This Short Is the Best “Proof of Concept” I’ve Ever Seen

Maybe all “proof of concept” pieces are equal. But some are more equal than other, right? And this one just might be the most equal ever. (OK, fine. I’m putting “Animal Farm” down now. And stepping away.)

Proof of Concept/pitch for The Leviathan, created by Ruairi Robinson.

By the early 22nd century mankind had colonized many worlds. Faster than light travel was made possible by harvesting exotic matter from the eggs of the largest species mankind has ever seen. Those that take part in the hunt are mostly involuntary labor.

Developed with the assistance of Bord Scannáin na hÉireann/the Irish Film Board

Someone needs to give this (Oscar-nominated, Irish) Ruairi Robinson guy a bunch of money. So he can make this film. Like…now. (In other words, I fully endorse the FilmSchoolRejects title: “Someone Give Ruairi Robinson All the Money to Make Leviathan Immediately.”)

Sure, “proof of concept” stuff can be a bit misleading (like a trailer) because it can give you all the greatness/imagination/inventiveness up front. In fact, there are moments in this one that reminded me of the mind-blowing first teaser for Godzilla –a film never quite delivered on the breathtaking promise of that trailer.

Still, this is basically sci-fi whaling on a massive, mesmerizing scale. And it’s scripted by Fight Club screenwriter Jim Uhls. And it looks amazing. And it’s not a sequel or pre-existing power-house property. (Wait. Is that even allowed any more?)

So I, a long-time sci-fi fanatic and huge fan of visual spectacle in/on film, am in. Now, we just have to wait and see if the roughly 750K views its garnered since being released on Monday is enough to get a studio’s attention. (In the meantime, maybe I’ll check out Ruairi’s The Last Days on Mars. It’s streaming on Netflix, after all.)

Attribution(s): All artwork, publicity images, and stills are the property of Ruairi Robinson and all respective creators. And with a little luck, we’ll be able to add the phrase “and distributors” to that list some time in the future.