miguel arteta Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Today YouTube launched a new section of its site titled The YouTube Screening Room, which it calls a "platform for films from around the world to find the audiences they deserve." Here, they will showcase four short films every two weeks and will even offer an occasional feature. Some of the films have been previously screened at film festivals and some have been nominated for or have won an Academy Award. But others will be premiering on the site. Apparently, the filmmakers will be paid a percentage of YouTube's ad revenue based on views and each film will also feature a "Buy Now" button so that you can purchase that film or other films.

Today's debuts include Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?, a 2005 short written by Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know), directed by Miguel Arteta (The Good Girl) and starring John C. Reilly, Mike White and July. I've embedded it above for your viewing pleasure. The other three are The Danish Poet, which won the Oscar for Best Animated Short in 2007, Love and War, which is a stop motion opera from Sweden, and Our Time is Up, which was nominated for Best Live Action Short in 2006 and which stars Kevin Pollak.

It has taken over two years, but the big-screen adaptation of Youth in Revolt is finally gearing up. Previously, our esteemed Erik Davis raved about the book when Dimension Films bought the rights, and then when Michael Cera signed on to star. Now The Hollywood Reporter says that Miguel Arteta is this close to jumping back into the movies and helming the flick. Should the final negotiations wrap up nicely, this will be the director's first film since The Good Girl five years ago.

While that's not really a good indicator of his fit, being one heck of a sullen film, it might help you to remember that this is the guy behind Chuck and Buck. While Arteta hasn't helmed a big screen teen comedy, he's handled a man-child stalker (and an ep of Freaks and Geeks to boot), so this might just be the perfect fit. I hope so, as I can just imagine what fanboys will do to the poor guy if he doesn't.

Meanwhile, Cera will be playing the title character, Nick Twisp -- "a smart, sexually obsessed teen living in a world of moronic adults." A little more specifically, as Erik described last year: "we follow Nick through what he writes in his own personal journals, and join him in his neverending quest to win the love of one 'Sheeni' Saunders." There's no word on when production will begin.

Dave Eggers created a sensation with his debut -- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius -- a memoir about raising his younger brother, Toph, after the deaths of their parents. It reached the top of the New York Times bestseller list, and was a Pulitzer finalist. Way back in 2000, New Line picked up the rights, in 2002, Nick Hornby and D.V. DeVincentis were going to write it, which sounds solid, but then it slipped into development hell when they handed over their script. While we won't be getting any cinematic, Staggering Genius any time soon, Variety has reported that Process Media, the dudes behind Shortbus, have grabbed the feature rights to Eggers' first novel -- You Shall Know Our Velocity.

The story is about two childhood friends, Will and Hand, who decide to set off on a whirlwind, global, week-long journey after Will comes into a huge sum of money -- because he is uncomfortable having it. Instead of just blowing the money on fun, the two plan to give chunks of the cash away to people they find to be the most deserving. Believer (which is part of the Eggers fold) writer Wells Tower has been picked to adapt the story, in what is looking to be his first screenplay. The real icing on this cake is who they tapped to direct -- Miguel Arteta -- he's the guy who brought two of Mike White's indie faves to life -- Chuck & Buck and The Good Girl. If this adaptation gets past the first attempt, the next step will be casting. Who would you pick?