Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...

... they’re screening a film called INSIDE. This is a film written and directed by a guy named Jeff Mahler. Why should you care?

Because Jeff Mahler was, and is, a Talkbacker. He's a lot of things. He's a John Hughes fanatic. He may well be the most non-ironic TEEN WOLF fan alive. He's the shortest non-midget in North America. And now he's a feature filmmaker. Pretty spiffy. The first time I was ever aware of him, it was as a Talkback identity. He was one of the many people who I then met in real life and ended up liking a lot in person. I know sometimes it seems like we “hate” Talkbackers, but that’s not the case. On a day like this, Harry and I feel like Talkback is a total success. Because we always wanted it to be a community, an extension of the site with a life of its own. We always wanted to get to know Talkbackers and to see what happens as they eventually cross from just talking about films to actually making them. And, yes, I know there are people in Talkback who already work in the industry, but the vast majority of our readership is made up of people outside of the industry.

So Jeff’s living the dream. He made a feature independently, and now he’s revving up on the festival circuit with it. The Florida Film Festival is a good one for the pure indies, films that really do just exist on credit cards and prayers. INSIDE isn’t a perfect film, but it’s a passionate one, and it’s just great to see it finally play on a screen for a real audience. Consider this a shameless plug if you will, or consider it inspiration for whatever it is you’re working on. Either way, if you’re in the area and you’re trying to decide what to see at the festival, try to fit in INSIDE tonight, from 6:00 until 8:00.