Sundance just released their short film lineup, and though I’m still going through the release, I know for a fact that there’s at least one film on there that you can watch right this second. FCU: Fact Checkers Unit stars Bill Murray, Kristen Schaal, Peter Karinen and Brian Sacca; it was written by Karinen, Sacca and director Dan Beers. I watched it a couple of months ago on YouTube. It’s good; it didn’t change my world, but it’s polished and funny. In the 3+ months since it’s been available at YouTube and FunnyOrDie, it’s already been watched about 750,000 times. At that point, is playing at Sundance even a big deal? Depending on where it plays and how often, they’ll be extremely lucky if 1,000 people see it in Park City–but I guess the hope is that it’ll be the right 1,000 people.
In any case, it’s not like this is your standard viral video–it clearly has a budget, and did I mention it stars Bill Murray?–but this is, as far as I know, the first instance of a online video hit making the jump to a festival the size Sundance. Please correct me if I’m wrong. And watch the short above–I have a feeling it won’t be on YouTube for much longer.
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Great catch Karina. I have to agree with you, other than the few industry luminaries and execs who might catch their screening up in Park City, I highly doubt that these filmmakers will get a bigger audience than the one they have received on YouTube. For the filmmakers it’s obviously a prestige thing, as they can now say their short film is an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival.
One really has to wonder why it is Sundance would have to select a film from YouTube for its shorts program when they receive thousands they have to decline. I think there is a two word answer to that question: Bill Murray.
Thanks for making all of us aware of this.
That “boob” comment should have gotten that guy fired on the spot. What kind of message are these people sending to young fact checkers looking for tips on grooming, poise, elegance, etc? No wonder this country’s gone to hell when our nation’s filmmakers are too smarmy to really try and make a difference.
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[...] — slowly becoming a viral favorite — and has been watched by over 750,000 people. As Karina from Spout points out, this might be the first time an online video this popular has made the leap to a [...]