Note: Variety.com appears to be down as of this writing, so we’re introducing a new “trade” today: The Guardian.

• George Lucas says he’s finally begun work on his long-rumored live-action Star Wars TV series. Lucas is adamant that the series will go beyond the tortured Skywalker clan to focus on peripheral characters from the film series, which doesn’t seem to be too much of a problem with the fans: at 6:30 on my local news this morning, this story was punctuated with a shot of the sun triumphantly rising over Manhattan set, to Darth Vader’s theme song. Production assistants at WNBC will apparently take whatever Star Wars extension they can get.
• From the “Yes, The Hollywood Executive Actually Said That” File: Steven Zeitchik of The Hollywood Reporter says Tyler Perry’s box office victory last weekend (his third in three years, after 2005’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman and 2006’s Madea’s Family Reunion) has “heartened the growing number of studios looking to crack the market for black films.” He quotes Sony Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper:”There’s probably not one new story to tell that hasn’t been told about white people. But there are so many stories that haven’t been told yet about people with brown and black faces.”
• Warner Brothers will tack a seven-minute Batman short in front of IMAX prints of the Will Smith vampire film I Am Legend. The short will cover the origin story of the Joker, to be played in Christopher Nolan’s next Batman flick by Heath Ledger.

Sorry, I can’t resist. Remember when I warned you about IFC’s plans to produce and distribute 10 additional episodes of Trapped in the Closet? Um, well, a preview of the first of those episodes is now up on Stereogum (via Fimoculous). Actually, it’s only about 16 seconds of preview–the first minute forty is an R. Kelly-guided recap of the first … uh … season?–but in that 16 seconds, we get glimpses of a gospel choir, an aircraft that at first looks kind of like a spaceship but on further inspection seems to be a helicopter, and the return of the midget.

All that’s great, but I’m really posting about this for two reasons: 1) R. Kelly told Variety that he thinks of Trapped in the Closet as “an independent film,” and 2), the first comment on Stereogum made me laugh out loud: “I like this better when it was called Blue Velvet and it didn’t star R. Kelly.” You may now tell me about your dream R. Kelly/David Lynch collaboration in the comments.

Kids might be snacking experts (see yesterday’s post), but let’s admit it. Many adults also find snacks very tasty–and addicting. The cover story on this month’s Wired magazine, “Snack Attack,” is all about “bite-sized entertainment” and how one-minute media is affecting our culture.

The six-spread magazine feature is laid out as a series of snacks, to mimic its topic. Frankly, it gives me a bit of a headache and leaves me feel scattered and distracted. I guess that’s the point. Anyway, among the bite-sized articles:

- “403 Ways to Slice a CD ” (demonstrating how an album isn’t an album any more–it’s an opportunity to dice songs);

- “Sitcom to Bitcom” (about how former Arrested Development star is making a short-form comedy series for Innertube, CBS’ new broadband channel); and

- “4 Wii Microgames: When a Quickie Is All You Have Time For” (about Tetris alternatives that last a few seconds).

Probably the most applicable piece for Spout is “Let’s Do Snacks: A veteran film producer on why Hollywood must adapt to the short-form age.” Peter Guber, CEO of Mandalay Entertainment Group and host of AMC’s Sunday Morning Shootout, writes “It’s not written in the Bible, ‘A movie shall be two hours.’ Someone made that up to sell theater tickets.” This, of course, is true. Paul and I at Spout have lamented in earlier posts that short films aren’t more available outside the festival circuit. (Here’s a previous post on short films, and another, and another.)

But Peter Guber goes on to write: “With technology, the very definition of a story has changed. It used to mean an actor and a script. Now a story is a 15-second, no-dialog clip of someone running across the street.” Hmmm. I’m sure I’m not alone in questioning this. But while many people might question whether a 15-second-no-dialog clip is a story, I would argue that it always has been a story. Technology doesn’t have the power to change the definition of a story, it only changes how we’re able to tell that story.

Guber’s very short article ends by saying that all of Hollywood is “scrambling to construct a new model to profit from these bits and pieces…” but “…if people are thinking this is the end of Hollywood, they’re wrong. This is a whole new beginning.”

I’m very curious to see what direction Hollywood runs in with this new beginning–along a fast track to simply “profit from these bits and pieces,” or along a more meaningful path, that values art and storytelling that can still enrich our lives, just in shorter amounts of time.

(Also check out the “Top 10 Reasons We Like Lists.” Spout loves lists, too!)

I had the privilege last night of watching the shorts program, Secrets and Lives. On hand to talk about their films were filmmakers Adam Burr, Brandon Bennett, and Thom Milano. Burr’s film is RE: Monday, Bennet’s film is Con and Milano’s film is Go I. After the screening I asked the filmmakers to talk about what inspired the making of their films, and how they turned the original ideas into the films we saw last night. They also shared the most rewarding and most challenging moments in the creation of their films.

Starz Denver Film Festival, spout.com podcast

OK, I must admit: I’m super excited. I just spent time perusing the Waterfront Film Festival program, and so much of it sounds so good that I’ve developed this underlying frantic excitement in my belly. It makes me realize how bereft I am when it comes to having access to truly intriguing, unexpected films–the kind that leave you feeling different about everything you think and hear and see.

What I’m most excited about in terms of Waterfront is the line-up of short films. My experience with the genre is limited, but I already have an affection for them, spilling over from my love for short stories. What I love about short stories is how compact they are–how quickly they get to the heart of the matter and make you feel something, make you connect with someone.

Take some of the shorts that will be at Waterfront: Unhitched, a documentary about the residents of Faerie Ring Campground and RV Park, tucked away in the Redwoods, which serves as one of the only options for low income housing in its Northern California region. Twelve minutes long. Or Lighten Up, in which a man confesses to his best friend what he is doing to handle his life’s challenges. Told in eight minutes. Or Losing Lusk, the story of the least populated county in the country’s least populated state, Wyoming. Told in five minutes. And Twitch, which introduces us to a young girl torn between two worlds: her domestic life where she cares for her wheelchair-bound mother, and her escape into the world of sexuality with her eager boyfriend. Ten minutes.

Is anyone else amazed by this? That we can be told anything, become connected to a character, or be transported in any sense in such short bursts of time? I’m amazed. Kudos to the makers of short films. Let’s put our heads together to figure out how to see more of this genre outside of film festivals. Any ideas?