From “Fatal Attraction” to “Boogie Nights” to “Whiplash,” some of cinema’s most beloved tales began as bite-size shorts. Since creating a film is generally a series of trial-and-error experiments, short films can be a good place for aspiring filmmakers to create a narrative proof of concept, hone their voice, and build relationships with actors and other industry professionals. These pithy projects even have the potential to become feature films. But don’t take it from us—all the movies here began as short films with feature-length aspirations.
1. “The Sitter” (1977) → “When a Stranger Calls” (1979)
Writer-director Fred Walton and his co-writer Steve Feke shot their 22-minute horror short in three days. Two producers were so impressed after seeing it at a one-week showing in Los Angeles that they optioned it for a feature film adaptation.
2. “Within the Woods” (1978) → “The Evil Dead” (1981)
A 19-year-old Sam Raimi wrote, directed, and produced “Within the Woods” on a budget of only $1,600. He convinced a local theater to screen the film before “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” where it was so successful that he expanded it into “The Evil Dead,” kicking off the careers of both Raimi and the film’s star, Bruce Campbell.
3. “Diversion” (1979) → “Fatal Attraction” (1987)
Paramount commissioned writer-director James Dearden to make a feature after his short film “Diversion” made waves on British television. The result? “Fatal Attraction,” which Dearden wrote and Adrian Lyne directed, and which went on to become 1987’s second-highest-grossing film at the global box office, receiving six Academy Award nominations.
4. “The Dirk Diggler Story” (1988) → “Boogie Nights” (1997)
When he was a senior at Montclair College Preparatory School, Paul Thomas Anderson raised money to make “The Dirk Diggler Story” by cleaning cages at a pet shop. He shot the film with a Betamax camera he received from his father. He would later expand the short into the Oscar-nominated “Boogie Nights,” starring Mark Wahlberg and Julianne Moore.
5. “Bottle Rocket” (1994) → “Bottle Rocket” (1996)
Then a first-time filmmaker, Wes Anderson shot this 13-minute short that he co-wrote with star Owen Wilson in 1992. It received critical praise at the Sundance Film Festival, and two years later, Anderson turned it into a full-length feature with original actors Wilson and his brother Luke, along with screen legend James Caan.
6. “Peluca” (2003) → “Napoleon Dynamite” (2004)
Before deadpan teen Napoleon Dynamite, there was Seth (also played by Jon Heder), the lead character in this short film that was Jared Hess’ class project at Brigham Young University. After it played at the 2003 Slamdance Film Festival, a classmate convinced Hess to drop out of school and expand it into the cult favorite that "Napoleon Dynamite” is today.
7. “Saw” (2003) → “Saw” (2004)
Director James Wan and screenwriter-star Leigh Whannell filmed the original nine-minute “Saw” as a pitch to studios; they shot it in two days with almost no budget. They screened their short to producers at Evolution Entertainment, who offered them $1.2 million to make the full-length version. The “Saw” franchise has now made more than $1 billion worldwide.
8. “9” (2005) → “9” (2009)
Shane Acker created “9” as a student project for UCLA’s Animation Workshop. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best animated short film and caught the attention of Tim Burton, who then produced the feature adaptation. The feature film featured voice work by Elijah Wood, Jennifer Connelly, and John C. Reilly, among others.
9. “Alive in Joburg” (2005) → “District 9” (2009)
After seeing Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi mockumentary short “Alive in Joburg,” film legend Peter Jackson hired Blomkamp to direct a film adaptation of the “Halo” video-game franchise. When that project fell through, Blomkamp and Jackson made “District 9” instead, an expansion of “Alive in Joburg” that received widespread acclaim and four Academy Award nominations, including for best picture.
10. “Mamá” (2008) → “Mama” (2013)
In another example of an A-list auteur fostering a short to the big screen, Guillermo del Toro was so impressed with Argentine filmmaker Andy Muschietti’s short “Mamá” that he decided to produce a feature film version starring Jessica Chastain. “Mama” launched Muschietti’s directorial career, and he went on to direct “It” and “It Chapter Two.”
11. “Whiplash” (2013) → “Whiplash” (2014)
Damien Chazelle based his 18-minute short on his intense experience in his high school jazz band. After the short’s 2013 debut at the Sundance Film Festival, Chazelle got the backing to make the full film. The feature premiered at Sundance the next year and won both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize before taking home three Academy Awards at the 2015 ceremony.
12. “Madeline & Cooper” (2018) → “Shithouse” (2020)
Occidental College student Cooper Raiff spent his 2018 spring break on campus filming “Madeline & Cooper.” After catching the attention of filmmaker Jay Duplass on YouTube, the film became “Shithouse,” Raiff’s first full-length feature. The movie went on to win the Grand Jury Award at South by Southwest in 2020.
13. “Emergency” (2018) → “Emergency” (2022)
“Emergency” began as part of Film Independent’s Project Involve fellowship venture. The collaboration between director Carey Williams and writer K.D. Dávila won the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and the Grand Jury Award at South by Southwest the same year. Williams and Dávila then expanded it into a feature, which premiered at Sundance in 2022.
14. “Mr. Malcolm’s List” (2019) → “Mr. Malcolm’s List” (2022)
In 2019, Suzanne Allain’s screenplay, adapted from her self-published 2009 Regency romantic comedy novel, was adapted into a short film by director Emma Holly Jones, with Gemma Chan and Freida Pinto starring. After being picked up by Bleecker Street, the feature-length expansion hit theaters in 2022; Pinto revisited the lead role and Zawe Ashton stepped in to play her best friend.
15. “Talk to Me” (2018) → “Talk to Me” (2023)
YouTubers Danny and Michael Philippou transformed a short comedy-horror concept script by Daley Pearson (producer of the kids TV show “Bluey”—no, really) into a feature horror film, but the wait was well worth it. “Talk to Me” soon became one of A24’s top movies, and star Sophie Wilde won the AACTA award for best actress for her role as Mia.
16. “Night Swim” (2014) → “Night Swim” (2024)
Bryce McGuire waited 10 years to turn the five-minute short he created with Rod Blackhurst (and filmed in singer Michelle Branch’s yard, natch) into a feature film, with McGuire as director and Blumhouse as producer. The movie depicting the evil lurking in a swimming pool’s shadowy depths was critically panned, but quickly developed a cult following upon its streaming release.
This story originally appeared in the Apr. 21 issue of Backstage Magazine.
