Follow Zap2it:
'Idiot with a Tripod': Roger Ebert calls short film about the blizzard Oscar-worthy
While most of the Northeast was complaining about the snowstorm that hit earlier this week, filmmaker Jamie Stuart used it as inspiration. The New York City resident shot a short film, mid-storm, called "Man in A Blizzard" (also known as "Idiot with a Tripod"). The short is so impressive, legendary film critic Roger Ebert is calling for the film to win an Oscar. For real. On his website, Ebert writes that Stuart's film deserves to win the Academy Awards for best live-action short subject. Why does he think it deserves to win? "(1) Because of its wonderful quality. (2) Because of its role as homage," he writes. "It is directly inspired by Dziga Vertov's 1929 silent classic, 'Man With a Movie Camera.' (3) Because it represents an almost unbelievable technical proficiency."
Stuart emailed the short to Ebert on Dec. 27, which he filmed on Dec. 26. Ebert went on to conduct a quick interview of sorts with Stuart over email, mainly asking how he made the film in such a short amount of time. "The simpler answer as to how it was done so quickly: practice," he says. "The trick is to step into situations, often without a plan, and try to make it look like it was all planned."
Watch "Man in a Blizzard" below:
Follow Zap2it on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest news and buzz
Photo/Video credit: YouTube
Zap2it Elite Sheet Must Reads from the Web's In-Crowd
Featured Partners
It's very beautifully made. I'm sure some people will make fun of Ebert for saying it's Oscar worthy... but Ebert isn't saying it should win over Inception or True Grit, Black Swan... or any of those. He's saying as it's worthy of a nomination, or even winning, in the short film category.
nothing can stop me now!
"He's saying as it's worthy of a nomination, or even winning, in the short film category."
And even that makes him an idiot.
It looks great sure, but there are videos of equal or superior quality that are shot by amateur cinematographers playing around with their gear and posted online constantly. Clearly that's news to Ebert, the guy is so consistently out to lunch these days, he should've just retired years ago.
Have you actually seen any of the short films that are regularly nominated for an Oscar? They're full blown films that are wonderfully made. This is...an idiot with a tripod.
Roger Ebert claims it is "oscar-worthy"...really? The man who panned Seabiscuit 'cause he was scared of horses as a child but gushed all over this years Secretariat (disney bought the review?). Ebert credibility=0! IMO. (oh you can't say that, he's a cripple) He's an idiot!
Blizzard in NYC??? NYC has never had a real blizzard. Drop Roger Ebert off in Boyne City Michigan where I grew up! Try 3 feet of snow overnight followed by -30 degrees???
...proof any lame @ss with a camera is a genius...to Roger Ebert!
eh...Guy with iMovie is more like it. I could get a group of movies like this any given semester from my HS photo students.
Cut it off at 55 seconds and I'd buy it as a VW commercial.
boring video