In February I told it it was coming and now the mysterious John Noble short film has surfaced in full. The man who played Walter Bishop for five years on Fringe steps into a new, not-so-different role in Friend, an eight minute short produced and written by Noble’s daughter Jess. “A labor of love,” Friend reunited Noble with many behind the scenes players from his FOX sci-fi series.

“The amazing thing about Friend was our entire production team was made up of Fringe crew. That’s what made it such a unique and personal project,” Noble shared with TV Guide. “Our director was Fringe director of photography David Geddes; our editor was Ari Margolis, who created Fringe‘s wonderful online trailers; and our original music was composed by Jeremy Little, who contributed that wonderful cover of “If I Only Had A Brain” heard in “The Firefly” episode from Season 3.” Additionally, “the cameramen, grips, lighting, sound, catering, script supervisor, makeup, hair, wardrobe, props — they all came from the Fringe family and brought this project to life. Jasika Nicole [who played Astrid Farnsworth] even designed and handmade the paper flowers used in the film. It was a family project in every sense.” The balloon seller at the end? That’s Noble’s wife Penny.

As a refresher, Friend follows “a lonely, grief stricken man of wealth [who] finds a new lease on life after an unusual ‘friend’ is mysteriously delivered to his door. A unique and unexpected relationship quickly forms, bringing hope and color to the man’s bleak existence. But will tragedy strike again?”

It doesn’t take long to discover the mystery behind the door, and in such a short period of time you will connect with Noble’s heartbroken protagonist through his emotional performance that’s sprinkled with some subtle humor. The actor describes it succinctly: It’s “sad, and funny, and special.” From the disorienting mental breaks to the piano-heavy score, Friend is a treat for Fringe fans who recognize Noble’s unparalleled capabilities when he’s placed in a mysterious setting and lost his way.

Is it time to bring Wonder Woman back to the screen? After watching this gritty, action-packed take on the DC Comics superheroine, I’d say so. This (too) short film made by director Jesse V. Jackson and starring Nina Bergman teases the potential of a Wonder Woman comeback, either to the big screen or the one in your living room. Jackson is merely a fan of the famed comic book hero with an urge to make Diana Prince relevant again in this age of male-dominated superheros (read: Batman and The Avengers). The guy’s got a compelling argument here if you ask me. I 2011, David E. Kelly attempted to revive Wonder Woman with a TV series developed for NBC starring Adrianne Palicki; it ended up not working out. Most recently The CW wanted to bring Diana back in an origin story series titled Amazon but its development was pushed to the 2014-15 TV season. Hopefully Jackon’s short here will prove to fans and TV/movie execs alike that the time is now bring back the strong and sexiest member of the Justice League back into the spotlight.

Since Fringe ended, nobody has swept us off our feet and into the heart of a man like John Noble did. His powerfully emotional character Walter Bishop is certainly one of the most memorable fictional portrayals to grace television. Need your weekly Walter fix now? Unfortunately that character has been put to rest as Fringe aired its series finale last month, but I have for you the next best thing.

John Noble is set to star in a mysterious short film that goes by the name of Friend. Noble’s daughter Jess wrote the script and together they produced the project. Noble called upon Fringe‘s director of photography David Geddes to direct.

Collider scooped a synopsis: “A lonely, grief stricken man of wealth finds a new lease on life after an unusual ‘friend’ is mysteriously delivered to his door. A unique and unexpected relationship quickly forms, bringing hope and color to the man’s bleak existence. But will tragedy strike again?”

Noble had this to say about his daughter’s short: “Friend was a labor of love. During the turbulent last stage of filming the Fringe series finale, my Fringe colleagues gave their precious time and amazing talent to realize my daughter Jessie’s beautiful short film. Two intense and fun filled days of filming, and then over to Ari Margolis and Jeremy Little to weave their magic with the editing and score.  It was an unforgettable experience. I adore the film. Sad, and funny, and special.”

Check out tantalizing trailer for Friend above; it was put together by Ari Margolis, the guy behind all of those incredibly epic Fringe promo trailers. The short will play at film festivals this year and will hopefully release in full to the public in the coming months. I wonder who’s behind that door… could it be, dare I say, September?! I kid.

A buddy of mine Adam Levermore is a talented graphic designer whose previous work includes officially-licensed Battlestar Galactica propaganda posters, travel posters for the Firefly film Serenity, the Super 8 iPhone app, and posters for The Guild, Team Unicorn, and The Nerd Machine. Since Marvel announced they are making a live-action series for ABC called S.H.I.E.L.D., Levermore has made it his mission to get noticed by the powers that be to get hired as the show’s graphic designer.

So what did he do? He very quickly whipped up a short film called S.H.I.E.L.E.D. to serve as a live action resume of sorts. He stars as a potential recruit to become a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s production design team. His previous work, aforementioned above, is highlighted and he also designed most everything you see in the clip from the ID badges to the dossiers and even that crude drawing of the Avengers. It all came together thanks to donations from fans of Levermore’s work, an entertaining script written by Amy Berg (Eureka, Person of Interest, Leverage), lead actress Taryn O’Neill, and composer Bear McCreary. In addition, friends of mine Jared Hoy and Andrew Seely offered their directing and producing expertise (respectively) to the project. To learn more about S.H.I.E.L.E.D., check out Levermore’s detailed blog.

YOU can have a helping hand in getting Adam Levermore attached to Marvel’s upcoming drama by sharing the short with your friends via Twitter, Facebook, whatever you’ve got. But first give it watch yourself; it’s the most entertaining “resume” you’ll likely come across. Plus it’s Marvel related so come on!

First up is The Prototype. It’s a film from the the Bandito Brothers, the studio behind this year’s U.S. Navy SEALs movie Act of Valor. According to Deadline, the sci-fi action thriller was put together with a low budget under $40 million. Andrew Will serves as writer and director. Since there’s no official synopsis out yet (the film is still being shopped around to distributors), there is only so much we can glean from the impressive, extended trailer that’s embedded above. The notion of Singularity is tackled as we follow a superhuman (half human, half machine) on the run from special ops. Expect to hear more about this project as we enter 2013, the year in which man becomes machine as they trailer teases.

Now jump after the break to learn about another intriguing sci-fier, The Gate. (Click here for more…)

A lonely desk toy longs for escape from the dark confines of the office, so he takes a cross country road trip to the Pacific Coast in the only way he can – using a toy car and Google Maps Street View.

Address Is Approximate is produced by director Tom Jenkins of London-based commercial production company The Theory. The stop-motion animation short, shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, quickly went viral and has garnered over 1.8 million views in fifteen days. The story it tells is so simple yet unbelievably captivating. And the idea of taking inanimate objects for a “drive” cross country in front of a computer monitor using Google Maps is utterly ingenious. In case you’re wondering, the soothing track that plays throughout is “Arrival of the Birds” by The Cinematic Orchestra.

The clip was a pet project for Jenkins who was recently signed to the talent agency WME with his partner Simon Sharp. Hopefully this means that we can expect more from Jenkins in the future, perhaps on the feature side of things.

[Via Deadline; Vimeo]

Last November Kid Cudi hinted that a short film based on one of his songs was coming and yesterday on Halloween he released it on the ‘Net. The short film, directed by Transfomers star Shia LaBeouf, is titled Maniac and it is “inspired by” the song with the same name featured on Cudder’s sophomore album Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. The extremely dark, gritty, and violent clip does not play the “Maniac” track behind it, nor does it refer to the lyrics in the song as it plays out like a short film and not a music video. The score that plays in the background is original music produced by Cudi and Wizard collaborator Dot Da Genius. In the nearly ten-minute short, a film crew follows two serial killers (played by Cudi and Chris Palko) documenting their exploits. As made explicit in the post title, this video is NSFW due to graphic violence and gore and in fact it is rated NC-17.

You have been warned. Mash play at your own risk. Happy Halloween!

Update: Cudder sat down with Complex and shared some insight into the making of the Maniac video. In it he talks about working with Shia LaBeouf, the character he played in the video, funding the film, and he explains why the characters speak in French. Read the choice quotes over at Complex.

That last post detailing the launch of the 2011 Nike Mag Back to the Future sneaker is filling to the brim, so I’ve decided to make a new landing for all the latest on the greatest shoe never made (until now, that is).

The auction kicked off September 8 at 8:30PM PST and it will last for ten days. Every day 150 pairs of the sneaker will be made available at eBay. Here’s a link to the Nike Mag-eBay portal. There you’ll be able to view and bid on the shoes, ranging in size from 7 to 13. After a quick glance, most of the shoes currently hover around the $2,500 price point. But don’t let those early tallies fool you; British rapper Tinie Tempah won the first Mag on-site at the Nike launch event with a winning bid of $37,500, and bids on eBay have reportedly reached the $75,000 mark. So unless you’re willing to drop thousands for the shoe from the future, pass your time by drifting your eyes to the next paragraph.

Last night Michael J. Fox appeared on the David Letterman to detail the shoe and it’s release. After showing it off, he announced that Google founder Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki have offered to match all donations to the Michael J. Fox Foundation up to $50 million through the end of 2012. So even though you sit there in frustration knowing that owning the Mag is a pipe dream, you can rest assured that all of the money exchanged over the course of the 10-day auction is going to a great cause. If you’re itching to donate to Parkinson’s research in other ways, visit www.michaeljfox.org. Watch Fox’s Letterman appearance after the break.

And finally, the last topic that must be discussed is the marketing campaign behind the Mag release. Check it:

When the original Back to the Future creative team learned of Nike’s desire to support Fox’s foundation with the release of the 2011 NIKE MAG shoes, Executive Producer Frank Marshall joined the effort. A concept was hatched to develop a ‘Lost Scene’ to honor the original Back to the Future films and characters, capturing Doc Brown’s efforts to make Marty ‘fit in’ during his visit to 2015. [via Nike]

And so Back For The Future was born. BTTF executive producer Frank Marshall directed the short film and Robert Zemeckis (helmer of the trilogy) came back to EP. Also returning is the mad scientist himself–Christopher Lloyd as Doc Emmett Brown and Donald Fullilove as salesman Goldie Wilson III. SNL castmember Bill Hader and basketball star Kevin Durant also star in the video embedded after the break. Below, find even more stills of the glorious Mag.

(Click here for more…)

From design and filmmaking collective MK12 comes this disturbingly bizarre short film that serves as “an homage and/or affront to a great American tradition: the Intermission Reel.” MK12 further explains the inspiration behind this odd masterpiece:

Those who weren’t making out in the back of the family Buick between films at the drive-in will remember them: poorly-spliced, underexposed & overplayedgrindhouse reels of sickly green hot dogs,unprovoked pizza-groping, ice cream sundaeswith a vomit of pale, lifeless toppings, and perversesight gags featuring animated snacks in PG-13scenarios. MK12 interested themselves in this format, and envisioned its slightly darker, but perhaps more-to-the-point, R-rated cousin.

MK12 teamed with cel-frame animator TJ Fuller to give birth to the cast of live-action and stop-frame characters featured in the short Follow the Sun. It was made to serve as an opening act to FITC’s tenth anniversary conference in Toronto. They were also commissioned to brand the design and technology-based festival.

Glean what you will from this disturbing tale of dancing snack foods. A making-of video lingers after the break.

[Via FollowTheSun] (Click here for more…)

A group of students at the Utrecht School of Arts in the Netherlands spent five months creating this visually stunning animated short titled Mac ‘n’ Cheese. They say the visuals were inspired by Valve’s Team Fortress 2 and the short film Meet Buck. The synopsis goes like this:

When you find yourself running scared and running out of energy, there’s only a few options left to outrun your opponent through the southern desert. Stopping at nothing, watch these two guys wear each other out and rip through boundaries hitherto unbroken. Enjoy the ride!

It’s trippy, man.

Whether or not you’ve played the innovative video game from Valve known as Portal doesn’t matter here. This short from LA-based filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg fuses top notch cinematography with a gritty, pulsating score that will blow you away. If you’ve played the game and know your Portal lore, there’s no question that you’ll fully embrace the Chell-like female protagonist and her quest to escape from the shackles of Aperture. The CGI work is fantastic and actress Danielle Rayne will pull you in and never let go for the five-and-half-minute duration. It’s guaranteed that by the end of the film you’ll be foaming at the mouth for more. In less than one day the video has gone viral–it’s nearing 700,000 views. With such a large fanbase formed already, it’d surprise me if Trachtenberg never returned for a second installment.

Portal the movie would be hard to manufacture for mass audiences due to lack of dialogue (GLaDOS is noticeably absent here), but as Trachtenberg has proven it can work wonders in the short film space. Has Valve got wind of this? Do I smell a Portal web series in the works? I’ll keep you posted.

Now flick on HD, turn up the volume, and mash play!

Actress Drew Barrymore was tapped to direct this short film music video for Best Coast and it would be just plain wrong for you not to watch it. First of all, it stars the young but extremely talented actress Chloë Moretz (Hit Girl from Kick Ass). Second it features a bevy of other young, rising stars like Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf), Donald Glover (Community), Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly), and who could forget Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development‘s Maeby Fünke). And third, it tells an emotional, stylistically gritty, and heartbreaking tale of warring gangs in the mean streets of LA. It’s described as “a timeless convergence of inspiration from West Side Story, Romeo & Juliet, and Style Wars.”

In an interview with Pitchfork, Barrymore talked about the visual inspirations behind the clip. ”One thing that got me started on it was the jean jacket. It’s an item that could make you believe you’re in the 50s or punk-rock 70s or grunge 90s. I was really focused on timelessness, and I think music is very timeless; Best Coast has elements of a girl group from the 50s or a rock band from the 70s, and they’ve got this modern, west coast beach-y sound that ties it all together and doesn’t make it feel anachronistic or retro. I always like worlds where you could be in several different time periods. I tried to pull a lot of images from, like,The Outsiders– jean jackets galore, best film ever, and totally stands up today. That was made in the 80s to be emblematic of the 50s, it’s a perfect example of transcending eras.”

Somehow, someway Barrymore was able to pack the story she wanted to tell in the four minute video embedded above. But she couldn’t leave it at that. After watching the widespread music video above, jump after the break to find the nearly 11 minute long “extended version” that plays out even more like a short film. (Click here for more…)

The Boys are back. Their oft-delayed eighth studio album called Hot Sauce Committee Part Two finally has a release date–May 3–and this week they dropped the lead single off it. “Make Some Noise” somehow manages to instill the same amount of funk they brought to the table in the 2004 classic “Ch-Check It Out.” Rock to the beat below. And after the break you’ll find the star-studded trailer for The Beastie Boys’ upcoming new short film Fight For Your Right Revisited. Danny McBride, Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood, Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Jack Black, Rainn Wilson, Rashida Jones, Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson, Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon, Chloë Sevigny, and Will Arnett all make appearances. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and it will be made available for all to view this May.

(Click here for more…)

Miss Tron? Me too. The DVD & Blu-ray sets are coming soon and this week one of the three short films included in the upcoming home releases has found its way onto the Internet. The ten-and-a-half minute clip conveniently forms a bridge between the original 1982 film and the recent box office hit Tron: Legacy. This is something Disney should have released before the 3D flick came out because it provides Tron fans with key character background information that would’ve proved helpful before diving into the modern-day Grid. “Tron: The Next Day” tells the history of Encom after Kevin Flynn mysteriously disappears and the guerilla campaign “Flynn Lives” that follows shortly thereafter. It stars the film’s protagonist Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) and reunites the Grid’s creators Tron (Bruce Boxleitner) and RAM (Dan Shor) in human form. For DVD bonus content the short boasts high production value (and not to mention a fantastic soundtrack provided by the ingenious duo Daft Punk). Whet your appetite now by watching “The Next Day” right now, and continue to anticipate the April 5 home release.

[Via DigitalTrends]

Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Sin City, Machete) has teamed up with Nike and its spokesperson Kobe Bryant to direct a fantastic little short called The Black Mamba. Danny Trejo stars as The Crippler, Bruce Willis is Mister Suave, and The Boss is played by none other than Kanye West. “Some take souls, some take scalps…the Boss takes shoes.” For a promotional bit this is so extraordinarily over-the-top in the good kind of way. Can Kobe defeat the sinister West and keep his kicks? Watch and enjoy.

The Man Who Brought Us Here is a fan-made short film inspired by the events of Lost.  It’s true, the acting is mediocre but the production value is high.  The short plays out in the same mysterious fashion as the show did, and the classic Michael Giacchino soundtrack adds to that effect.  And yes, the short was filmed on the actual set of Lost, if somehow you didn’t notice.

[Thanks, Rob M.]

3 Minutes, directed by Ross Ching, was inspired by the short story “The Most Dangerous Game.”  Glee’s Harry Shum Jr. stars in this action-packed independent short film that features through the roof production value. Lightsabers play a part, so just watch it and don’t ask questions.  Shum Jr. promises a prequel and sequel are in the works.

Click here to go behind the scenes and learn more about the production process.

Filmmaker and dancer Daniel Cloud Campos choreographed, shot, and directed this fantastic video all by himself.  I don’t want to give away too much since that would diminish the effect of the video.  Let’s just say this is how I wish cleaning would get done at my apartment.

[Via @kevinpereira; steveyeuntumblr]

The famous Looney Tunes cartoon gets brought to life thanks to Apache Pictures.  Meep meep, and enjoy.

[Via Nerdist]

This 30 Seconds to Mars “music video” is so many things.  It’s creepy, disturbing, and rich in scope.  ”Hurricane”, a prominent song off 30STM’s latest studio album This is War, is epic by itself and it absolutely warranted an equally epic 13 minute long video to accompany it.  Frontman Jared Leto (under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins) wrote and directed the video which he describes as a “very sexual…surrealistic nightmare dream-fantasy.”  It’s split into three chapters (Birth, Life, and Death) and as MTV explains it “weave[s] three separate narratives together” by following the members of band “each battling their personal demons and unlocking secret fantasies.”  Unfortunately many of the cut-away scenes are covered up by “CENSORED” banners because an unspecified network said they’d refuse to air the video if these overly provocative images were left in.  Leto told EW that “We always knew there would be some images that would have a tough time getting through.  But we didn’t expect this kind of pushback that we’re getting now.”  If you’re interested, hop on over to Leto’s blog to browse the specific parts that the network found unsuitable.  Hopefully Leto will be able to share an uncensored director’s cut with his fans through some other medium, but for now we’re forced to watch the edited version embedded above.

[Via MTV; EW]