I was actually wondering how many films started as shorts the other day....
This summer saw the release of two major feature films that started life as shorts — District Nine and the animated film 9 (no relation, and not to be confused with the upcoming, Daniel-Day-Lewis-starring musical, Nine.) It’s enough to give young filmmakers out there hope: sometimes those short films can go a long way!
9 This animated short was created by Shane Acker while still a film student. Tim Burton saw it and was so impressed that he helped it become a feature, which was released recently.
...
...
Bottle Rocket Then-nobodies Owen and Luke Wilson star in Wes Anderson’s 1992 short film that became Bottle Rocket and launched all three of their careers. This is the first five minutes.