Want to watch a feature-length, fan-made remake of Footloose? While I admit that my initial answer to this question would normally be a resounding “no, thanks,” even a hater like myself had to admit that this was a cool idea. It seems some amateur filmmakers were so upset about the prospect of a Hollywood Footloose remake that they decided to take things into their own hands. Yes, precisely, just like I do with my wang.

We’ve all spent lots of time atop our film-loving high horses bemoaning the Hollywood studios’ tendency to take our favourite classic films, change the script, add some 17-year-old Disney stars to the cast and release them as summer blockbusters year after year. When was the last time we thought to do anything about it, though?

Upon hearing that the 1984 classic Footloose was being remade by Hustle and Flow director Craig Brewer [after tiny dog enthusiast Kenny Ortega dropped out] for a 2010 release [first with Hollywood twink Zac Efron, later with Hollywood super twink Chace Crawford], David Seger and Tim Marklevitz—two film-savvy pals from Los Angeles—decided to rally together 58 of their film-making friends to re-create the 54 scenes from the film for The Footloose Remake.

“We were fed up,” they say of their motivation behind the project, “The Hollywood remake machine was going to take another solid movie, put it through the ringer, and make a buck from a younger generation. We decided “Let’s beat them to the punch. Let’s do this remake our way.”…Originally slated to release in June 2010, director complications have pushed the release of The New Studio Remake Footloose back to 2011. Hollywood can’t make it by 2010? We can. Our fifty-four filmmaker The Footloose Remake will hit Los Angeles in June, taking the place of Paramount’s release. Let’s undermine the Hollywood remake machine.” [source]

(*looks up from filling Molotov cocktails*) Undermine Hollywood how now?  Oh. Well I guess that’s a good idea too… Anyway, you can watch the film after the jump.  As I said, it’s a pretty cool idea.  But I confess I do prefer my “amateur” films with more… scissoring.
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This is a fan-made trailer for Iron Man 2 created by Vic at ScreenRant, who I hear has a natural, masculine musk.  It was created using just footage of Iron Man 2 that was already online, but the result is a surprisingly cool, almost four minutes of footage.  Am I the only one thinking this looks like it could be better than the first one? Sam Rockwell?  Machine-gun hands?  Yes, please.  Also, this is the first time I’m noticing it, but is there a subtle, MMA angle?  Tony Stark is wearing MMA gloves and later, ScarJo does some crazy 69-Judo throw on a guy.  (Also yes, please).  Keep in mind, Iron Man 2 director Jon Favreau also played in MMA fighter in Four Christmases, and in his six-episode arc on Friends as Monica’s boyfriend back in ’97, he played a rich guy who was training to be an Ultimate Fighter.  I don’t know what I was trying to prove with that, but I feel like Glenn Beck all of a sudden.

Also, I made an Iron Man tribute of my own below.  I didn’t use any of the footage, but I think you’ll agree it’s just as good:

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A group of incredibly proactive dork- er, Lord of the Rings enthusiasts, recently shot a 40-minute, high-definition film in North Wales with an all-volunteer crew of 150.

Called The Hunt for Gollum, the film is the work of 150 volunteers, says director Chris Bouchard.  “We’re essentially a bunch of fans and enthusiast filmmakers,” says Bouchard, who has put two years into the project. He made up the plot, which focuses on a search to find the deranged Gollum. The fear is that the wizened creature might reveal the whereabouts of the magic ring to the powers of darkness.

Fred Von Lohman, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, says it’s not really clear whether Bouchard and his crew of volunteers are in violation of the copyright for Tolkien’s work. Von Lohman says fans have always written their own stories based on TV shows and movies. That’s legal. But a high-quality movie available over the Internet ['The Hunt for Gollum' is set to premiere on DailyMotion this Sunday] could change the game. [via NPR]

I know how these people feel.  I’m always trying to get my not-for-profit tribute movies made.  I invite girls over to watch porno and then beg them to help me make a prequel.  But usually they say no and I end up wrestling an orc.