Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny

Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny^[1] is a short film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lexy Hulme. The short was produced by Gordon-Levitt's online production company hitrecord.org with contributions from artists all over the world. Gordon-Levitt directed and starred in the piece which was written and conceived by Irish writer Sarah Daly.^[2] The lavish visual effects were created by Scotland's Lawrie Brewster^[3] with illustrations from Jenyffer Maria. Nathan Johnson composed the score which was then assembled from the contributions of musicians online.

The film, is a surrealist, steampunk, romantic comedy in both black-and-white and color, with scenes framed by collage-like visuals immersed with hand-drawn cartoon imagery, combining live action and animation. The story, a silent film except for a tongue-twisting narration throughout performed by Gordon-Levitt, follows the first date between Chaplinesque Morgan M. Morgansen (played by Gordon-Levitt) and a charming young woman of anachronistically more modern dress, by the name of Destiny (played by Hulme). Backed up by a sour-turned-sentimental waiter—or the "foodpenguin" (played by Lawrie Brewster)—and a band of cartoon feline musicians (among others), Morgan ultimately manages to woo Destiny. After meeting with Destiny at a restaurant and ordering a cooked rabbit, Morgan discovers Destiny's vegetarianism, and decides to eat only the vegetables around the plate rather than eat the rabbit meat and appall his alarmed date. Appreciative of Morgan's sacrifice at dinner for the sake of her comfort, Destiny begins to kiss him in the street, overlooked by the approving foodpenguin. The two rush off to Morgan's abode and it is stated that Morgan, lying in bed that night, needed no longer feel alone.

The film is remarkable for its narration's unusual wordplay and lush aesthetics. With homages to influences as varied as Lewis Carroll, Sigmund Freud and Georges Méliès, it is a striking and unusual film, and a throwback to the silent era, especially with its choppy frame rate.

The short film premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Morgan and Destiny's Eleventeenth Date: The Zeppelin Zoo, the sequel to Morgan M. Morgansen's Date with Destiny, saw Gordon-Levitt joined by Channing Tatum in the role of Morgan's rival suitor. This second installment was also produced by hitrecord.org and premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival 2010.

References

1. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1655419/
2. ^ http://www.filmireland.net/2010/01/18/sarah-daly%E2%80%99s-short-script-realised/
3. ^ http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/From-Dysart-to-Sundance-Film.6020058.jp

External links

• hitrecord.org.
• [1] Anthony Breznican, USA TODAY
• [2] Morgan M Morgansen - The Full Story, Documentary