PlayStation Network strikes with exclusive Hollywood film shorts

Sony have unveiled their own diabolical plan to get some Hollywood magic on PSN, they'll be delivering short films based on words that "capture the essence of PlayStation".

No not words like 'expensive' or 'delayed' but "Play, Create, Share, Connect, Discover and Challenge." It kicks off on November 13th and produced under Shoot! It's different I guess.

The flicks will be available as free downloads for both PS3 and PSP through the PlayStation Store, as it would be a little egotistical to charge you for propaganda films.

Some real Hollywood talent will be behind or actually in the films like Jerry Bruckheimer, he produced Pirates of the Caribbean. These mini movies will air on ShortsTV in January '09.

So far there's no word on whether these inspiring works of creative visual art will be gracing the US PlayStation Store, as only the European one has got a mention.

If you care then here are the descriptions for the shorts:

Bitter

Director: Joel Wilson and Jamie Campbell

Executive Producer: Michael Winterbottom

Joel Wilson and Jamie Campbell are two of the UK's best young directors. They have worked on a number of short films as well as directing commercials for Virgin Trains, Kodak, Walkers Crisps and The Times newspaper and have now set up Eleven Film Limited, which has produced a number of Documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4. 'Bitter' is the tale of a man who is set to meet his daughter's boyfriend for the first time. When he meets him he is faced with his worst nightmare - they are the same age and the meeting is a tale of the unexpected.

Citizen Hero

Director: Christophe Perie

Executive Producer: Jan Kounen

Christophe is a 30 year old young director. Before making movies, Christophe was artistic director for a number of commercials in Paris. During this period he had opportunity to work on some of the top French television commercials with feature film directors such as Remy Belvaux (Man Bites Dog) and Luc Besson (The Professional, The Fifth Element).

At the same time Christophe worked as extras assistant-director on international feature films with directors such as M.Night Shyamalan, Ron Howard, Alfunso Cuaron, Gus Van Sant, Oliver Schmitz, Walter Salles.

In 2007, Christophe did his first short film 'CUISINE AMERICAINE', a four minute long black comedy. Once he had completed that, he came back into the world of advertising, but this time as a director. CITIZEN HERO is his second short film.

Christophe is working on his first feature film project - he prepares to shoot in 2009.

Prison Food

Director: Uwe Flade

Executive Producer: Marc Rothemund

Uwe Flade was born in Munich in 1971, but now lives and works in Berlin where he is best known for working on music videos for artists including Depeche Mode, Franz Ferdinand, In Extremo, Nickelback and Rammstein. His film, Prison Food, set during a very special Sunday in a single prison cell, is a tale of entrapment, tension and the power of the human imagination. With only a ball and the human mind, to comfort them, Flade's characters envision a better life for themselves, free from their repetitive, helpless state. It's only disrupted by reality rudely shattering their delicate fantasies.

Hands

Director: Xavi Jose

Executive Producer: Montxo Armendariz

Director Xavi Jose has built up an impressive resume as a cinematographer, photographer, and director of photography--with work from Berlin to Barcelona, with clients from Calvin Klein to the Swedish band Sahara Hotnights under his belt. His film, Hands, his first in the director's seat, is a fascinating and melancholy character portrayal that reveals a new facet with every viewing. The story of a couple who live with a damaging secret, and the actions that pull them apart, it's a tale that ultimately grips and shocks us. Xavi has brought his full array of talents to creating a film that looks as good as the script reads.

8.3 Minutes

Director: Klaus Thymann

Executive Producer: Thomas Vinterberg

Highly acclaimed photographer Klaus Thymann has proved a multi-talented force to be reckoned with. His photographic work has been featured in ID, Dazed & Confused, The Face, and GQ. Thymann has done visual campaigns for Coca-Cola, Levi's, Adidas, BMW, and Nike, and co-founded the art and design-based Black Box magazine. His short film, 8.3, uses elements from Mayan culture and modern technology to explore the divide between science and mysticism. Thymann's work asks just what differentiates our beliefs in the spiritual world from the facts that we cannot ignore. It's a work that builds tension upon itself piece by piece, until all is revealed in a dramatic, surprising conclusion.

The Dreaming

Director: Anthony Green

Executive Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer

Anthony Green is a young Canadian director interested in exploring global issues and contemporary morality through the medium of film. He currently lives in London, where as a recipient of the Graduate Merit Award, he is completing a post-graduate degree in Media and Communications at the London School of Economics. His dissertation will focus on the motion picture industry's role in facilitating social change.

Aged 21, Anthony wrote and directed PIGEON, his first short film to attract international acclaim. The film recounts the true story of Susi Penzias and her attempt to flee Nazi-occupied France in 1941. Besides playing at over two dozen film festivals and winning numerous awards, PIGEON is employed as a model in Ken Dancynger and Pat Cooper's Writing the Short Film, and used in classrooms worldwide as a tool for educating students about the Holocaust.

In 2005 Anthony earned a BFA with honours from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. His thesis film, SCREENING, explores the sensitive topic of racial profiling, capturing the anti-Islamic sentiment of post-9/11 America. The sixteen-minute short premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006, and has gone on to play at festivals worldwide, winning over 20 prestigious awards. Most notably, in the spring of 2007, SCREENING won the Student Academy Award for Best Narrative Picture, as well as 6 Golden Sheaf awards including Best Drama and Best Director. In March 2008, SCREENING was among the nominees for Best Live Action Short at the Canadian Genie Awards.

Between his degrees, Anthony spent two years documenting the Rolling Stones' "Bigger Bang" tour. Through 120 cities, in 40 countries, Anthony and his partner recorded the on-stage and behind-the-scenes life of the legendary rock band. The resulting 70-minute documentary, entitled Salt of the Earth, packaged with three live concerts, has already become one of the best-selling music DVDs of all time.

Anthony Green was born on June 21, 1982 in Toronto, Canada. He is presently in the process of researching and developing a story for his first feature-length project.

Source: Shacknews