The Long and Short of It

When I saw The long and short of it I was feeling a little bit down but after the screening I felt A lot better. It's this kind of story that gives you A warm feeling inside, and we all can use some more of this. The story itself is simple, and the moral after it is good. It shows that if we all work together we can achieve almost everything. I hope to see more of this kind of movie's.

This is a wonderful little short about cooperation. The direction is great. Sean took a very simple approach, not a lot of angles, just letting the simple story and setting come out. It seems like it was done simply as a fun diversion while filming the epic Lord of the Rings, and illustrating on a small level what all those involved learned. Watch for Peter Jackson's cameo. And be sure to read the credits. Some are just plain funny! All in all, a fun short film, that proves that Sean Astin has the instinct to become a great director, if he wants to.

A lot of times, filmmakers and film students try to complicate things too much and end up creating a big mess of a story. Astin took a very simple idea and theme, planned and shot it well, and ultimately created a small work of art. Simplicity and great execution tend to be the characteristics that create really good short films. Think of all of the Pixar's shorts. Maybe that's why they bring home the best short film Oscars most of the time?

Cinematographer, Andrew Lesnie, does a great job in his acting debut as the grizzly painter! The part fits him well! Fon Chansantor is perfect and brings a smile of your face the first time you see her on screen. I can't forget to mention "Tall Paul" Randall who does delivers a fine wordless performance as well!

Congratulations to Mr. Astin on such a fine short. I've seen a lot of short films, but this is on of the best and my most favorite live-action short I've seen to date.

NOTE: Look for a cameo by Peter Jackson. It's pretty obvious which one he is!

It was a typical weekend in Wellington, New Zealand when Sean Astin borrowed a camera or two from the "Lord of the Rings" set to shoot a short film he had written.

This is hardly on the scale of "The Lord of the Rings" - especially when one considers that it was made with some materials borrowed from the epic for one afternoon. Nevertheless, it is a very nice short film that is well worth five minutes of anyone's time.

I found the making of documentary to be quite humorous, with Andy Serkis describing his plot - even more insidiously evil than Gollum's plan to steal the One Ring - to rise through the ranks of the production crew :).

I would give this film four out of five, with the fifth star always being reserved for the films that are unspeakably wondrous, so there's no shame in not getting it, especially as small a picture as this.

I heard that Sean was making a short film for the Two Towers DVD, and I was excited to see how it would turn out. And it was really good! It was cool that he used the three people of varying heights to accomplish the goal, and that he used Peter Jackson as the bus driver. That's awesome! The music on it was cool. And I also thought the fact that they didn't talk was cool too. Watch the making of "The Long and Short of It" on the DVD, too. It is really funny! I hope Sean makes some more short films, or maybe he'll be a director someday. Anyway, congratulations on your first film, Sean. Good luck in the future.