Director Hooman Khalili didn't make things easy on himself when he set out to make his first full-length feature film, called "Olive."
Star power? Check, Oscar winner Gena Rowlands is the star. Funding? Check, courtesy of an early Facebooker. Media credentials? Check, Khalili is part of the Sarah & Vinnie Radio Alice morning show (disclosure: I've appeared on said morning show several times, talking tech).
Equipment? This is where things get complicated, and cool. Khalili and his crew shot the whole thing by rigging an old fashioned film camera up to a Nokia N8 smartphone. Challenging, yes, but as you can see if you check the preview (www.olivethemovie.com), it looks really good. You won't watch it and think, "this was done entirely on a smartphone."
Khalili says he shot the whole thing in five weeks, rushing things at the end to make the Sundance Film Festival deadline. He already has an LA theatre set up to screen the movie later this month, so it'll qualify for Oscar contention. Big plans, has this young director.
We'll get a chance to see more of "Olive," and show it to you tonight at 6 p.m. Check it out. Phone and all, it looks impressive.
Scott, who also loves a good smartphone, is on Twitter: @scottbudman
