1. 44 EMPIRE APRIL 2013 www.empiremagazine.com
Type to enter text
Williams admits
working with
puppets is easier
than actors, ‘Much
less ego and you
can work them
longer hours!’
IN CINEMAS
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FLUFF
Not Just a bit of
Fluff....
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RELEASED May 1st
CERTIFICATE PG
DIRECTOR Rufus Williams
CAST Katie Wyman, Rufus
Williams Terrisha Downton-Snood
Craig Winchcomb Robbie Judkins
RUNNING TIME 5 mins.
PLOT When a boy, (Rufus
Williams) cheats on his
‘girlfriend’(Terrisha Downtown
Snood) he seeks wisdom from the
great Oracles (Craig and Robbie)
with a surprising outcome.
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a truly creative and meaningful
insight into the trials of young
love.
Terrisha Downton-Snood stands
out as one of the up and coming
puppets on the scene at the
moment. You may just have
caught her recent cameo on ’30
Rock’, playing the part of Jack
Donaghy’s life coach which was
utterly hilarious. However, as
gifted as she is at comedy her
performance in ‘Fluff’ is
enchanting and does not rely on
her comedic sensibility instead we
see an truly touching
interpretation of Williams’ script,
which anchors the film and gives
it real heart without ever being
sentimental.
Overall Puppets seem to be
breaking through and we are
beginning to see just what they
can do. Such films as ‘Muppets
Christmas Carol’ and Puppet
Master vs Demonic Toys have
completely dispelled the myth that
puppets can’t carry a film in
Hollywood.
Williams has also turned a corner;
his anchoring performance (which
he has also produced) has
ensured the films narrative never
flags.
IF YOU ARE EXPECTING to see
‘Crazy Love’, Part 2, then ‘Fluff’ is
going to be a big disappointment.
Williams has succeeded in throwing off
the Rom-Com slush and delivered
Good performances too from
Craig Winchcomb (playing Oracle
1, The Chosen, and Robbie
Judkins, The Oracles Apprentice,
are both memorable as well as
uplifting.
Williams’ is well within his comfort
zone, being no stranger
to playing the almost the comical
looser. Such familiar elements
aside Williams’ is authentic.
When I stopped by his offices last
week I was lucky enough to meet
with him and surprised when he
told me that the film was inspired
by a true life episode, ‘I believe
that being so intimately connected
to the story gave me a better
grasp of my character.’
I had to ask, is there any truth to
the gossip that Williams and
Downtown are now an Item?
Unfortunately the only
response I got was a flash of
those perfect teeth.
VERDICT Katie Wyman’s role is
shamefully underwritten
(especially for an actress capable
of carrying a franchise), but Fluff
is a indie cut above your average
boy meets girl with a lovely
experimental-chaos vibe.
David Hughes
★ ★ ★
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2. A TECHNICAL PRECISION WOULD THAT WOULD
“THE STORY UNFOLDS WITH
MAKE DAVID LYNCH PROUD.”
WANT THIS AS A QUOTE ON TOP OF THE
MAIN BODY OF TEXT TO MIMIC THE
HOUSE STYLE OF EMPIRE MAGAZINE:
4. JUStNot
A
PieCe
of
fLuff
LOOKING AT FONTS FOR THE POSTER
AND HOW THEY EFFECT THE MESSAGE
JUST MY LUCK SIGNALS SWEET
NATURED/ FUNNY/ CUTE - FELT THIS
COULD WORK FOR MY TITLE ‘FLUFF’
AND POSSIBLY FOR THE MAGAZINE
ARTICLE?
5. just piece fluffnot A
Many rom com posters seem to use bold and
umbolded century gothic (or similar) and some
use different colours for one or two words- The
effect of this creates a humorous feel and tells
audience the subject matter they are dealing with.
for example: My Best Friend’s Girl bolds ‘best’
and ‘girl’ to highlight the focus. The Ugly Truth
seems to get it’s humour from the word ‘ugly’
which is the only bolded word, almost as if it was
in brackets acting as an ‘aside’
of
6. Fluf
luff
f
F
Fluff
Fluf f
Working with the title and trying to see which one seems to make
it more surprising and which one conveys the films mood the
most effectively.
7. The one word title is not a common convention for rom com titles. In
my research one word titles seemed to be used for more serious
subject matter. However here are some. Colour conveys the content
style with baby pink being used for the poster, ‘killers’ is used as the
antithesis of the actual word. This juxtaposition supports the
humour of the photograph and signals a light hearted film.
