Film Futurist

This Youtube video Ataque de Panico currently has over a million hits, prompting Sam Raimi to sign its Uruguayan director Fede Alvarez to a production deal for a $30 million feature. The LA Times reported this deal as a Cinderella story, courtesy of Youtube popularity, a little help by Kanye West’s blog (!) and special effects mastery.

You have to love how horror sci-fi ideas can be so appealing to Hollywood even without story. Perhaps we are entering the post District 9 era of Third-World Sci-Fi, which I loved, for the record. I won’t really complain about changing the scenery to backgrounds outside of the US but um…that little boy at the beginning – ET, anyone? Lesson #1: Always start your speculative sci-fi with a wide-eyed little boy if you hope to tug at the warm fuzzy hearts of Hollywood execs!

I do think the spectacle of the giant robots is fascinating, especially for a Youtube nugget. It reminds me of that wildly popular viral 405, which back in 2000 seemed like such an enormous feat of fx for early Youtube watchers. I’m not sure what happened to Bruce Branit and Jeremy Hunt after their famed CAA signing. Or for that matter, what happened to the feature based on a plane landing on the 405.

But hey, can someone tell me: what’s a good story worth?