hugo1000faces

Hey Folks!
Today a conversation got me thinking about feature films that were based on short films, and I ended up starting a list. So far, I have the following...

"Napoleon Dynamite" was based on "Peluca"
"Sling Blade" was based on "Some Folks Call it a Sling Blade"
"Toy Story" was based on "The Tin Toy"
Wes Anderson's "Bottle Rocket" was based on "Bottle Rocket"
"Meet the Parents" was based on "Meet the Parents"
"12 Monkeys" was based on "La Jetee"
"Darkness Falls" was based on "The Tooth Fairy"

What are some more?

Nesbit

Office Space was based on Milton

RaraFemina

Hellraiser was based on The Hellbound Heart by Cliver Barker
Shawshank Redemption was based on Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King

Mondo Kane

"Evil Dead" from "Within the woods"
"Boogie Nights" from "The Dirk Diggler Story"
"D.E.B.S." from "D.E.B.S."

Joe Molotov

"THX 1138" was based on "Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB".

Norm de Plume

When a Stranger Calls was based on a short, The Sitter.

dhmac

But those are "short stories" not "short films" (aka "film shorts")

mayfieldbrian

"Aeon Flux" based on the "Aeon Flux" Liquid Television short

rkndkn

Naomi Watts' "Ellie Parker" was first a 16-minute short film which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. They then went back, filmed additional scenes, and released it as a feature.

GoldenJCJ

Apparently, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was based on a 6-minute short.

William Fuld

"Rize" from "Krumped"

Jay G.

Both "Imposter" and "Living in Oblivion" were originally short films that were expanded into feature films.

RaraFemina

Yeah...I totally misread the original post...sorry!!!!

devilshalo

Idle Hands was expanded into a feature.

RichC2

next year's "9"

DRG

Peter Jackson's "King Kong", relatively speaking.

whotony

no it wasnt. the creators of the movie made a short film to sell the idea to producers to get a movie deal.


d.e.b.s. is an example i think of the origional topic.

Jay G.

That's an interesting distinction. Both "Within the Woods" and the "Bottle Rocket" short were made with similar intentions, with the feature length scripts or projects existing before the shorts were made. Should these be considered "based on" simply because the short existed first? I think for simplicity's sake, yes.

There was the TV show in between the two. In the same way, "South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut" is based, ultimately, on the short "The Spirit of Christmas." Also, "The Powerpuff Girls Movie" would be based on the short "The Whoop-Ass Girls." Also, "Space Jam" would be based on the Looney Tunes shorts, as would "Back in Action." Man, a lot of cartoons start off as shorts.


Another interesting thing that I've noticed is that of all the films listed, only "12 Monkeys" and "Aeon Flux" didn't have the original creators of the short involved. I suppose it speaks to a level of personal commitment to the short that enables it to be expanded into a feature later on.

Tarantino

If we're counting shorts being made to get the full length sold, then Sin City can be up there as well.

= J

sixerb

lmao

caligulathegod

If I recall, Sky Captain's "Short" was almost exactly the first couple minutes of the finished film just with different actors. Not quite the same thing. Those films were finished shorts.

Jay G.

"Bottle Rocket" is basically the first part of the feature film, slightly abbreviated. "Within the Woods" plays like a cliff-notes version of Evil Dead.

I haven't seen the "Sky Captain" short, but it looks like it plays like an extended trailer for the feature, and not so much a short film in it's own right.

Interestingly, this reminds me of the "trailers" for Cannibal! The Musical and Orgazmo that were made beforehand to help get financing for the film.

caligulathegod

I'm not as familiar with Bottle Rocket, but Within the Woods still holds. It's similar to Evil Dead, but it's also different. It has a beginning, middle and end. It stands on its own. The Sky Captain short isn't a "trailer" but is literally the first few minutes of the film. So Bottle Rocket and Sky Captain sound like they shouldn't really count. Within the Woods, and the Stone/Parker films should because they ARE short films in the form of trailers for films that didn't [yet] exist -like Hardware Wars. Doesn't matter the motive.

Jay G.

John Carpenter's film "Dark Star" was expanded from a short.