As a film critic, I hear a lot about websites where thieves steal and repost other critics' reviews, sometimes not even bothering to remove identifying material.
But this week, I got my first experience in seeing a purported "filmmaker" post short films to his website that he might claim are his, but obviously do not belong to him. I know this because I saw one of the films in its original incarnation: the very funny short My Mom Smokes Weed, from Austin filmmaker Clay Liford -- it screened at Austin Film Festival in 2009 as well as a number of other film fests. And if you've watched any of Liford's movies (Wuss, Earthling), you know this is so very much his trademark work that anyone else trying to pass it off as his own is an idiot.
If you haven't seen My Mom Smokes Weed, now's your chance. I've embedded it below.
But this week, I got my first experience in seeing a purported "filmmaker" post short films to his website that he might claim are his, but obviously do not belong to him. I know this because I saw one of the films in its original incarnation: the very funny short My Mom Smokes Weed, from Austin filmmaker Clay Liford -- it screened at Austin Film Festival in 2009 as well as a number of other film fests. And if you've watched any of Liford's movies (Wuss, Earthling), you know this is so very much his trademark work that anyone else trying to pass it off as his own is an idiot.
If you haven't seen My Mom Smokes Weed, now's your chance. I've embedded it below.
- 8/14/2014
- by Jette Kernion
- Slackerwood
Congratulations to filmmaker Clay Liford, whose latest feature Wuss will have its world premiere in the Lone Star States category at SXSW 2011 next month.
Remember Clay? Last year at SXSW, My Blackberry Ate My Clay Liford Interview when I talked with him and producer Barak Epstein about Clay's cerebral science-fiction genre-crossing movie Earthling, and touched briefly on his 2008 short My Mom Smokes Weed. The man is batting a thousand -- getting two features into SXSW two years in a row is no mean feat. He spent a Sunday brunch at Olivia a couple of weeks ago chatting with Jette and me about his latest projects -- we all ate smoked gouda grits, and the Blackberry did not eat the interview this time.
As it happens, My Mom Smokes Weed star Nate Rubin plays the lead in Wuss. Rubin stars as Mitch, a high-school teacher who can't seem to escape the...
Remember Clay? Last year at SXSW, My Blackberry Ate My Clay Liford Interview when I talked with him and producer Barak Epstein about Clay's cerebral science-fiction genre-crossing movie Earthling, and touched briefly on his 2008 short My Mom Smokes Weed. The man is batting a thousand -- getting two features into SXSW two years in a row is no mean feat. He spent a Sunday brunch at Olivia a couple of weeks ago chatting with Jette and me about his latest projects -- we all ate smoked gouda grits, and the Blackberry did not eat the interview this time.
As it happens, My Mom Smokes Weed star Nate Rubin plays the lead in Wuss. Rubin stars as Mitch, a high-school teacher who can't seem to escape the...
- 2/8/2011
- by Jenn Brown
- Slackerwood
Clay Liford is a festival darling. His first short film, My Mom Smokes Weed, premiered last year at Sundance, and then two months later his first feature, Earthling, had its world premiere at SXSW, going on to garner acclaim at more prestigious festivals (including Spain’s Sitges Fest).
Read more on SXSW 2011: First look at Clay Liford’s Wuss…...
Read more on SXSW 2011: First look at Clay Liford’s Wuss…...
- 2/4/2011
- by Chase Whale
- GordonandtheWhale
While at South by Southwest I had an opportunity to sit down with Clay Liford and Barak Epstein, a very talented duo out of Dallas, to discuss their film ‘Earthling’. The movie is a science fiction film about a group of people who realize their lives aren’t what they seem to be, and that they are actually aliens living inside of “host” human bodies.
Tmp: You seem very passionate about the science fiction genre. Why did you choose to write a character driven Sci-Fi film opposed to what people might normally expect?
Liford: I think it always comes down to my own personal interests, the genre itself is just a part of the palate, more things you can paint with as a part of your film. Sci-fi doesn’t always have to be rockets and ray-guns and stuff like that. There are so many stories within the genre and...
Tmp: You seem very passionate about the science fiction genre. Why did you choose to write a character driven Sci-Fi film opposed to what people might normally expect?
Liford: I think it always comes down to my own personal interests, the genre itself is just a part of the palate, more things you can paint with as a part of your film. Sci-fi doesn’t always have to be rockets and ray-guns and stuff like that. There are so many stories within the genre and...
- 12/10/2010
- Cinelinx
Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Clay Liford
Writer: Clay Liford
Cast: Rebecca Spence, Peter Greene, Amelia Turner, Matt Socia, William Katt
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Summary: After a mysterious atmospheric event, a small group of people wake up to realize that their entire lives have been a lie. They are in fact aliens disguised as humans. Now they have to make a choice. Live amongst men, or try to find a way back home
Run Time: 114 minutes
View the Trailer Here
The independent sci-fi film Earthling opens an alien connection between an unlikely group of characters and reflexively changes the trajectory of their lives. I had the opportunity to see Earthling in competition at the Dallas International Film Festival and was delighted to be able to support an independent sci-fi film made locally in Texas.
Earthling’s artfully woven premise lays out an intriguing situation that tests the humanity of this band of characters.
Director: Clay Liford
Writer: Clay Liford
Cast: Rebecca Spence, Peter Greene, Amelia Turner, Matt Socia, William Katt
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Summary: After a mysterious atmospheric event, a small group of people wake up to realize that their entire lives have been a lie. They are in fact aliens disguised as humans. Now they have to make a choice. Live amongst men, or try to find a way back home
Run Time: 114 minutes
View the Trailer Here
The independent sci-fi film Earthling opens an alien connection between an unlikely group of characters and reflexively changes the trajectory of their lives. I had the opportunity to see Earthling in competition at the Dallas International Film Festival and was delighted to be able to support an independent sci-fi film made locally in Texas.
Earthling’s artfully woven premise lays out an intriguing situation that tests the humanity of this band of characters.
- 7/7/2010
- by Lillian 'zenbitch' Standefer
- ScifiMafia
After its debut at the Austin Film Festival last fall, Texan filmmaker Clay Liford’s sci-fi film “Earthling” is rocking the festival circuit. “Earthling” recently screened at SXSW and the Dallas International Film Festival to sold out crowds. An additional screening was added to the Diff run to accommodate the large demand for this film.
There’s been significant buzz surrounding this film. What is the film about, you ask? Check out the official synopsis and trailer below and stay tuned for SciFi Mafia’s review and exclusive interview with the filmmaker, Clay Liford (“My Mom Smokes Weed”).
Trailer: Earthling
Official Synopsis:
After a mysterious atmospheric event, a small group of people wake up to realize that their entire lives have been a lie. They are in fact aliens disguised as humans. Now they have to make a choice. Live amongst men, or try to find a way back home.
There’s been significant buzz surrounding this film. What is the film about, you ask? Check out the official synopsis and trailer below and stay tuned for SciFi Mafia’s review and exclusive interview with the filmmaker, Clay Liford (“My Mom Smokes Weed”).
Trailer: Earthling
Official Synopsis:
After a mysterious atmospheric event, a small group of people wake up to realize that their entire lives have been a lie. They are in fact aliens disguised as humans. Now they have to make a choice. Live amongst men, or try to find a way back home.
- 5/27/2010
- by Lillian 'zenbitch' Standefer
- ScifiMafia
What do you do if it turns out your very existence is a lie? Clay Liford's feature film Earthling explores identity, relationship and the meaning of home in his follow-up to his Sundance selection short My Mom Smokes Weed.
After a mysterious "atmospheric event," teacher Judith (Rebecca Spence) finds herself at odds with her life, and haunted by an enigmatic student, Abby (Amelia Turner). Judith realizes that the life she thought she had has been a pretense, and after Abby's insistence they are connected, Judith's life starts falling apart.
Clay Liford defies current science-fiction convention, eschewing rockets, robots and rayguns (the "r-cubed" he mentions in our earlier interview) to employ a low-budget indie style that emphasizes the story. Earthling employs an old-school, pre-Star Wars science-fiction style, when the story was more important than the dressings, such as Tarkovsky's Solyaris (or even Soderbergh's remake Solaris). It's more like The Quiet Earth...
After a mysterious "atmospheric event," teacher Judith (Rebecca Spence) finds herself at odds with her life, and haunted by an enigmatic student, Abby (Amelia Turner). Judith realizes that the life she thought she had has been a pretense, and after Abby's insistence they are connected, Judith's life starts falling apart.
Clay Liford defies current science-fiction convention, eschewing rockets, robots and rayguns (the "r-cubed" he mentions in our earlier interview) to employ a low-budget indie style that emphasizes the story. Earthling employs an old-school, pre-Star Wars science-fiction style, when the story was more important than the dressings, such as Tarkovsky's Solyaris (or even Soderbergh's remake Solaris). It's more like The Quiet Earth...
- 3/28/2010
- by Jenn Brown
- Slackerwood
Back in February, we exclusively brought you the second teaser trailer for filmmaker Clay Liford’s (Sundance short My Mom Smokes Weed, St. Nick) haunting film Earthling. The indie sci-fi tells the tale of “tragedy aboard the international space station triggers a discovery that some lives have been a lie.” That lie turns out to be that these select few are actually aliens living on Earth. The beings must then grapple with this newfound existence in the wake of a mysterious threat that draws near.
Read more on SXSW 2010: Full-length trailer for Earthling…...
Read more on SXSW 2010: Full-length trailer for Earthling…...
- 3/9/2010
- by James Wallace
- GordonandtheWhale
Did you miss the Sundance Film Festival this year? The best of the 2010 Sundance shorts will be playing this Saturday in Montreal, Quebec. In fact, the event "Prends ça court!" is back at the Nuit blanche du Festival Montréal en lumière on Saturday, February 27, at the Monument-National from 8 Pm to 3 Am.
In addition to screenings of films, musician Slim Williams will be performing. Other guests include: Ben Charest, Al Baculus, Eric Roberts, Orson Clarke, Coco Thompson, Al Prater, and Dan Martel.
Best Of Sundance Shorts 2010
* Let's Harvest The Organs Of Death Row Inmates, from Chris Weller and Max Joseph.
* Mary Last Seen, from Sean Durkin.
* My Mom Smokes Weed, from Clay Liford.
* The Six Dollar Fifty Man, from Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland.
* Seeds Of The Fall, from Patrik Eklund.
* Logorama, from H5.
* My Invisible Friend, from Pablo Larcuen.
* N.A.S.A (A Volta), from Alexei Tylevich.
* The Armoire,...
In addition to screenings of films, musician Slim Williams will be performing. Other guests include: Ben Charest, Al Baculus, Eric Roberts, Orson Clarke, Coco Thompson, Al Prater, and Dan Martel.
Best Of Sundance Shorts 2010
* Let's Harvest The Organs Of Death Row Inmates, from Chris Weller and Max Joseph.
* Mary Last Seen, from Sean Durkin.
* My Mom Smokes Weed, from Clay Liford.
* The Six Dollar Fifty Man, from Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland.
* Seeds Of The Fall, from Patrik Eklund.
* Logorama, from H5.
* My Invisible Friend, from Pablo Larcuen.
* N.A.S.A (A Volta), from Alexei Tylevich.
* The Armoire,...
- 2/25/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
I find it most convenient that I was just watching the work of young director Clay Liford a few months ago. I was sitting on the jury of the Student Shorts competition at the '09 Austin Film Festival, and his short My Mom Smokes Weed was one of the films upon which I was looking from my high horse (they give you one with your jury assignment.) The little film didn't exactly blow me away, but it did show some promise. A cinematographer turned director, Liford has shown himself to have a clean, but interesting visual style. And I would be lying if I didn't say that I've wondered what he'd do next. Enter his first feature, Earthling, which will debut as part of the narrative feature competition at SXSW. This time, Liford is taking on a little bit of science fiction, turning his lens toward character affected by a tragedy aboard the International Space Station. The...
- 2/10/2010
- by Neil Miller
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Major Gordon to Ground Control Whale. We are proud to bring you the second teaser trailer for writer/director Clay Liford’s (My Mom Smokes Weed, St. Nick) indie sci-fi film, Earthling. The film tells the tale of “tragedy aboard the international space station triggers a discovery that some lives have been a lie.”
Read more on Exclusive! SXSW 2010: Earthling’s “Judith” trailer…...
Read more on Exclusive! SXSW 2010: Earthling’s “Judith” trailer…...
- 2/10/2010
- by James Wallace
- GordonandtheWhale
As we grow up, the life cycle rotates. Our parents grow old and stop taking care of us. And in return for the life they’ve given us and helped us through, we take care of them. We give back the generosity. We reciprocate the love. We pay it forward. And, in some cases, we drive them to buy marijuana from shady and thuggish drug dealers.
Read more on Sundance 2010 Video Interview: Director Clay Liford & Actor Nate Rubin (My Mom Smokes Weed)…...
Read more on Sundance 2010 Video Interview: Director Clay Liford & Actor Nate Rubin (My Mom Smokes Weed)…...
- 1/31/2010
- by James Wallace
- GordonandtheWhale
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