Ridley Scott launches Parallel Lines

That Ridley Scott, he’s always pushing boundaries.

We’ve just got wind of a new project he's helmed in conjunction with Philips (yeah, the electronics manufacturers).

See, the latter are launching a fancy new shiny TV called the Philips Cinema 21:9, which is wider than any prevous widescreen TV, and apparently makes films look amazing.

To launch the screen, Philips asked members of Ridley Scott Associates (which the Brit founded) to submit their cutting-edge short films as part of the Parallel Lines project.

There were 45 submissions made, and five were picked as the finalists. The chosen film directors are Greg Fay, Johnny Hardstaff, Carl Erik Rinsch, Jake Scott and Hi-Sim, who all contributed films from different genres.

Says Scott:

“My production company receives hundreds of ideas every day, but this was something unique. The idea created a massive amount of enthusiasm from RSA directors around the world.”

The films will premiere online on 8th April at Philips Cinema . They’ll be available via the sparkly new Ambiplayer, which recreates Philips TV technology on your computer. Head over there now for a funky show involving a freeze-frame clown raid.

So even if you’re not looking to get a new telly, there are five great new shorts sanctioned by Sir Ridley heading to the internet soon. For free!

Bookmark the page and head back in April. Or just join the Facebook page for lots of fun stuff, including Jake Scott’s own reports from the film world.

Like making short films? Shove us your links...

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.