Post a $300 video on Youtube, get a $30 million movie deal

[jimmy olsen]

Man, imagine being that guy right now, must be awesome.

Also, just $300? Really?

Video can be seen here
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/buzzlog-uruguay-to-hollywood.html

YAHOO! BUZZ LOG
From Uruguay to Hollywood: Watch the Video
by Claudine Zap · December 18, 2009
Photo: Carlos Alvarez, Getty Images

Here's a fairy tale that could only happen in the movies. Man makes YouTube video. Goes to Hollywood. Gets pots of money and a movie deal. Except this story is true.

An unknown producer from Uruguay, Fede Alvarez, shelled out about $300 to create a cool video of a robot invasion in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. The four-minute short, "Ataque de Panico!" (Panic Attack) features ginormous (but slow-moving) weapon-wielding robots that blow stuff up.

We have to admit, it has pretty amazing production values. The Playlist gushed that the director may be the next Neill Blomkamp, who made the South African-based alien flick "District 9." With the blog abuzz, the South American short went viral, and has already been viewed on YouTube 1.5 million times.

Well, apparently nothing gets by Hollywood these days. The lucky duck told the BBC, "I uploaded 'Ataque de Panico!' on a Thursday and on Monday my inbox was totally full of emails from Hollywood studios." Long story short, a bidding war ensued. The offer he pocketed: A $30 million deal with Sam "Spiderman" Raimi's Ghost House Pictures. That's a nice return on investment.

The picture will be a sci-fi thriller set in Argentina and Uruguay. In case you're hoping to see the feature-length version of "Panic Attack!" in a movie theater, it won't be from this deal. The newly minted "it" guy says he will start from scratch.

Here's the video that got him Hollywood gold.

[Eddie Teach]

Awesome video. But come on. $30 million for "giant robots attack city?" That concept can't be this guy's intellectual property.

[jimmy olsen]

Awesome video. But come on. $30 million for "giant robots attack city?" That concept can't be this guy's intellectual property.

I think it's such a generic concept it can't be copyrighted. He's getting $30 for his interpretation of such an attack.

[Eddie Teach]

He could design his own robots and save 30 million bucks. Just sayin'.

[DGuller]

Awesome video. But come on. $30 million for "giant robots attack city?" That concept can't be this guy's intellectual property.

I think it's such a generic concept it can't be copyrighted. He's getting $30 for his interpretation of such an attack.

What's the other $29,999,970 for?

[Grallon]

Impressive.  That he could achieve this with so little is no doubt why they granted him that budget.



G.

[Eddie Teach]

Ahh, they're giving him 30 million to make a picture, not 30 million for the rights so Raimi can make one. That makes a lot more sense. 

[Josquius]

If he could do that with $300 though a real film should only cost...what....1 1/2 hours divided by 5 minutes times the 300..$10,000 or so?
Damn wasteful Hollywood.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Yes, but you have to give Tom Cruise $15m so he can buy a few Xetan healing potions; throw in a few million for female eye-candy and there's your $30m.