One thing we’ve always supported is independent production of film, tv, comics and games. As an independently operated news site, we understand how hard it is to break through to that next level. It is also great to hear when one of The Flickcast’s supporters gets an opportunity to bring one of their artistic visions to life.

Alex Greenfield is one of those supporters. Alex is best known for being the former lead writer on WWE’s SmackDown brand as well as two TV movies, Street Warrior and Jack’s Family Adventure. Last week, Alex and his writing partner Michael K Eitelman released The Temple through Amazon Studios.

We got the chance to talk briefly with Alex and he told us about both his inspiration behind The Temple as well as a little bit of the creative process.

My dad read me “The Rats in the Walls” when I was like five, literally sitting around a campfire. Let’s agree to ignore the parenting questions that anecdote raises and skip right to the fact that I became a Lovecraft addict before I could read. It was only a matter of time before I would dip my pen in the Mythos well.

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There’s no denying it: we are living in an era at the mercy of the Internet. This very site is proof that many folk’s day-to-day consists of interesting and amazing new treasures they find all over the web, which is growing exponentially every day.

That’s when we like to come across something like today’s find and push it out to everyone who has yet to see it, because use of modern technology has made one of the world’s most treasured pastimes of the cinema more science fiction than anything else.

The folks over at Stargate Studios have put together this short, titled XXIT, which is a little bit Blade Runner and a little bit Terminator, but done with some of the most visually stunning effects and technology to date. For instance, this short film was shot entirely on the Canon EOS C300, which is comparable to the RED that Peter Jackson is shooting The Hobbit with.

The short also stars Nicolette Sheridan, who you may remember from Desperate Housewives and a John Cusack teen comedy from the 80′s called The Sure Thing. Stunning visuals, compelling story, and all made for you to enjoy at your fingertips. Does it get any better?

Take a look at the short after the jump and prove us wrong. We dare you.

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As one of the great modern TV writers of the current time, Damon Lindelof has certainly gotten into the hearts and minds of science fiction fans everywhere with both LOST and several other projects with J.J. Abrams. That coveted spot didn’t come without work, however, and that’s just what we have today.

Back before the show was a hit, Lindelof wrote a short play about a young time traveling boy genius and his awkward dinner with Nazis who were setting out to kill him and his family. The screenplay was then turned into a short last year, and had some pretty impressive guest appearances. Here’s the premise:

When Dade Klublershturf (Samm Levine) brings home his new girlfriend Daniella (Rachel Nichols), it’s as awkward as you’d expect any meet-the-parents dinner to be. However, events take an unexpected turn when Dade’s brother Ollie (Super 8‘s Zach Mills) reveals that Daniella, along with a couple of other last-minute dinner guests (Chris Hemsworth and Norman Reedus) are actually secret Nazis trying to steal Ollie’s time travel machine for sinister purposes. Jack Axelrod, Lainie Kazan, and George Segal also star.

Check out the full short after the jump, in all of it’s dialogue-heavy drama, and be sure to comment below as to how you can see why showrunning partner Carlton Cuse decided to pick up this young writer Lindelof after a simple play about a dinner party.

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I’ve seen some fan-created trailers and title sequences that easily rival the sort of stuff we see out of professional studios. And it only makes sense, given the lengths some fanboys will go to when it involves one of their fave series.

Gary Shore, is just that kind of fan. And good news for us: he loves Wolverine. So, while we wait patiently for Darren Aronofsky to film the next chapter of one of our favorite X-Men characters, Gary Shore has released a moody take on Logan that offers a tiny peek at how the next flick may unfold.

Shore, who happens to be a commercial and music video director, filmed some storyboards showing Wolverine battling those evil ninjas known as the Hand and managed to lay down a score that is both moody and ethereal.

But enough talking, let’s get to the watching, shall we? Hit the jump and watch this amazing fan creation for yourself.

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The SXSW Film Festival (March 11-19) has announced its short-films lineup for 2011 with a comprehensive list of 150 shorts (chosen from 3,089 entries), submitted by a vast array of established and up-and-coming directors, and ranging from narratives to documentaries to music videos to even local submissions.

As usual, the full list can be found at the SXSW website. The full press release announcement, including recaps of the narrative features, documentary features, and headliners, follows:

Austin, Texas – February 10, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce features in the complete short films lineup, which will debut at this year’s Festival, which runs from March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas.

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Video games will always be the a constant go-to when it comes to geeks. There are geeks that follow comics and movies, but almost all of them still consider classic video games as their source of geekdom. So when we get a fantastic fan film tribute to Time Crisis starring Spartacus: Blood & Sand’s Andy Whitfield, there’s plenty of reason to celebrate.

The film comes from Youtube special effects guru Freddie Wong who has given us some great experiments with CG effects and pulled off great videos like Jedi A-Holes, Skydiving Out My Front Door, and a great stop motion video titled Light Warfare.

Now, Wong has teamed up with legendary TV action star Andy Whitfield to give us a great sendup to the classic arcade game Time Crisis. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to those who haven’t played the game, but for the rest, even the rapid-fire trigger technique towards the end brings back memories.

Check out the video after the jump, and here’s to hoping that Freddie Wong turns up in some credits from great upcoming films.

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A few months ago, we brought you news of an innovative and visually stunning short that was making its way across the web titled The Raven from writer/director Ricardo de Montreuil. It seems that the film has turned enough heads, as both Universal and Mark Wahlberg have taken an interest in bringing the concept to the silver screen.

The short film, which follows Chris Black, a man who possesses a super power that can take down a current militant faction that has a stranglehold on a metropolitan city. Being only made for $5,000 on a RED camera, the visual effects are truly what make this one of the better web shorts in years.

According to our friends at Latino Review, Universal is currently interested in taking The Raven to a larger scale, with a bigger budget, and even Mark Wahlberg to produce and star. Genre favorite Justin Marks, who is also penning the script for Voltron and SuperMAX will be taking on the treatment of the film, with Montreuil still directing.

There was a bit of a bidding war between Universal and Warner Bros., but once Entourage co-creator Wahlberg got involved, Universal inevitably got the rights to the film. Be sure to check out the site for the film, and keep it here for more news as it develops on this deal.

[Note: I said that I would be covering all three of Huston’s war documentaries in one article, but upon watching Report from the Aleutians (and other personal/professional affairs), I’ve decided to draw them out. I may condense The Battle of San Piedro and Let There Be Light, but we’ll see. And I also have Across the Pacific to get into before Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but as much as I’m looking forward to covering that film, I’m enjoying myself all the same watching these.]

Before I even started considering a retrospective on Huston’s articles, I still wanted to watch all his films—at first the big ones, then go on to the ones that looked interesting, after that, eh, maybe the obscure-but-still-kinda-uh-well-liked ones? Then everything—if I could stand it—beyond. Either way, be it as casual viewer or retrospective writer on assignment, Huston’s WWII propaganda films weren’t something I was particularly looking forward to.

It would be a neat curiosity, since the bulk of Huston’s work was based on novels, and this would be one of the few (perhaps only? I haven’t gotten that far ahead in my research) Huston works not based on existing material. Nevertheless, my first glimpse of Report from the Aleutians (1943)’ first five or so minutes all but confirmed my fears—I figured it’d be dated, being all 70+ years old, WWII-ish, and well, topical really. It dealt with something that happened a long time ago and whose importance would be all but lost on my generation and probably my parents’ as well. And even if you like documentaries, at first glance it looks like not much more than simple propaganda—which really was my greatest fear with all three.

I find propaganda fascinating (if you don’t, check out Disney’s war cartoons—ever wanted to see Donald Duck as a Nazi?), but when I’m watching the film for the sole purpose of better understanding Huston, I just got this image of the US Propaganda Department breathing down his neck and telling him everything he can and can’t talk about—which is to say not the ideal collection of films to give insight to the man.

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Back in 2005 an unknown director named Neill Blomkamp made a science fiction short with a few friends, a modest budget, and a Canadian production team. The short, titled Alive in Joburg, blew away many powerful people with its premise and blend of CG effects and documentary stock footage. Included in those powerful people was mega-director Peter Jackson, who decided to aid Blomkamp in adapting his low-budget short into a larger film called District 9, which turned into an overnight success.

Now, independent writers, directors, and 3D render artists everywhere ran back to their typewriters to come up with interesting and original new ideas, knowing that Hollywood is turning to them for a fresh start to an industry bogged down with sequels and reboots.

There are hundreds of nice attempts, but none of them have really stuck out as something that could be expanded into a major film. A year ago, a Uruguayan science fiction short titled Panic Attack!, by Fede Alvarez was the subject of a Hollywood bidding war, in which Sam Raimi got the rights to adapt the short. Now, it looks like we’re getting another great short for Hollywood to set their sights on with Ricardo de Montreuil’s The Raven.

The film is set in a dystopian future (2074), where futuristic robot cops have the authority to take down those who break the law with extreme force. The only person who has the potential to change everything is Chris Black, aka The Raven. Black has supernatural abilities that, if used in the right way, could save the free world.

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Diversity seems to be the key this year at the SXSW festival, which takes place in Austin, TX from March 12-20, as they’ve now announced the full lineup of Panels and short films that will be at this years event. As with the feature films schedule, this list of panels and shorts should provide an almost endless supply of diverse and interesting programming for attendees.

Following sre some highlights of panels we think are worth checking out. For a full list and descriptions, head over to the SXSW official site. Also, be sure to check back here at The Flickast as we’ll be at SXSW this year to bring you all the details on these great events and much more.

A Conversation with Michel Gondry
The stratospheric rise of Academy Award-winning visionary Michel Gondry is one of the great success stories of modern film. Working with fellow travelers like Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman and Bjork, Gondry has made his mark on the film landscape with iconic work like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep. Come and enjoy what promises to be a fascinating discussion as Gondry discusses his latest, highly personal and emotionally raw documentary A Thorn in the Heart with TCM’s Elvis Mitchell.

Directing the Dead: Genre Directors Spill Their Guts
How does modern horror take gore beyond the purely grisly to the level of grand guignol art and imagination? How does bone-cracking violence and flesh-rending horror contribute to the hallowed pantheon of art and cinema? Join five of the most striking genre filmmakers in modern movies as they lock horns over the all-important issues of blood, guts and gratuitous gore. Featuring Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), Matt Reeves (Let Me In) Eli Roth (Hostel), Quentin Tarantino (Inglorious Basterds), Ti West (House of the Devil), moderated by Scott Weinberg (Cinematical)

Filmmakers in TV: A Case Study
Carving a niche in the world of film is tough enough, and achieving the same feat on the small screen is no easier. Successfully mastering both is in yet another league, but somehow the creators of HBO’s Eastbound & Down are pulling it off with style. Find out how Danny McBride (Your Highness), and filmmakers David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) and Jody Hill (Observe and Report) made it look easy in this illuminating, entertaining glimpse at the art of combining technical skill, sharp comedy writing and moving from the packed auditorium to the living room couch.

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