Kelly Rowland, Paulina Rubio In Talks To Join ‘X … 
Cannes: Latest Theft Affects China Film Group VP 
UPDATE: Yahoo Board OKs $1.1B Deal To Acquire Tumblr … 
‘Epic’ Toon Begins $14.5M Overseas Rollout 
Cannes: Sony Classics Wins Stateside Rights To Asghar … 
‘Fast & Furious 6′ Breaks Records In … 
Specialty Box Office: ‘Frances Ha’ Triumphs As … 
‘Saturday Night Live’ Season Finale Posts … 
‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ $164.5M Global: Lower … 
Cannes: Backup Media, Memento Bring Heat To Fest Helmer Jim … 
Cannes: Sundance Selects Acquires Dardenne Brothers’ … 
Cannes: Wrekin Hill Acquires U.S. On Gabriele … 
Bill Hader’s ‘SNL’ Stefon Farewell: Video 
Cannes: The Weinstein Co. Books ‘Suite … 
BBC Confirms ‘Doctor Who’ Season 8 
Finally, Cannes Dealing! Radius-TWC Nabs Director’s … 
Hammond On Cannes: Wet Fest’s Official Competition … 
‘Vampire Academy’ Adds ‘Modern … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Shark Tank’ Finale Up, … 
Cannes: Worldview Options Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn … 
UPFRONTS 2013: The Overachievers 
EXCLUSIVE: Wayfare Entertainment has acquired the rights to produce and finance a feature-length version of the short thriller The Gate from its director Matt Westrup and producer Spencer Friend. Westrup will direct the feature version, while Friend will produce with Wayfare’s Browning and Sarah Shepard. Michael Maher will be exec producer. They will soon hire a screenwriter to expand the film to feature length. The Gate is a cool mutant tale that was named one of Viewfinder’s 10 best short films of 2011 and has drawn comparisons to Alive In Joburg, the short that was expanded into District 9.
“Our plan for The Gate was to always expand and build upon the world that I conceived for the 11 minute short,” Westrup said. “Wayfare Entertainment shares our vision in taking those themes and ideas, and adapting them into a sci-fi thriller that is driven by a grounded, sophisticated plot and intriguing character arcs.”
Said Wayfare’s Ben Browning: “”We’re always looking for intelligent genre films filled with spectacle. The Gate is a daring and original work that is a perfect addition to our slate.”
Here is the original short:
Loading ...
Amazing creatures.
some cool FX but for me….the story was just drained of any emotion….way too clinical from the start and especially the finish.
That’s awesome!!
looks pretty neat. but i don’t get it. so its a subversive commercial for the FDA (or whatever the UK version is)?
The Gate is a quietly chilling little short.
I can see how it might be expanded into a feature, but I hope they’re really careful not to stretch the material too far. It would be a shame to see it diluted and, therefore, not as effective.
The visual effects look fake, but at least he’s telling a story. Most of these short films that are online are just vfx reels. I appreciate the fact that there is some semblence of a story here. He could have done a lot of the creature work practically using make-up effects and then use visual effects to enhance the make-up effects. That way the creatures could have a more realistic quality to them.
This short is like a Charlie White photo come to life. Matt Westrup should make sure he shows him some love.
Seriously started to laughed when the third set of titles faded up explaining the unregulated drug epidemic is leading to…MUTANTS! Yeah, right. Also, subtract 35% for an English accent and you realize what they’re saying is just silly. Another District 9? Good luck with that.
I couldn’t have said it better. Good creatures, nice cinematography, but otherwise pure stupid bunk.
Kudos to the filmmakers who seem to know their craft and probably will make a potentially (?) low cost CGI driven piece (READ THIS WORLD WAR Z). However, and with all due respect, this is boring and nothing new . I mean, what is in this film that we have not seen in the past? Evil mutations? (Resident Evil 1, 2, 3,4 ,5,6, Splice)? Check. Massive outbreaks? (28 Days later, Contagion, etc etc etc ETC) Check. Social commentary? check, CHECK CHECK. It is sad to me that even indie sci-fi filmmakers are only trying to emulate what has been done already. It is all mostly fanboys and not true storytellers.
And please, enough with trying to replace real actors with their ‘dead-eyed’ CGI counterparts. Let that to the videogames.
This was beyond boring. Can only image how much more boring as a future length movie. Even the vfx look so lame.
A joint production of Merck, Phizer, and Dupont. Because they’re the good guys.
Law Zero is better.
There was lots to like in this (some of the ‘monster’ shots were really effective) but this is just another in a long line of glorified SFX reels doubling as film pitchs.
Kudos to the filmmakers for making it and doing it well but I have to ask where is the film in this? If anything this might make a good TV show but a film? I’m not feeling it.
And while there was some good stuff in there that is a VERY long 8 minutes. They could easily have gotten that down to 4 or 6 and lost nothing.
But kudos to the team anyway.
Amazing short film.
So refreshing to see a unique take on a believable story. Incredible VFX for a short too.
I watched this and… IDGI.
Good effects, non-existent story.
Seriously? “IDGI”? Are you really using an acronym to say “I don’t get it”?
Congrats, you’ve rendered yourself completely inconsequential.
Seriously? Are you really calling “IDGI” an acronym? What @S used was an initialism. Acronyms are words formed from initial letters that you can pronounce, like NASA, laser, and scuba. I believe that Webster’s may list unpronounceable initialisms as a second definition of acronym, but the reason it’s listed SECOND is because it’s not FIRST. Webster’s does however, have a word whose FIRST definition is “an abbreviation formed from the first letters of a list of words,” and that word is INITIALISM.
AND… All this being said, I would like to voluntarily categorize this reply as also inconsequential. And late.
(except for this part:)
I liked The Gate. Sure, it uses some ideas that have been popular lately, but it still has a cool slant, and the SFX are great for a short film. And I would rate it WAY higher than many of the formula based steaming turds that big movie companies churn out every couple of weeks. I wish Westrup and friend all the luck; I just hope that turning this into a feature film doesn’t mutate it into just another steaming turd.
The concept is boring, but this is a really talented director and a beautiful looking short with amazing effects on a budget. I’m glad somebody is backing his talent. Everyone commenting on the negative aspects of the short film is just angry that nobody bought their movie.