EXCLUSIVE: Add this to the lengthening list of studio projects bolstered by proof of concept short films that are now driving deals like crazy. Fox has acquired Controller, a project that Alev Aydin will write based on a concept written by Saman Kesh based on his short film that you will find below. Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps will produce. Pic is a sci-fi rescue film that turns the damsel-in-distress trope upside down. It is set in the homogenized future of New-Taipei, where an imprisoned young woman who has enormous psychic powers perpetrates her own rescue by taking physical control of her boyfriend, turning him into a helmeted Terminator. The film is a modern love story draped in blood, and Kesh went to Taiwan and shot the short film to demonstrate a potential third act for the feature. Kesh has previously won awards at SXSW for his music videos and his work has been seen at Cannes. He is represented by UTA, Angelina Chen at Energy and attorney Patti Felker. Aydin’s Paradigm and Authentic Management. I am old enough to recall when aspiring filmmakers got attention by making short films and spoofs like Saving Ryan’s Privates, and then sending the videocassettes around to studios and agencies, hoping to break in. Back then, those efforts rarely led to actual sales. I believe I have written about maybe five deals this year that were bought directly based upon these proof of concept shorts, which suddenly have all kinds of currency. Have a look at the short film:
CONTROLLER (控制者) from Saman Kesh on Vimeo.
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