What if Steven Spielberg had made a found footage film in the early 1980's? Wouldn't it be, in most ways, the opposite of everything the edgy new genre is known for -- low budgets, ill framed naturally lit shaky shots, dim and/or grainy footage, unscripted reactions, a narrative tone ranging from ambiguous at best to just plain bleak, and aimed at the post-modern hipster crowd. Instead wouldn't it have been a coming of age story blended with big budget action, featuring plucky tween protagonists, awe filled reaction shots, saturated colors, lens flare, an often intense adventure but with moments of wonder, and aimed at abroad general audience. And the found footage that really might have been more or less a
MacGuffin in the story. Wouldn't that movie have looked like JJ Abrams'
Super 8?
Yes, I know Spielberg and Abrams are in on this project together as Producer and Director respectively -- but I still wonder if that was the concept pitch. There is probably no better Geek Director than Abrams (short of Spielberg transporting himself forward from the past) suited to both re-creating and updating that early Spielberg style. It is cool to see a return to original live action adventure fare aimed at a broad audience including tweens -- instead of just looking for the next book based franchise to fill Harry Potter's robes. The upcoming
Real Steel looks like it's aiming for the same thing. It is refreshing.
Extras: The movie site also has a
viral game unlocking Lost-style clips in it's
Editing Room. And there's an
emulator app that will turn your iPhone into a Retro Super 8 camera complete with filters and editor.
