What does it take to get people to come out for short films?
Celebrities.
At least that seems to be the approach of the L.A. Comedy Shorts Festival, which on Wednesday announced the program for its third edition by dropping a slew of famous names without actually mentioning the names of the films it'll be showing.
(Not to let the cat out of the bag, but one of them is called "All American Tooles," and features relatively famous person Kurtwood Smith at left.)
But the country's self-described "largest comedy film festival" promises that the shorts will be funny; that the opening night program will include stars like Michael Cera, Rex Lee, Tim Daly and Scott Thompson, along with new stuff from the celeb-heavy funnyordie.com; and that the "key celebrity players" involved in the fest include Bryan Cranston, Julie Bowen, Wayne Brady, Missi Pyle and Brian Austin Green.
Plus, they promise a return of the annual LACSFF panel whose name says it all: "Famous People Talkin' About S***."
The festival will take place from April 7 to April 10 at the Downtown Independent Theater in downtown Los Angeles, and will include 85 unnamed shorts competing for more than $25,000 in cash and prizes in a variety of categories. (To be fair, they're all named on the LACSFF website, just not in the press release.)
Those shorts will be organized into 10 different screening blocks: As Seen on TV; Boys, Toys and Goys; Male Pattern Baldness; Armageddon Hungry; Better Than Birth Control; Shut Your Wormhole; Stone-Cold Busted; Mo' Money, Mo' Ninjas; Fish and Chicks; and Liars and Tigers and Bears.
There's also a screenwriting competition, industry panels, a party at ESPN Zone, and the all-important opening night Celebrity Karaoke.
“Some films have the power to change the World," said festival director Jeannie Roshar in the press release. "Our films have the power to change your mood. And then once you're in a better mood, go for it on the World-Changing thing!!”
Info's available at www.lacomedyshorts.com.
