I made this film, honestly, because i wanted to show off. A grieving police officer attempts to eulogize his mother. In your short film you use bruce springsteens thunder road, but in the feature, you dont. This is a sweet little short that has a heart beating underneath it, though its impossible to know if it would have worked had it been anyone else than bruce springsteen featured in the film. I didnt think that it would be anything more than like a viral video of a dancing cop.
And while hes certainly the star of this film, it would also be unfair to. I had seen really great short films and features that had been made on a small budget. Based on the sundancewinning short film, thunder road follows a texan police officer who loses his mother, custody of his daughter, and eventually his job. A tragicomic watch thunder road online vimeo on demand.
The best short films of all time were hard to find in days past. After putting the film up on vimeo it became a vimeo staff pick and ended up winning a nobudge award which celebrates the best short films and features that are released online for free. Following a heartfelt public campaign to convince bruce springsteen or, perhaps, his battery of lawyers, publishers and master owners to let him affordably release his short film, thunder road, director jim cummings prevailed. We met a wonderful team of french distributors called paname and they distributed thunder road. Thunder road marks the auspicious feature film debut of writer, director, and actor jim cummings, who seemingly delivers a starmaking performance that is equal parts tragic and darkly funny. In 12 minutes, thunder road, which debuted in july on vimeo. The first of three chapters of a short film trilogy about love, loss, and life. And while hes certainly the star of this film, it would also be unfair to say that jim made this journey alone.
Certainly, in the last quarter of the 20th century the name thunder road was associated with bruce springsteen, who appropriated the title for his 1975 epic, but the bootlegger saga was popular in the south for years, playing driveins and midnight movies into. Dont wait for somebody to make your movie, do it yourself. I was watching short films on that platform for the last 12 years, so i know what that audience is looking for. Thunder was shot in two parts, the first during the summer of 2014. Jim cummingss thunder road won the grand prize at the 44th edition of the normandieset deauville american film festival. Jim cummings, whose film thunder road is somewhatinspired by the bruce springsteen song of the same name, isnt the first person to romanticize the boss and allow his words to fuel his creativity. The 2018 edition of the sxsw conference and festivals is here, and the cinapse team is on the ground, covering all things film. Take it from me as someone who was born and raised in jersey, romanticizing the boss is like an unwritten law. Making a short film can be your ticket into creating a name for yourself in hollywood. Shot in one take, the film depicts a police officer giving a eulogy for his mother. A lot of our stuff was intended for the vimeo audience. Independent filmmaker jim cummings on how filmmakers can.
Thunder road wins top prize at sxsw radio television. Jul 19, 2016 watch thunder road, the onetake short that won sundance. Thats why well be taking a weekly look at some of vimeos best and brightest. Things are happening fast for cummings at the moment, and audiences. For years, weve seen his name fly under the producer credit line for many of our favorite staff pick films from the film collective ornana. The ballad of thunder road, a 1957 song cowritten and performed by robert mitchum for the 1958 film thunder road song, a 1975 song by bruce springsteen. This week, jim cummings director of thunder road joins me on the show to demystify the process behind his massive success in filmmaking over the past few years. Winner of the vimeo staff pick award at the 2018 ottawa international animation festival. Its a funny, inventive, and thoughtprovoking film, one that makes you.
From the sundancewinning short film, thunder road follows officer arnaud on a journey to raise his young daughter as a love letter to his late mom. The original short tells the story of a police officer who eulogizes his mother at her funeral by singing and dancing to the bruce springsteen song, thunder road. The first minutes of the fulllength feature film includes the original short. Thunder road takes that notion to uncomfortable new heights and builds a complex human narrative somewhere in the space between. The short film thunder road won the grand jury prize at the sundance film festival in 2016. Watch thunder road, the onetake short that won sundance. Jul 18, 2019 the best short films of all time were hard to find in days past. Sometimes big laughs are spawned from bleak circumstances. It won the short film grand jury prize at the 2016 sundance. Jun 14, 2019 jim cummings is raising funds for thunder road on kickstarter. A feature film based on the short film that won the vimeo staff pick award at sxsw this year.
But now, with youtube, theyre only just a click away. Thunder road follows officer jimmy arnaud as he gives a eulogy for his mother. Jim cummings thunder road wins deauvilles grand prize. Fullscreen has signed up for 6 new shorts from cummings, which will all adopt the single short format of thunder road, and those are expected to land online in september. On top of all that, a new independent film, us funny, was successfully kickstarted just this month. The short film that this is based on is one of the best ive ever seen. It feels like all content these days are getting shorter and shorter.
Watch thunder road online vimeo on demand on vimeo. Thunder road is a short comedydrama film written, directed by, and starring jim cummings. Quick hits with thunder roads jim cummings short of the. Jim won sundance in 2016 with his short version of thunder road, and went on to win sxsw in 2018 with his full length feature adaptation of the film. Jim cummings burst onto the film scene with his short thunder road in. Sundance short film winner thunder road claims grand.
The life of this film presents an interesting case study for those who are making short. Oct 30, 2018 you can watch the short film here and other shorts made by cummings, as well. A police officer faces a personal meltdown following a divorce and the death of his mother. For complete coverage, please visit sxsw the first dozen minutes of thunder road build like a slow moving rainstorm, as a funeral eulogy transforms into a monologue of humor, loss, and eventually dancing. Mp3 by backstreets magazine from desktop or your mobile device. Robert mitchums 1958 film thunder road created a bigger footprint on pop culture consciousness than its box office success suggests. Cummings had also, in the meantime, put all the other short films hed been paid to create, by companies like fullscreen and first look medias topic, on that same vimeo page as. Thunder road follows a broken cop who comes to grips with a. Inside the heartbreaking short film that won sundance. Based on the sundancewinning short film, thunder road follows a southern police officer jim cummings on his journey to raise his young daughter as a. The indie film, which earned a grand jury award at this years sxsw film festival, f. By now, im sure you have heard about the short film turned feature thunder road which is written by, directed by, and stars jim cummings. Not only did mitchum star in the film, he wrote the story and the films theme song.
Sep 08, 2018 jim cummingss thunder road won the grand prize at the 44th edition of the normandieset deauville american film festival. How you see thunder road says a lot about the movie. May 27, 2019 a lot of our stuff was intended for the vimeo audience. Should we avoid the short film for spoilers until we. To push things even further, the film was shot in one unrelentless 15 minute take, all brought together by jim cumming who wrote, directed and performed in this memorable piece. A tragicomic portrait of a failing authority figure in the american south, the film will have you laughing and crying, often at the same time. Thunder road is going to be a strong contender come the end of the year for a spot on our best of 2016 list. Thunder road is a masterpiece in achieving this glorious combination, all while placing you in an uncomfortable, but relatable situation. Join the worlds leading professional video platform and grow your business with easytouse, highquality video creation, hosting, and marketing tools.
Hints are dropped that jim was never the dutiful son, but equally, he could just be convincing himself that he wasnt. Aug 09, 2018 this week, jim cummings director of thunder road joins me on the show to demystify the process behind his massive success in filmmaking over the past few years. Jan 23, 2016 this is a sweet little short that has a heart beating underneath it, though its impossible to know if it would have worked had it been anyone else than bruce springsteen featured in the film. The short film that won the grand jury prize at the 2016 sundance film festival is the definition of laughing through your tears. Officer arnaud raises his daughter as a love letter to his mom. Thunder road, a 1980s canadian band led by david thompson thunder road, a 2001 song by judas priest from point of entry. Shot in one take, the film depicts a police officer giving a eulogy for.
I knew it was good, and at the very least we could put it up on vimeo. Thunder road, which was originally a b movie that inspired bruce to write the first track on born to run, now inspires filmmaker jim cummings no. If you have a question about vimeo, chances are weve already answered it in our faq. I dont think i got an experience watching a movie like this one, it made me laugh, it made me sad, made me laugh while being sad, sad while laughing, and jim cummings great performance really helped make that happen. Cummings began posting them on his vimeo page, where he built awareness for his projects and amassed more than 39,000 followers. Thunder road wins top prize at sxsw radio television film. After thunder road s whirlwind tour on the festival circuit, cummings received what any aspiring filmmaker seeks, steady work. Jim has also written and directed the original topic series still life episodes of which have been vimeo staffpicks and the fullscreen original series the minutes collection episodes of which have screened at sundance and sxsw. Jan 03, 2019 cummings had also, in the meantime, put all the other short films hed been paid to create, by companies like fullscreen and first look medias topic, on that same vimeo page as thunder road. Hes taken a magnetic short film and transmogrified it into a featurelength masterclass in the exploration of emotion.
South by southwest film festivals and has since been seen all over the world on vimeo. Jim cummings chats about his indie hit thunder road. The new indie film barnstorming across america is jim cummings thunder road. Thunder road is widely considered the best movie about. Winning the grand jury prize for best short film at sundance, where it was praised as a minimasterpiece of writing, directing and acting, thunder road is a painstaking portrayal of male pathos slowly crumbling in on itself. Fullscreen has signed up for 6 new shorts from cummings, which will all adopt the singleshort format of thunder road, and those are expected to land online in september. Its also just got a fascinating backstory, so we decided to get in touch with the creator and star of the film, jim cummings, and get down with. Thunder road is an original and perfectly constructed short film, winner of the grand jury prize at the 2016 sundance film festival as well as the special jury prize for acting at 2016 south by southwest.
It feels like all content these days are getting shorter. Jul 19, 2016 thunder road is going to be a strong contender come the end of the year for a spot on our best of 2016 list. The film is a comedic drama about a smalltown police officer trying to raise his daughter and cope with his disintegrating marriage. Sep 04, 2018 based on the sundancewinning short film, thunder road follows a texan police officer who loses his mother, custody of his daughter, and eventually his job. Jim cummings is raising funds for thunder road on kickstarter. With jim cummings, kendal farr, nican robinson, jocelyn deboer. So i guess when i see a remark about how the long take does specific things to manipulate the audience, in the case of thunder road, i think that the director is basically just letting the acting carry the movie, and it works well for the film because cuts, like op said, would just ruin the brilliant delivery. But cummings, though he may be one of many inspired by bruce, uses his inspiration. Yes, the short, which many consider one of the greatest of all time, was the source for their feature adaptation, but in reality, jims journey to sxsw royalty started long before thunder road. Thunder road trailer darkly comic policeman dramedy from. Ask them to consider your short film as a vimeo staff pick. From the sundancewinning short film, thunder road follows officer jim arnaud on his journey to raise his young daughter as a love letter to.
Thunder road trailer darkly comic policeman dramedy. Trying too hard and falling short is the thread that runs through thunder road as jim seeks ways to settle the angst and regret born from his mothers passing. This year at sundance, however, we saw a different jim shine this time as the writer, director, and star of his own short, thunder road. Writer, director and star jim cummings gives a jawdropping, tourdeforce performance as police officer jim arnaud. Producer basil iwanyk founded the film and television financing and production company thunder road films in the mid 2000s. Quick hits with thunder roads jim cummings short of the week. The short to feature lab curriculum jim cummings medium. The short film thunder road, written and directed by jim cummings, has been. Thats why well be taking a weekly look at some of vimeo s best and brightest. I was watching short films on that platform for the last 12 years, so i know what that audience is.
Nov 11, 2018 ask them to consider your short film as a vimeo staff pick. The film, written and directed by jim cummings, was among the short films honored at the park city, utah festival. Jul 25, 2016 this week, we bring you jim cummings awkward and hilarious thunder road. The fame of this work is certainly caused by the ability to generate an unsettling emotional ambivalence. Roberts son jim plays his younger brother in the film. This week, we bring you jim cummings awkward and hilarious thunder road. With the funny and ferociously entertaining thunder road, cummings has adapted his 2016 short film into one of the years best american independent features. From the sundancewinning short film, thunder road follows officer jim arnaud on his journey to raise his young daughter as a love letter to his late mom. We couldnt finish the other half of the film because we didnt have the main location, a desolate road. A case study how a short film turned a successful festival run into a feature film which made its money back through selfdistribution. Jim cummings director of thunder road, cannes acid and grand prix at deauville this year, among others, matt miller thunder road, we the coyotes acid cannes 2018, christine caro, germain le carpentier. In january 2012, peter lawson left the weinstein company to join thunder road as a president of production, and then left in january 2014 for a job as exec vp of production and acquisitions at open road films. We met a wonderful team of french distributors called paname and.
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