Some REALLY BIG updates.

Howdy-ho from Neighbor Tim, folks! Well smack me with a sock fulla nickels and call me Senor Wences... the continued love that we have received following last month's 2008 RBSFF has been outstanding... we assure you that all the love is headed right back to you, and we want to give you the best show yet in 2009! The biggest thing that we'd like to bring your attention to is the memories captured that weekend by a couple of amazing photographers!

First off, friday night's festivities were captured courtesy of our dear friends at http://www.firebellydigital.com/, who hired an amazing photographer to chronicle what I hope we all can agree was a great evening. You can visit their Flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/firebellydigital to see some pics (posted courtesy of our own Julia "Hobo" Yoder,) that are featured here as well as many more. Say... Jules or Dunc... can we get the name of your photographer so we can pimp him out a little bit here on the Blag? That's some GREAT work that was done.

As for Saturday, friend of the Fest, (and my neighbor,) Jammy Straub of Indy.com set up a "Party Crasher" page which you can find at http://www.indy.com/crasher, with plenty of pics featuring our filmmakers and guests. While you're at it, hit up his Indy.com profile and give him some love for making it out!

Also, as a quick note, we're going to keep you folks posted on the possibilities of our featured films being available for purchase here at YOUR Indiana State Museum. If you have any suggestions for how we can do merchandising in the future, (RBSFF t-shirts, anyone?) Let us know. Hit me up at tim.c.lofton@gmail.com. Yep. That there's my email.

OK, so now I'd like to switch gears and talk about what I'd like to accomplish from here until next year. Our first love here at RBSFF Central is giving exposure to and bringing together the Indiana Film Community. Craig goes a long way with the RBSFF and IMAXIndie series, but we'd also like to use The Really Big Short Blog to do that as well. If you have some ideas for projects or films we can highlight, or some pics you'd like to see go up, drop me a line and let me know. Whatever we can do to bring you guys together and build this Monster up, we want to be a part of it.

I'm going to be honing my chops as well. My own internet guru, Chalupa, was the guy who helped me cut my teeth over at http://www.lebowskipodcast.com/. He and some other Interblaggers have put together a site called bloggingamigos.net which serves as a pretty great tutorial for anybody wanting to get into it... like ME! Check their stuff out... not only is Chalupa a genius and an amazing chef, but he's hilarious as well. Plus, I'd love to see some of you guys do guest articles down the road... (See how we're bringing this all together here???)

Okay, youse dudes and ladies, that's it for me today, but I'm hoping to get something back up here pretty soon. It was great to meet all of you this past month, and I hope that in the months to come we can build a tighter relationship with many, MANY more of you. Let's make this thing happen, huh? I'll push the car down the driveway if you guys can CLUTCH FIRST!

Good Times, Sad Times, and Old Times at RBSFF

Howdy howdy, Indiana. Timmy here with the scoop of what's going on here at the Really Big Short Film Festival. Before we get to the latest news from RBSFF Central, we want to express the shock and frustration that we, (and many of you,) felt at hearing of the losses of Brad Renfro and Heath Ledger since our last posting. We are (needless to say,) all BIG movie fans around these parts... it's a big part of the way we've grown up and the way that we interact with and understand the world around us. When we lose those people who have helped us to make those connections, be they actors, directors, composers... we often feel as if we have lost a little bit of that ability, that understanding, that world. Renfro and Ledger were talented, talented young men who have had their share of lights-out performances, and the fact that their careers and lives have been tragically halted disheartens us greatly. Our best thoughts go out to those who loved them.

While all that has been quite sad, we've had a lot of reasons to be very excited around here! THE SUBMISSIONS ARE IN, FOLKS! Craig has already taken a look at most of them, and I'll tell ya, we've got a great field of competitors this year! Many of the submissions are from new competitors, which excites us because we know that the talent pool is growing here in Indiana! There's comedy, drama, documentaries, and all sorts of fun that will be coming your way this February 22nd and 23rd! Filmmakers, stay tuned to this channel, because we're going to have the TOP 12 listed RIGHT HERE and also on http://www.reallybigshortfilmfestival.org/ this coming Monday! If you're planning on attending the Festival, (and you'd better be!) we're going to have plenty of updates leading up to the big weekend... so get ready to come on down to the IMAX Theater here at the Indiana State Museum, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the show VERY SOON.

Last year's event was a total smash, which is why we're expecting a great time this year, as well. Following the hard work put in by Festival Founder and BossHoss, The Internet's own Craig A. Mince, over 50 submissions came in from around the state of Indiana. Everyone from Pros to Amateurs, Seniors to High Schoolers got involved and shared their work with us. Our Friday Night Picture Show showcased our 3 top films; Steve Marra's Evidence of Life, Sarah Mynett's In the Blue, and Duncan Alney's Happiness. We packed the IMAX full of Indiana film fans, had a forum with the directors, and left a lot of people with a great experience. BUT as much fun as last year was, Craig and I are looking forward to an even better event this year! Show up, or suffer the taunts and ridicule of ALL your friends!

OK, so how many of you turned out for Cloverfield last week? A) Who loved it, B) Who was disturbed beyond belief, and C) WHO CAUGHT THAT THING IN THE LAST SCENE!!!! If you didn't go back and see it! You'll know what I'm talking about as soon as it happens! We also TOTALLY dug the new trailer for the Star Trek movie, and I'm REALLY looking forward to seeing Rambo this weekend. (Gimme a break. I love Stallone.) We'll also be doing the first round of judging this week, so get ready to hear who we picked! In the meantime, Craig and I will be pushing U2 3D here at IMAX, (Come see it. I can promise you won't regret it.) and coming back NEXT WEEK with more news and info, along with our thoughts on who would win in a game of Wii Boxing: Rocky Balboa or Jake La Motta. Keep your sticks on the ice, Indiana, and CLUTCH FIRST!