The rights to the short film Rise, directed by David Karlak, have been picked up by Filmula’s Johnny Lin and Cross Creek’s Brian Oliver, after being put in turnaround at Warner Bros., according to THR. The film starred the late Anton Yelchin (Star Trek, Terminator Salvation) and Rufus Sewell (The Man In the High Castle). The film is described as being set in “a dystopian future where man’s attempt to create artificial intelligence has spun wildly out of control, leading to a war between man and machine.” The five-minute short is based on a script written by Karlak with Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton from the Saw franchise.
“Brian and I are extremely excited to have an opportunity to build a film franchise based on David Karlak’s wildly popular short,” announced Lin. “I hope this is the start to a long-lasting financing and producing relationship.”
In the short, we learn that artificial intelligence has been achieved in 2017. By the year 2043, where the film is set, there has been a history of violent clashes between “sentients” and humans. Yelchin’s character, who is a sentient, argues that they have feelings, and that the humans have been persecuting them. A war is about to begin after a sentient kills a human in self-defense. Karlak worked on visual effects for films like Feast and The Collector, and the effects are especially well-done for a short. Check it out in the player below.
What do you think of Rise? How would you compare the short to other films about artificial intelligence? Does the premise remind you a bit of The Animatrix? How heartbreaking is it to see Anton Yelchin on the screen again? We want to hear your thoughts. Leave them in the comments or tweet us @ComingSoonnet.
