortunes around the office. In the feature film, Milton becomes a secondary (though highly-memorable) character, and the story now focuses on Peter Gibbons (played by Ron Livingston), a disgruntled employee of a high-tech firm set on quitting his job and starting a new life. Before he does, though, Peter and his friends decided to implement a scheme that would round down the cent amounts of the company's transactions, and send the stolen fractions of a cent to their bank account.
Bottle Rocket (Short; 1994) and Bottle Rocket (Feature; 1996)After meeting in a playwriting class at the University of Texas, Austin, an unknown writer and director would begin collaborating on a quirky heist comedy that ended up as the short film Bottle Rocket. However, because the budget was so low, hiring actors was out of the question. So, the unknown director (Wes Anderson) suggested that the unknown writer (Owen Wilson) and his brother (Luke Wilson) play the thieves. The film went on to win in the short films category of Sundance, was picked up by Hollywood, and turned into a feature. The feature film version of Bottle Rocket (though never commercially successful) launched the careers of Owen and Luke Wilson, and Wes Anderson. Furthermore, Martin Scorsese called it one of his favorite films of the 1990s. Not bad. Not bad at all.
(Short; 2005) and 9 (Feature; 2009)
This animated gem of a short film, is the key to a journey every film student dreams of. 9 was the thesis film of UCLA Animation student Shane Acker. The film, of a post-apocalyptic world populated by rag-dolls who must protect themselves from evil machines vying to steal their souls, went on to win several top awards -- including a Student Academy Award and an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short. All this buzz caught the attention of Tim Burton, who decided to make the short into a full-length film. Mr. Acker then sat down and fleshed out the short into a feature, which he directed, and will be released September 9th.
The Dirk Diggler Story (Short; 1988) and Boogie Nights (Feature; 1997)While still a high school student in the San Fernando Valley, a young Paul Thomas Anderson decided to make a mockumentary about The Valley's most famous export – porn. And specifically about a character named Dirk Diggler (based off of the real-life John Holmes). Less than ten years later -- after a very brief stint at NYU Film, some time working as a set P.A., and then the success of his first film Hard Eight -- Anderson would revisit his porn tale, this time calling it Boogie Nights. The film is a masterpiece of modern auteur cinema, and collected 5 Oscar and Golden Globe nominations.
Peluca (Short; 2003) and Napoleon Dynamite (Feature; 2004)
It sounds almost like a fluke now, but when BYU film student Jared Hess shot a short film for a class assignment named Peluca -- who would have known where it would take him. The short was about a geeky small town kid named Seth trying to buy a fanny pack and wig (or “peluca” in Spanish) with his friend Giel. The project, made in two days for under 500 bucks, was shown at Slamdance Film Festival, where it was picked up to be made into a feature film – Napoleon Dynamite. Whatever you feelings on Dynamite are, it is one of the most (financially) successful “indie” films to date – grossing over 100 times its production cost.
Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade (Short; 1994) and Sling Blade (Feature; 1996)In a time before Angelina Jolie and Bad Santa, Billy Bob Thorton was just another struggling actor. Intent on making it big, Thorton adapted a play of his named Some Folks Call It A Sling Blade into a short film of the same title (with Molly Ringwald and Robert Duvall as supporting cast). The short garnered enough attention that Thorton then adapted it into a feature, Sling Blade, that he would not only star in, but direct this time too. The moive, about a mentally-challenged man who was convicted of murder and recently released from prison, helped bring Thorton into the mainstream and won him a Best Screenplay Oscar and Angelina Jolie. I wonder which he preferred more?
Cashback (Short; 2004) and Cashback (Feature; 2006)
A brilliant British film that started out as an Oscar-nominated short. Cashback, which is a deceptively simple love-story of a young art student who imagines he can stop time, was extended into a feature-length film in 2006 and, unfortunately, received severely mixed reviews in the US. With that being said, the film has enjoyed decent success internationally, and its cast (including Harry Potter alum Sean Biggerstaff) gives touching performances in both short and feature-length versions.
Sin City (Short; 2005) and Sin City (Feature; 2005) (Honorable Mention)
When you look at each panel of artwork in Frank Miller's "Sin City", with its slick yet stunning design, you know you are in for a unique ride. Such was the case when transforming the graphic novel into the feature film. So, in order to convince studios and investors – and Frank Miller himself -- that this project was worth adapting, director Robert Rodriguez filmed the opening scene of the movie as a short film (with full visual effects and all). Luckily, he was successful, and Sin City turned into a kick-ass feature.
Hotel Chevalier (2007) and Darjeeling Limited (2007) (Honorable Mention)Again, the feature here is not truly based on a short film, but writer/director Wes Anderson filmed the short Hotel Chevalier as a “prologue” to his feature Darjeeling Limited. To be honest though, the short has very little (if any) affect on the story of Darjeeling, but by skipping it, you miss out on Anderson’s stunning sense for aesthetics and production design, and a fully naked Natalie Portman.
