We suppose it was inevitable in the wake of people being encouraged to write a novel in a month, record an album in 29 days, make a movie in a weekend, and create a comic in a day: the latest in America's love affair with creative celerity over quality is the Undergroundfilmmakerfestival, in which auteur wannabes are required to complete an entire short film in four weeks' time. Like the beloved Iron Chef show, contestants are given a theme just before the commencement of the countdown, and will be subjected to a jury who will determine the winner of a fabulous! cash! prize!
According to an article on the festival in Wired, the theme was "the state of the counterculture", well illustrated (according to organizer Daniel Watts) by the guy who went around asking probing questions of Elvis impersonators in a short called What Would Elvis Say?. We're not sure exactly what kind of counterculture is represented by Elvis impersonators and WWJD? jokes, but we're pretty certain that it hasn't been state-of-the art for a good decade and a half.
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