Auteur

It's about time someone does a crackerjack satire on Hollywood and all its BS, and this film delivers in spades! I saw this at a festival in Denver a few months back, and just re-watched the DVD that the filmmaker was nice enough to give me. Not only did I enjoy it every bit as much as the first viewing, I picked up on a lot of great bits I missed the first time out. This is not viewing for for those with low IQs, folks: it's smart stuff! "Auteur" tells the story of one real smarmy, self-important jerk named Eric (Beau Clark, who's an awesome actor that has "star" written all over him), a video pirate who's the best in the biz. He's so good, in fact, that he thinks he's the real deal: an auteur, a dyed-in-the-wool, honest-to-God genius filmmaker up there with Chaplin, Cassavetes, and Spielberg. Eric has a hot girlfriend, but he's bored with her, and obsessed with making his own film. When two shady businessmen, Mitch and Tony, offer him big bucks to videotape top secret screenings of new Hollywood blockbusters, Eric thinks he's found his golden goose. But all isn't as it seems...

Great acting, directing, writing, cinematography, editing, I mean everything about this flick f'in rocks! I found it tough to believe that it was a grad student film from the legendary AFI in Los Angeles. If this is what these guys do as students...

Calling Steven Spielberg! Give these kids a deal! 10 out of 10.

I love the way this movie makes fun of itself. It's a fun ride that ends to soon. The way you used animation to move the story forward is imaginative and smart. You show how a smart film maker with little money and a great cast and crew can create a wonderful piece of art. I don't want to give anything away, but I can say you made bold choices, and broke some rules, proving there are no rules. Alex Simon has written a fun script with a message as well. Bravo! Kevin Abrams does a great job with a talented cast. I would loved to have seen more of Mitch & Tony. They could have their own movie. Thanks and good luck on your next film.

Great little film about a film pirate who gets his just rewards. The script by Alex Simon is particularly sharp with some great twists and turns. The lead filmmaker character is well-drawn and I liked the sort of Chandleresque voice-over. The guys who make his pirate film deals were also noteworthy and fun. I particularly didn't see the last twist coming, but boy, did this character deserve it. I enjoyed the lead filmmaker guy, as well as the actor who plays the movie star. The animation and the titles were outstanding. AFI is putting out some good stuff these days, better than the hackfest at USC Film School to be sure. Definitely one of the better shorts I've seen.

It's not often that you see a short whose subject easily lends itself to possible expansion into a feature film. Auteur is one of those gems.

Starting with a well-written script from Alex Simon, confident direction by Kevin Abrams and anchored with a strong performance from Beau Clark, Auteur takes its viewers inside the morally ambiguous world of Hollywood film-making. A landscape where the denizens will pimp their mothers if they think it'll get them a greenlight. Aspiring writer/director Eric Pelham finds out the hard way what happens when one is on the receiving end of the conscience-free chicanery in which he traffics. Kudos to the filmmakers. I look forward to their future endeavors.

I saw "Auteur" last summer at a film festival in Palm Springs and was thoroughly impressed! In telling the story of a video pirate who unwittingly orchestrates his own fall from grace, filmmakers Kevin Abrams and Alex Simon paint a touching, realistic portrait of a self-destructive narcissist, and also a fitting metaphor for the shark-infested waters that are Hollywood.

Beau Clark is a young man to watch in the future, as he effortlessly carries the picture as Eric Pelham, the video pirate in question who actually thinks he's a real filmmaker, and hopes his genius will be recognized by legendary cinematic icon Jack Burton (played by veteran character actor Granville Van Dusen, whom you'll recognize from countless TV and movie roles). Eric winds up screwing over anyone and everyone in his path to realize his goal, albeit unconsciously in most cases, vividly showing how the seductive powers of the motion picture business can cloud the minds of virtually anyone who attempts to enter her hallowed gates.

Supporing cast is terrific, as well. I won't give away any of the plot twists, and there are some Duzies, but suffice to say "Auteur" is a film I won't soon forget, and neither will anyone else who sees it, I'm sure.