True Skin (short)

[meth head]

Short film here:
https://vimeo.com/51138699?action=share&post_id=100001507626334_155780711230286#_=_

An impressive sci-fi short film called True Skin has been released online. We don’t post shorts here on Collider too often, but increasingly the short film industry is being used to launch feature film ideas. Earlier this year Fox hired Wes Ball to adapt his post-apocalyptic animated short Ruin into a feature film, and the short True Skin looks to be going the same route. Director Stephan Zlotescu is taking meetings at production companies and studios this week to adapt True Skin into a full-length feature film, and for good reason.

The story takes place in a not-too-distant future in which humans regularly augment their bodies with robotic parts. Our hero comes into possession of a mysterious chip that gets him into hot water with some nefarious forces. Zlotescu’s visual effects background is put to good use here, as the short displays some truly impressive visuals and promising story beats

This looks insane! A feature film would be awesome

 

[MarfMaster]

Very intrigued by this, I'll have to remember to check it out when I get home and have speakers. I'm really interested to know which films in the last few years were made because of a preceding, well-received short.

 

[EVILFACE]

I was waiting for Deckard to show up and blow the hero away.

 

[meth head]

I was waiting for Deckard to show up and blow the hero away.

 

[jungle jom]

That was bad...

 

[meth head]

Merely a week after the film went online, Warner Bros. has now acquired the short and plans to expand it into a feature film with Zlotescu at the helm. Moreover, David Heyman—the producer behind the Harry Potter franchise—has come aboard to produce alongside the short’s producer Chris Sewall, who will be a co-producer. Heyman’s no stranger to sci-fi, as he’s also producing Alfonso Cuaron’s highly anticipated sci-fi drama Gravity.

The story for True Skin takes place in a not-too-distant future where humans regularly augment their bodies with robotic parts. Augmentation is too expensive in the U.S., so our hero heads to the black market in Bangkok where he comes into possession of a mysterious chip that starts turning him robotic and makes him the target of some nefarious forces.

Per Heat Vision, Warner Bros. plans to incorporate the central conceit of the short as it “thrusts the hero into a race against time to elude his pursuers and save what’s left of his humanity.” The idea is to maintain the sci-fi scope on a budget similar to that of Fox’s hit Chronicle. Zlotescu’s background in visual effects served him well in making an impressive short on a tight budget, and he crafted the film with the express purpose of showcasing his ideas for how the story could work as a feature film.

This process is becoming more and more common as YouTube and the expanding availability of low-cost filmmaking tools is making it easier for aspiring filmmakers to display their work. Zlotescu’s is just one of many recent success stories that have come out of the short film world. Watch Stephan Zlotsecu’s full short True Skin below.

 

[Reinhardt]

Thought it was really great! While not entirely original, there were some pretty cool ideas in there, and the look of the film was fantastic. Music was great too. Voice over was surprisingly good too.