A highlight of the first half of 2010 was the culmination of Ridley Scott Associates’ collaboration with Philips to create five short films whose only connection were the six lines of dialogue to be used.

The Parallel Lines premiere played host to the five films and you can see those films, and read our report of the event here. Carl Erik Rinsch, whose short The Gift impressed the audience and would have had no small part in the decision to seek him out to direct the remake of Logan’s Run, before (hopefully) working on bring a feature length version of The Gift to the screen.

Philips today issued a press release detailing the continuation of the Parallel Lines initiative with news of an extra dimension to the next short film, which will be directed by RSA’s Barney Cokeliss. An accomplished director of adverts Cokeliss is currently working on a section of  Geography of the Hapless Heart, which is a portmanteau feature built of fives stories happening simultaneously in five cities, as well as a film based on a chort story by J.G. Ballard.

Here’s a few choice cuts from the release,

Today, Philips announce their continued collaboration with renowned film producers, Ridley Scott Associates (RSA) – founded by Sir Ridley Scott – to  produce an all-new 3D short film for the Parallel Lines campaign, directed by RSA’s Barney Cokeliss. The ‘Parallel Lines’ campaign won the 2010 inaugural Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Film Craft.

The 3D film will be revealed in September and will be supported by an in-store retail experience.  A 2D version of the film will also be presented on www.philips.com/cinema and www.youtube.com/philipscinema. Exclusive footage of how the film was made, including interviews with the director and crew, will be released on Philips Cinema’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/philipscinema during the build up to the premiere in September.

You can find out more about Cokeliss here.

The good news that Carl Erik Rinsch has jumped aboard the Logan’s Run remake is further compunded by the news today that Warner Bros have enlisted the services of novelist and screenwriter Alex Garland to adapt the story.

Bear in mind that this is not a remake of the 1976 film which starred Michael York and Jenny Agutter, it is a return to original source material – the novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Therefore the city scenes which occupied a lot of screen time in the film version will give way to the actual ‘run’ which, in the book, takes place mostly outside – so we can expect to see a lot of that – and I won’t spoil it but if you’ve seen the film you’l know how it was handled there.

Exciting news as Garland’s track record (and collaboration with Danny Boyle) is an excellent one and I can’t wait to see his work on Mark Romanek’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. With 28 Days Later and Sunshine in his pockets already Garland is well versed in sci fi of a more ideas based bent and with a novel like Logan’s Run this is undoubtedly a bonus.

HeatVision spake thus here.

Hiring Carl Erik Rinsch for his retooling of Logan’s Run was a smart move from Joel Silver, and while the project is still early on in the developmental stages, a quote from an interview conducted by MTV confirms that the film is going to benefit from an extra dimension.

Here’s the quote which necessitated this post.

I’d like to make ‘Logan’s Run’ [in 3-D],” he said. “It’s a movie I’ve always been intrigued with, excited by. We’re writing a script now and that should be a big 3-D movie and it should be devised and shot in 3-D. I think if we can pull it together, then it would be.

So, no huge surprise there, and it gives an indication of the ‘event movie’ status of this one. I’m more interested in the world Rinsch will create, as all I’ve got going around my head right now is Jenny Agutter and Basil Exposition avoiding a malfunctioning laser surgery machine.

The much anticipated Logan’s Run remake is a step closer today with the news that one of Ridley Scott’s own, Carl Erik Rinsch, is talking to Warners about taking over the project.

The 1976 film was a favourite of mine and told the story of a future society in which the population is maintained by the process of Carousel in which every citizen who reaches the age of thirty is killed. Those who decided not to celebrate the end of their twenties in that fashion were dubbed Runners and it is up to the Sandmen to hunt them down and wish them a happy birthday by shooting them.

Pre-Superman Returns Bryan Singer was working on this one before he jumped ship for the cape and, as any good property primed for a remake will do, it sat around waiting for the right creative team to get it started again. HeatVision report today that Rinsch is the man to do just that.

Carl Erik Rinsch’s Parallel Lines short The Gift was the highlight of the short film series (which you can enjoy here), and news instantly broke of a bidding war to expand the project, only for Philips to slam doors in faces. Rinsch, who was at one time Ridley Scott’s pick to direct his Alien prequel, is now involved with 47 Ronin, after which he’ll be on board to fire the gun that will start Logan’s Run again.

Yesterday Dave and I watched the five Parallel Lines short films at a BAFTA screening and saw some pretty impressive work by the five directors.

If you’ve not read the article please take a look, not least because we’ve embedded each of the five films into the post, you’ll also have a reference point for this post.

Five of the directors from Ridley Scott’s RSA company took part in the Philips Parallel Lines project and one which made a great impression on the gathered journalists and film students was Carl Erik Rinsch’s kinetic future thriller The Gift.

Carl Erik Rinsch was tipped to make his feature debut with the forthcoming prequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien until the higher powers demanding Scott himself take on the project, and in The Gift we see why Sir Ridley was happy to entrust one of his greatest legacies to this man.

Now Heat Vision are bringing us the news that Warner Bros and Fox are clamouring to get on board with Rinsch to expand The Gift to a full length film. Certainly The Gift was easily the most obvious candidate from the five we were shown to warrant a longer film – the short almost acted a prologue to a larger film and I was enraptured by the world he created, and wanted to see more.

Take the time to see it, and let your imagination run riot with the question we, and Warner and Fox, are asking – what happens next?

The Philips Parallel Lines project held the premiere tonight of its five short films, each containing the same six lines of dialogue, each a totally unique vision. It was a great way to celebrate the art of the short.

What was unveiled tonight were five disparate visions, but each sharing in vibrant storytelling and arresting imagery as the directors clearly relished the freedom to each make what they will of the challenge set to them by Philips.

The five short films came from directors from the Ridley Scott Associates stable and were premiered collectively tonight as part of the Philips Parallel Lines push, designed to showcase their new Cinema 21:9 ultra wide TV range and, like Spike Jonze/Absolut collaboration with the sublime 30 minute film I’m Here, this corporate cohabitation was all about the art of telling an interesting story.

Dave and I were at BAFTA in central London to enjoy the Parallel Lines premiere, and it was fantastic to see the films up on the big screen. Introduced by the Chairman of BAFTA, David Parfitt, the films each chose to use the same few lines of dialogue in vastly different ways; while the directors had to use the specified lines of dialogue they were free to create everything else, and the difference visible in the films is astounding.

The results went from CGI children’s animation to an android thief zooming through the streets of a future Moscow to a literally touching story of donkey in a high rise – the breadth of imagination was impressive and inspiring.

Greg Fay, Johnny Hardstaff, Carl Erik Rinsch, Jake Scott and Hi-Sim were the directors on show, and their films can be seen below, and I urge you to watch each of them as these are film makers of considerable talent being given free rein and each film had to pass under the watchful eye of Sir Ridley.

Director of the short Darkroom, Johnny Hardstaff, took the stage following the screening and was candid about his excitement at getting the chance to take the few strands of dialogues and build a whole world around it – indeed, his take is a wonderful short which uses the wide expanse of the 21:9 screen to great effect, and his background as a designer is evident in every frame of this film.

Here’s Johnny talking about his word on the Parallel Lines project, and you can see his, and the other films, below. Enjoy, and stay tuned to HeyUGuys for an exciting opportunity to get involved in Parallel Lines.

Johnny Hardstaff – Darkroom

Hi-Sim – Jun and the Hidden Skies

Carl Erik Rinsch – The Gift

Greg Fay’s wonderful El Secreto de Mateo

Jake Scott – The Hunt

HeyUGuys isn’t all about big budget Hollywood blockers, we love to look at the lesser known but often equally as good (or even better) projects like this one that Philips are working on. The project is called Parallel Lines and this copy from the Philips website gives you a little more of an idea of what it’s all about:

Philips selected a single unifying theme and challenged RSA’s (Ridley Scott Associates – Founded by Sir Ridley Scott) directors to create a cutting-edge short film in a genre of their choice to showcase the cinematic capabilities of Philips TVs. More than 45 submissions were received and five were selected to be produced in genres ranging from drama, action, animation, sci-fi to thriller. The chosen film directors are Greg Fay, Johnny Hardstaff, Carl Erik Rinsch, Jake Scott and Hi-Sim.

To celebrate the premiere on 8th April, the homepage of YouTube will feature the first ever media player in cinematic 21:9 format featuring scenes from the ‘Parallel Lines’ trailer. This will lead to a dedicated Philips Cinema YouTube channel where the films can be watched on Philips unique ‘Ambiplayer’. It will be the first time a 21:9 cinematic format media player has ever been used on YouTube.

Have a look at this trailer which will give you an insigt into some of the films.

This really is a very special event and the lovely guys at Philips have been kind enough to give us 3 pairs of tickets for our readers to be able to attend the UK VIP premiere screening of the Philips Parallel Lines project. The evening event will be taking place at the BAFTA in Piccadilly on Wednesday 7^th April. Along with the screening of the films, there will also be a special screening of interviews of all five associated directors. Jon and I will be there representing HeyUGuys and we’d love for you to be there too.

You can find out more about the project here.

To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, we’d like you to answer the following question:

From which country did the company ‘Philips’ originate?

Use the form below to enter.

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK only.
• Only one entry per household will be counted.
• The competition will close Friday 2nd April at 23.59 GMT.
• The winners will be picked at random from entries received.

The usual T&Cs can be found here.

Variety is reporting today that Universal Pictures are close to naming Carl Erik Rinsch as director for the forthcoming 47 Ronin movie. It will be Rinsch’s first feature, he is best known for being a director of commercials. The movie is set to be a big budget action movie along the lines of 300, so it is somewhat surprising they have chosen a first time director to helm the project. Rinsch was however in talks with the Scotts earlier this year about the possibility of directing the proposed Alien prequel, until Ridley relented and took up the reigns himself. You can read Variety’s story here.

 The 47 Ronin is a true story of masterless samurai that hatched a plot to avenge their master’s death in feudal Japan. Having read the story myself, i would be excited about the movie if it was’nt for the presence of Keanu Reeves in a lead role. The idea of Reeves as an 18th century samurai warrior is somewhat ludicrous, but i’ll attempt to keep an open mind.

 Bazmann.